Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. Thoth: Privacy-first macOS app that records, transcribes, and summarizes meetings entirely on-device with no cloud or data leaving the Mac. 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 Thoth when users who want offline, private meeting notes on a mac 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.
Privacy-first macOS app that records, transcribes, and summarizes meetings entirely on-device with no cloud or data leaving the Mac.
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
Thoth is a native macOS application, created by Matthieu Veinhard, that records, transcribes, and summarizes meetings entirely on the user's device. It captures both microphone and system audio so it can record both sides of online meetings on platforms such as Zoom, Teams, and Google Meet, and it provides live transcription with on-device speech-to-text. An on-device engine detects and color-codes individual speakers in the transcript, and the app supports a large number of languages via Whisper-based transcription. After a meeting, Thoth extracts notes, action items, and key decisions, and lets users choose between several on-device models or supply their own cloud API key, with an on-device anonymization step that can redact sensitive information before any optional cloud processing. Output can be exported to formats including PDF, Word, Markdown, and timestamped JSON. Because the app has no server and no user database, the company emphasizes that there is nothing to breach or hand over. Thoth requires Apple Silicon and is aimed at privacy-conscious professionals, those handling confidential information, and neurodivergent users who benefit from automatic capture, and it is available on the Mac App Store with an iOS beta in progress. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Thoth is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Buzz | Thoth |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Offline transcription and translation using OpenAI's Whisper | 100% local, on-device recording, transcription, and summarization |
| Standout feature | Real-time transcription from microphone input | Dual-channel capture of microphone and system audio |
| Team usage | Speaker identification and speech separation for noisy audio | On-device speaker detection with color-coded transcripts |
| Integrations | Exports to TXT, SRT, and VTT | Whisper-based transcription supporting many languages |
| Languages & capture | Watch folder for automatic transcription and a command-line interface | On-device anonymization to redact sensitive content |
| Best-fit workflow | GPU acceleration via CUDA, Apple Silicon, and Vulkan | Export to PDF, Word, Markdown, and timestamped JSON |
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.
Thoth
Choose Thoth if you need professionals handling confidential or regulated information — strengths include fully local processing with no cloud requirement and no user database.
Buzz
Thoth
It depends on your workflow. Buzz is strong for transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline, while Thoth is strong for professionals handling confidential or regulated information. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades and Thoth 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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