Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. Soniox: Multilingual speech AI platform offering real-time and async speech-to-text and translation APIs for meetings and voice apps. Which one wins depends on your platform mix, budget, and how hands-off you want notes to be.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist Buzz when transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline matters most, and Soniox when building voice agents and dictation features into apps matters most. Trial each on a few real meetings before you commit — the better fit usually shows fast.
Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper.
Multilingual speech AI platform offering real-time and async speech-to-text and translation APIs for meetings and voice apps.
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
Soniox is a multilingual speech AI platform that provides speech-to-text, translation, and text-to-speech APIs aimed at developers building voice-enabled applications, including meeting transcription, voice agents, dictation, and call-center tools. Its speech recognition supports real-time streaming with low latency as well as asynchronous processing of recorded files, and it covers a broad set of languages with the ability to handle conversations where speakers switch languages mid-sentence. For meeting and multi-party scenarios, Soniox offers speaker separation so transcripts can attribute speech to individual participants, along with handling of names, alphanumerics, and domain-specific terms. The platform also includes real-time speech translation across many language pairs, which is useful for international calls and meetings. Soniox markets enterprise-grade compliance, including SOC 2 Type 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, and GDPR, and offers multi-region deployment with data-residency options and a privacy-oriented architecture where audio is processed in real time. Because it is delivered as APIs and SDKs, organizations typically embed Soniox into their own products rather than using it as a standalone meeting application. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Soniox is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Buzz | Soniox |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Offline transcription and translation using OpenAI's Whisper | Real-time and asynchronous speech-to-text APIs |
| Standout feature | Real-time transcription from microphone input | Speaker separation for multi-participant conversations |
| Team usage | Speaker identification and speech separation for noisy audio | Real-time speech translation across many language pairs |
| Integrations | Exports to TXT, SRT, and VTT | Code-switching support for mid-sentence language changes |
| Languages & capture | Watch folder for automatic transcription and a command-line interface | Web and server SDKs for browser and backend integration |
| Best-fit workflow | GPU acceleration via CUDA, Apple Silicon, and Vulkan | Enterprise compliance with SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, and GDPR |
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.
Soniox
Choose Soniox if you need transcribing multilingual meetings and calls in real time — strengths include strong multilingual and translation capabilities for global meetings.
Buzz
Soniox
It depends on your workflow. Buzz is strong for transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline, while Soniox is strong for transcribing multilingual meetings and calls in real time. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades and Soniox is a free tier with paid upgrades. Check each vendor's pricing page for the latest plans and free-tier limits.
Sure. Running both makes sense when their strengths don't overlap and the budget allows.
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