Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. SpeakApp AI: Cross-platform speech-to-text app that records and transcribes meetings, voice notes, and lectures with AI summaries and translation. 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 SpeakApp AI when transcribing and translating multilingual conversations matters most. Test each on your own meetings; the right choice tends to become obvious quickly.
Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper.
Cross-platform speech-to-text app that records and transcribes meetings, voice notes, and lectures with AI summaries and translation.
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
SpeakApp AI is a speech-to-text application that records and transcribes spoken words with a single tap and then lets users summarize, rewrite, or translate the result. It captures audio directly from the device without requiring a meeting bot to join calls, and it can also import existing recordings from other apps for transcription. Beyond raw transcription, SpeakApp generates automatic summaries and bullet points, adjusts tone and rewrites content, detects spoken language, and translates into a wide range of languages. The app is available across Mac, iOS, and Android, with a browser-based interface for uploading and transcribing files online. Its use cases span everyday note organization, meeting recording and summarization, content drafting (emails, blog posts, social media), lecture capture for students, and documentation for consultants and legal practitioners. The company emphasizes user control over data, stating that transcripts can be downloaded or deleted at any time and that the service is GDPR compliant, making SpeakApp AI a broad transcription and dictation tool that includes meeting recording and summary capabilities. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); SpeakApp AI is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Buzz | SpeakApp AI |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Offline transcription and translation using OpenAI's Whisper | One-tap recording and transcription, plus import of existing recordings |
| Standout feature | Real-time transcription from microphone input | Automatic summaries and bullet-point generation |
| Team usage | Speaker identification and speech separation for noisy audio | AI rewriting and tone adjustment |
| Integrations | Exports to TXT, SRT, and VTT | Language detection and translation into 50+ languages |
| Languages & capture | Watch folder for automatic transcription and a command-line interface | Apps for Mac, iOS, and Android plus a web upload interface |
| Best-fit workflow | GPU acceleration via CUDA, Apple Silicon, and Vulkan | Downloadable/deletable transcripts with stated GDPR compliance |
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.
SpeakApp AI
Choose SpeakApp AI if you need recording and summarizing in-person or virtual meetings — strengths include broad platform coverage across desktop, mobile, and web.
Buzz
SpeakApp AI
It depends on your workflow. Buzz is strong for transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline, while SpeakApp AI is strong for recording and summarizing in-person or virtual meetings. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades and SpeakApp AI 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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