Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. SubtitleBee: SubtitleBee is an AI-powered web app that auto-transcribes audio and video and adds styled, translatable subtitles in 120+ languages. Below, they line up on price, capture method, and how each fits a real meeting stack.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist Buzz when transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline matters most, and SubtitleBee when adding accurate, styled captions to social and marketing videos 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.
SubtitleBee is an AI-powered web app that auto-transcribes audio and video and adds styled, translatable subtitles in 120+ languages.
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
SubtitleBee is a browser-based AI tool that automatically converts spoken audio and video into text and generates synchronized, styled subtitles. Beyond captioning marketing clips and social videos, it offers a dedicated audio-transcription mode that handles interviews, lectures, meetings, voice memos, webinars, and podcasts: users upload a recording, select the source language, then review and edit the AI-generated transcript in an in-browser editor before exporting. It recognizes a wide range of languages and can translate captions across many of them, making it useful for global and accessibility-focused workflows. Transcripts and subtitles can be downloaded in standard formats including TXT, SRT, VTT, and ASS. Additional editing tools let users restyle captions (font, color, size, opacity), resize and crop video for different platforms, and add overlay "supertitles." It targets content creators, podcasters, educators, marketers, and professionals who need fast, editable transcripts and captions without technical skills. SubtitleBee has been operating since 2019 and runs entirely in the browser.
Best suited for
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); SubtitleBee is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Buzz | SubtitleBee |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Offline transcription and translation using OpenAI's Whisper | AI transcription of audio and video for interviews, meetings, webinars, podcasts, and voice memos |
| Standout feature | Real-time transcription from microphone input | Automatic subtitle/caption generation with recognition of 120+ languages |
| Team usage | Speaker identification and speech separation for noisy audio | Subtitle translation across many languages for multilingual output |
| Integrations | Exports to TXT, SRT, and VTT | In-browser transcript editor to review and correct AI output before export |
| Languages & capture | Watch folder for automatic transcription and a command-line interface | Export to multiple formats including TXT, SRT, VTT, and ASS |
| Best-fit workflow | GPU acceleration via CUDA, Apple Silicon, and Vulkan | Caption styling plus video resizing/cropping (16:9, 9:16, 1:1) and overlay captions |
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.
SubtitleBee
Choose SubtitleBee if you need transcribing recorded interviews, meetings, or webinars into editable text — strengths include single tool covers both transcription and styled subtitling, with translation into many languages.
Buzz
SubtitleBee
It depends on your workflow. Buzz is strong for transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline, while SubtitleBee is strong for transcribing recorded interviews, meetings, or webinars into editable text. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades and SubtitleBee 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.
More head-to-head comparisons involving Buzz and SubtitleBee.
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.