Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. Substrata: AI sales intelligence platform that analyzes the social and emotional signals behind conversations to help dealmakers read buyer intent. Here's where each one pulls ahead on pricing, features, and the meetings it suits best.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist Buzz when transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline matters most, and Substrata when coaching sellers on social dynamics in high-stakes conversations 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.
AI sales intelligence platform that analyzes the social and emotional signals behind conversations to help dealmakers read buyer intent.
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
Substrata is an AI sales coaching and deal intelligence platform that takes a different angle from typical conversation intelligence tools: rather than focusing on transcription and summaries, it analyzes the social and emotional signals beneath sales conversations. Its core function is to model buyer psychology, attitudes, and momentum across interactions to help professional dealmakers understand intent and power dynamics. A central component is SoundWave, a real-time conversational analytics engine that listens to sales calls and analyzes voice tone, pace, pauses, interruptions, and the push-pull of social dynamics, surfacing the why behind what is being said rather than just the words. Substrata applies this signal analysis across conversations and email exchanges to gauge buyer sentiment and engagement, giving sellers and revenue leaders a read on how deals are actually progressing. The platform is aimed at B2B revenue professionals and leaders, and is positioned for smaller and mid-sized dealmaking teams that want behavioral insight into negotiations and high-value conversations. It has been recognized as a high performer across sales coaching, AI sales assistant, conversation intelligence, sales analytics, and revenue operations categories. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Substrata is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Buzz | Substrata |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Offline transcription and translation using OpenAI's Whisper | SoundWave real-time analysis of tone, pace, pauses, and interruptions |
| Standout feature | Real-time transcription from microphone input | Behavioral analysis of buyer attitudes, intent, and power dynamics |
| Team usage | Speaker identification and speech separation for noisy audio | Email signal analysis for sentiment and engagement |
| Integrations | Exports to TXT, SRT, and VTT | Deal momentum tracking across conversations |
| Languages & capture | Watch folder for automatic transcription and a command-line interface | Coaching insights focused on social and emotional cues |
| Best-fit workflow | GPU acceleration via CUDA, Apple Silicon, and Vulkan | SoundWave real-time analysis of tone, pace, pauses, and interruptions |
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.
Substrata
Choose Substrata if you need reading buyer intent and sentiment during negotiations — strengths include analyzes social and emotional subtext beyond plain transcription.
Buzz
Substrata
It depends on your workflow. Buzz is strong for transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline, while Substrata is strong for reading buyer intent and sentiment during negotiations. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades and Substrata is a free tier with paid upgrades. Check each vendor's pricing page for the latest plans and free-tier limits.
Often yes: teams combine tools when one handles capture and another handles analysis.
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