Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. SRTGen: AI subtitle and SRT generator that also transcribes meetings, interviews, and podcasts with multi-format caption export. 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 SRTGen when transcribing corporate meetings, conferences, and recorded interviews 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.
AI subtitle and SRT generator that also transcribes meetings, interviews, and podcasts with multi-format caption export.
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
SRTGen is an AI-powered subtitle and transcription platform centered on producing professional caption files. Users can upload video or audio, or paste links from social platforms, and SRTGen generates time-coded subtitles with automatic speaker separation. While it is marketed heavily toward creating SRT files and translated subtitles for content like YouTube and short-form video, the platform explicitly extends to corporate meetings, conferences and events, and academic and market research, including interviews and focus groups. It supports a large number of languages and locales with global dialect coverage and offers translation alongside transcription. Output options include subtitle formats such as SRT, VTT, and ASS, as well as document and data formats like DOCX, PDF, TXT, and JSON. SRGen includes a timeline-based subtitle editor with animation capabilities, the ability to burn hardcoded subtitles into video, and real-time multi-user collaboration. The service runs on a credits-based model rather than a fixed subscription, with a small free allotment to start, making it flexible for occasional caption jobs as well as recurring meeting and interview transcription needs across teams and organizations. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); SRTGen is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Buzz | SRTGen |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Offline transcription and translation using OpenAI's Whisper | AI subtitle generation with automatic speaker separation |
| Standout feature | Real-time transcription from microphone input | Transcription for corporate meetings, conferences, interviews, and research |
| Team usage | Speaker identification and speech separation for noisy audio | Export to SRT, VTT, ASS, TXT, DOCX, PDF, and JSON |
| Integrations | Exports to TXT, SRT, and VTT | Translation across a large set of languages and locales |
| Languages & capture | Watch folder for automatic transcription and a command-line interface | Timeline-based subtitle editor with animation and burn-in options |
| Best-fit workflow | GPU acceleration via CUDA, Apple Silicon, and Vulkan | Real-time multi-user collaborative editing |
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.
SRTGen
Choose SRTGen if you need generating srt and vtt subtitles for podcasts and video content — strengths include strong caption-file output options for video editing workflows.
Buzz
SRTGen
It depends on your workflow. Buzz is strong for transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline, while SRTGen is strong for generating srt and vtt subtitles for podcasts and video content. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades and SRTGen 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.
More head-to-head comparisons involving Buzz and SRTGen.
Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. CLOVA Note: South Korean AI meeting-minutes service by Naver that records meetings, transcribes speech, separates speakers, and generates summaries and action items. Below, they line up on price, capture method, and how each fits a real meeting stack.
Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. Calendly Notetaker: An AI meeting notetaker built into the Calendly scheduling platform that records meetings and generates summaries, transcripts, and action items. Which one wins depends on your platform mix, budget, and how hands-off you want notes to be.
Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. CallBro: Bot-free AI meeting assistant that transcribes calls from system audio and produces structured notes without joining the call. We compare them on cost, capture approach, and day-to-day fit so you can choose faster.
Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. Callabo: Korean AI meeting-notes service from Return Zero that records, transcribes, summarizes, and analyzes meetings for individuals and teams. Which one wins depends on your platform mix, budget, and how hands-off you want notes to be.
Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. Canopy Notetaker: AI meeting assistant built for accounting firms that records client calls and produces accounting-specific summaries and tasks. Below, they line up on price, capture method, and how each fits a real meeting stack.
Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. CaptureMyMeeting: AI meeting assistant that imports Zoom and Webex cloud recordings to generate notes, action items, and insights. Here's where each one pulls ahead on pricing, features, and the meetings it suits best.
Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. Carv: AI assistant for recruiters that records, transcribes, and takes notes during interviews and intake calls, then drafts documents and updates the ATS. Below, they line up on price, capture method, and how each fits a real meeting stack.
Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. Castmagic: AI content platform that transcribes podcasts, videos, and recorded meetings with speaker diarization and turns them into show notes, summaries, and other assets. The right pick comes down to team size, budget, and the workflows you want to automate.
Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. Celeste AI: Brazilian Portuguese-focused AI voice and transcription platform offering on-demand transcription plus a meeting assistant and AI notes, with credit-based and subscription plans. Below, they line up on price, capture method, and how each fits a real meeting stack.
Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. Choppity: AI video and audio platform that transcribes recordings, generates styled captions, and turns long-form content into short clips. Below, they line up on price, capture method, and how each fits a real meeting stack.
Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. Claap: Async video plus AI meeting recording and CRM updates This comparison weighs them on pricing, features, and everyday workflow fit.
Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. Cleft Notes: AI voice-note app that turns spoken thoughts and meeting audio into structured, organized notes. Which one wins depends on your platform mix, budget, and how hands-off you want notes to be.