Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. SpeechMind: German AI meeting-protocol software that turns recordings into structured minutes, built for municipalities, public administration and governance bodies. 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 SpeechMind when documenting municipal, ministerial and utility meetings under dsgvo requirements 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.
German AI meeting-protocol software that turns recordings into structured minutes, built for municipalities, public administration and governance bodies.
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
SpeechMind is a German AI-powered meeting-documentation product that automatically converts audio or video recordings of meetings into structured protocols. Operating from Germany and used by public-sector organizations such as municipalities, cities, municipal utilities and ministries as well as banks and other administration-heavy bodies, it is positioned as secure, DSGVO-compliant transcription made in Germany. SpeechMind lets users choose between output styles, including a compact results protocol (Ergebnisprotokoll), a detailed progress protocol (Verlaufsprotokoll) often rendered in the subjunctive form used in German administrative minutes, and word-for-word transcripts, each clearly structured with tasks and resolutions. The platform performs automatic speaker identification, recognizes domain-specific administrative and governance terminology, handles meetings of unlimited length, and exports to Word documents. A companion mobile app for iOS and Android allows on-site recording via smartphone or tablet without external microphones, with recordings uploaded automatically to the SpeechMind web application for processing. SpeechMind integrates with Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Webex and Google Meet to pull in recordings, and runs on European servers with ISO 27001 and ISO 9001 certification, storing data in Europe and stating that customer content is not used for AI training. The product is actively offered through 2026 with current client references. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); SpeechMind is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Buzz | SpeechMind |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Offline transcription and translation using OpenAI's Whisper | Automatic conversion of recordings into structured minutes (results, progress and verbatim protocols) |
| Standout feature | Real-time transcription from microphone input | Tasks and resolutions captured and clearly structured in each protocol |
| Team usage | Speaker identification and speech separation for noisy audio | Automatic speaker identification and recognition of administrative terminology |
| Integrations | Exports to TXT, SRT, and VTT | Mobile app (iOS/Android) for on-site recording |
| Languages & capture | Watch folder for automatic transcription and a command-line interface | Integrations with Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Webex and Google Meet |
| Best-fit workflow | GPU acceleration via CUDA, Apple Silicon, and Vulkan | Word document export |
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.
SpeechMind
Choose SpeechMind if you need generating formal minutes for council, committee and governance meetings — strengths include purpose-built for german public administration and formal governance minutes.
Buzz
SpeechMind
It depends on your workflow. Buzz is strong for transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline, while SpeechMind is strong for generating formal minutes for council, committee and governance meetings. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades and SpeechMind 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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