Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. SpeakNotes: Browser-based AI tool that turns uploaded or recorded meeting audio and video into structured summaries with action items and decisions. This comparison weighs them on pricing, features, and everyday workflow fit.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist Buzz when transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline matters most, and SpeakNotes when extracting action items and decisions from long calls matters most. Run both through a week of actual calls to see which suits your workflow.
Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper.
Browser-based AI tool that turns uploaded or recorded meeting audio and video into structured summaries with action items and decisions.
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
SpeakNotes is an AI-powered transcription and summarization platform that converts audio and video recordings into structured written content. Its workflow has three steps: users upload audio or video files, paste a YouTube link, or record directly in the browser; the system transcribes and analyzes the content; and it returns a structured summary in a chosen format. For meetings, SpeakNotes is designed to extract action items, decisions, and key discussion points, making it suited to turning recorded calls into usable minutes. It supports speech-to-text across 50+ languages and offers 15+ output formats, including meeting notes, transcripts, blog posts, and flashcards, with export to tools such as Notion and Obsidian. The product is browser-based with direct upload and YouTube integration rather than a meeting bot, so it is oriented toward processing existing recordings and in-browser capture. SpeakNotes targets professionals who work with recorded content, including meeting participants who need post-call summaries, as well as students, researchers, podcast listeners, and content creators who want condensed, structured takeaways from long audio or video. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); SpeakNotes is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Buzz | SpeakNotes |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Offline transcription and translation using OpenAI's Whisper | Upload audio/video, paste a YouTube link, or record directly in the browser |
| Standout feature | Real-time transcription from microphone input | AI transcription and analysis with structured summaries |
| Team usage | Speaker identification and speech separation for noisy audio | Extraction of action items, decisions, and key discussion points |
| Integrations | Exports to TXT, SRT, and VTT | 15+ output formats including meeting notes and transcripts |
| Languages & capture | Watch folder for automatic transcription and a command-line interface | 50+ language support |
| Best-fit workflow | GPU acceleration via CUDA, Apple Silicon, and Vulkan | Export to Notion, Obsidian, and other tools |
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.
SpeakNotes
Choose SpeakNotes if you need turning recorded meeting audio or video into structured minutes — strengths include flexible inputs (file upload, youtube, in-browser recording).
Buzz
SpeakNotes
It depends on your workflow. Buzz is strong for transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline, while SpeakNotes is strong for turning recorded meeting audio or video into structured minutes. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades and SpeakNotes is a free tier with paid upgrades. Check each vendor's pricing page for the latest plans and free-tier limits.
You can — some teams pair them when each covers a different part of the meeting workflow.
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