Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. Slipbox: Privacy-first, bot-free AI meeting companion that captures system audio locally on Mac and Windows and turns it into transcripts, notes, and summaries. We compare them on cost, capture approach, and day-to-day fit so you can choose faster.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist Buzz when transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline matters most, and Slipbox when privacy-conscious professionals who cannot use cloud meeting bots matters most. Try them side by side on real calls before deciding — needs vary by team.
Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper.
Privacy-first, bot-free AI meeting companion that captures system audio locally on Mac and Windows and turns it into transcripts, notes, and summaries.
Buzz is a widely used open-source desktop application that transcribes and translates audio offline on the user's personal computer, powered by OpenAI's Whisper. It is MIT-licensed and actively maintained, with v1.4.4 released in March 2026, and it has grown a large community with roughly 19.7k GitHub stars. Buzz runs on macOS, Windows, and Linux, with installation options including Flatpak, Snap, and PyPI. It supports both importing existing audio and video files and real-time transcription from microphone input, and it can export results in formats such as TXT, SRT, and VTT for subtitling and documentation. The app includes an advanced transcript viewer with search and playback controls, a watch folder for automatically transcribing new files, and a command-line interface for automation. It offers GPU acceleration through CUDA for Nvidia cards, Apple Silicon support, and Vulkan for many other GPUs, which makes faster transcription practical even on laptops. Buzz also provides speaker identification and speech separation for noisy audio, plus a plugin system that adds capabilities like AI-generated summaries. Because all processing happens locally, recordings and transcripts remain on the user's machine rather than being uploaded to a cloud service. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Slipbox is a privacy-first AI meeting companion built for individual professionals and teams who want to capture meetings without sending a bot into the call. Instead of joining a conference as a visible participant, Slipbox runs on your own machine and captures the device's system audio alongside your microphone, then transcribes the conversation on-device in real time. As the meeting progresses it can surface real-time insights and cues, and once the conversation ends it generates AI summaries using customizable templates, tagged notes, and searchable meeting records. Because the core transcription happens locally, audio does not need to leave the device, and the product uses a hybrid model in which optional cloud features can be turned on when needed; users can also bring their own LLM API key or point Slipbox at local models such as Ollama to keep data within their firewall. It works across common communication apps including Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, Slack, FaceTime, WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, Discord, and Webex, and integrates with note tools like Obsidian. Slipbox is available for macOS, Windows, and iPhone, and is suited to consultants, researchers, and privacy-conscious knowledge workers who want a personal meeting record without a meeting bot. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Slipbox is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Buzz | Slipbox |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Offline transcription and translation using OpenAI's Whisper | Bot-free capture of system audio plus microphone directly on the device |
| Standout feature | Real-time transcription from microphone input | On-device, real-time transcription with optional hybrid cloud features |
| Team usage | Speaker identification and speech separation for noisy audio | AI summaries from customizable templates, tagged notes, and searchable records |
| Integrations | Exports to TXT, SRT, and VTT | Automatic meeting detection across Zoom, Teams, Meet, Slack, FaceTime and more |
| Languages & capture | Watch folder for automatic transcription and a command-line interface | Bring-your-own LLM API key or local model support (e.g. Ollama) |
| Best-fit workflow | GPU acceleration via CUDA, Apple Silicon, and Vulkan | Speaker identification, semantic search, and Obsidian integration |
Buzz
Choose Buzz if you need transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline — strengths include fully offline so audio and transcripts stay on the user's computer.
Slipbox
Choose Slipbox if you need consultants and researchers keeping private records of client and interview calls — strengths include no bot joins the call, so capture is discreet across many platforms.
Buzz
Slipbox
It depends on your workflow. Buzz is strong for transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline, while Slipbox is strong for consultants and researchers keeping private records of client and interview calls. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades and Slipbox is a free tier with paid upgrades. Check each vendor's pricing page for the latest plans and free-tier limits.
Yes. Many teams run more than one meeting assistant when the workflows are complementary.
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