Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. TikoNote: An AI study app that records or imports lectures, transcribes the audio, and turns it into organized notes, flashcards, quizzes, and mind maps. 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 TikoNote when turning lecture audio, readings, or youtube videos into flashcards and quizzes for exam preparation matters most. Try them side by side on real calls before deciding — needs vary by team.
Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper.
An AI study app that records or imports lectures, transcribes the audio, and turns it into organized notes, flashcards, quizzes, and mind maps.
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
TikoNote is an AI-powered study application built primarily for students. Its lecture-to-notes feature lets users record lecture audio directly or upload existing recordings, and the AI then listens, transcribes the audio into searchable text, and organizes it into structured notes with highlighted key points and summaries. Beyond audio, the app accepts a range of inputs including PDFs, Word documents (DOC/DOCX), PowerPoint lecture slides, plain text, and YouTube video links. From any of these sources it can generate flashcards, quizzes, summaries, and mind maps, and it offers an AI tutor plus study methods such as the Feynman Technique and blurting to help users test recall and find knowledge gaps. TikoNote is available on iOS (App Store) with a web version referenced on its site. It is aimed at high school and university students, exam and certification candidates, and lifelong learners who want to convert lectures, readings, and recordings into study-ready material rather than meeting minutes for business teams.
Best suited for
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); TikoNote is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Buzz | TikoNote |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Offline transcription and translation using OpenAI's Whisper | Lecture audio recording with AI transcription into searchable text |
| Standout feature | Real-time transcription from microphone input | Multi-format input: PDFs, Word docs, PowerPoint slides, plain text, and YouTube links |
| Team usage | Speaker identification and speech separation for noisy audio | Auto-generated flashcards, quizzes, summaries, and mind maps |
| Integrations | Exports to TXT, SRT, and VTT | AI tutor for on-demand explanations and Q&A |
| Languages & capture | Watch folder for automatic transcription and a command-line interface | Active-recall study methods including the Feynman Technique and blurting |
| Best-fit workflow | GPU acceleration via CUDA, Apple Silicon, and Vulkan | Key-point extraction and topic organization across captured content |
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.
TikoNote
Choose TikoNote if you need recording or uploading classroom lectures and converting them into transcribed, organized study notes — strengths include transcribes recorded or uploaded lectures and structures them into study-ready notes automatically.
Buzz
TikoNote
It depends on your workflow. Buzz is strong for transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline, while TikoNote is strong for recording or uploading classroom lectures and converting them into transcribed, organized study notes. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades and TikoNote 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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