Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. Superpowered: Bot-free AI notetaker that transcribes device audio in real time and generates structured meeting notes on Mac and Windows. 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 Superpowered when standardizing notes for recurring formats like one-on-ones or sales calls matters most. Test each on your own meetings; the right choice tends to become obvious quickly.
Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper.
Bot-free AI notetaker that transcribes device audio in real time and generates structured meeting notes on Mac and Windows.
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
Superpowered is an AI notetaker for virtual meetings that produces structured notes without sending a bot into the call. Rather than joining as a separate participant, it transcribes the device's audio in real time during the meeting and uses that transcript to generate summaries, so the notes actually capture what was said rather than simply producing a raw transcript. The desktop app runs on macOS and Windows and can connect to Google and Outlook calendars to auto-join scheduled meetings across platforms including Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Webex, and Around. It offers AI templates tailored to common formats such as one-on-ones, sales calls, and interviews, and integrates with tools like Slack, Notion, Google Drive, Salesforce, HubSpot, and Zapier depending on plan tier. The company emphasizes a privacy-minded design in which audio is not retained as permanent recordings. Superpowered is aimed at professionals and teams who want clean, automatically organized meeting notes without a recording bot appearing in the participant list, and who prefer a native desktop experience over a browser-only workflow. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Superpowered is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Buzz | Superpowered |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Offline transcription and translation using OpenAI's Whisper | Bot-free, real-time transcription from device audio |
| Standout feature | Real-time transcription from microphone input | AI-generated structured notes rather than raw transcripts only |
| Team usage | Speaker identification and speech separation for noisy audio | AI templates for one-on-ones, sales calls, interviews, and more |
| Integrations | Exports to TXT, SRT, and VTT | Calendar integration and auto-join for scheduled meetings |
| Languages & capture | Watch folder for automatic transcription and a command-line interface | Works with Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Webex, and Around |
| Best-fit workflow | GPU acceleration via CUDA, Apple Silicon, and Vulkan | Integrations with Slack, Notion, Google Drive, Salesforce, HubSpot, and Zapier |
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.
Superpowered
Choose Superpowered if you need capturing meeting notes discreetly without a visible bot participant — strengths include no recording bot appears in the meeting, which suits sensitive calls.
Buzz
Superpowered
It depends on your workflow. Buzz is strong for transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline, while Superpowered is strong for capturing meeting notes discreetly without a visible bot participant. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades and Superpowered 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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