Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. timeOS: AI that auto-joins calls and delivers notes plus daily briefings 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 timeOS when cross-tool follow-ups 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.
AI that auto-joins calls and delivers notes plus daily briefings
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
timeOS is an AI meeting assistant that automatically captures, transcribes, and summarizes meetings across major conferencing platforms, then routes the resulting notes and action items into the tools teams already use. It positions itself as an AI layer over your workday: beyond producing summaries, it aims to handle follow-through by syncing notes to documents, task managers, and other apps so nothing falls through the cracks after a call. It supports multiple languages and can generate concise recaps that are easy to share with attendees and stakeholders. Because it focuses on automating the post-meeting workflow, timeOS appeals to busy professionals and teams who want notes to flow automatically into their systems rather than copying them by hand. It is typically used for recurring meetings, cross-tool follow-ups, and keeping a searchable record of decisions, with an emphasis on reducing the manual admin that surrounds meetings. Platforms: Zoom / Google Meet / Microsoft Teams. Integrations: Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Notion, Slack. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); timeOS is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Buzz | timeOS |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Offline transcription and translation using OpenAI's Whisper | Automatic capture and transcription |
| Standout feature | Real-time transcription from microphone input | AI summaries and action items |
| Team usage | Speaker identification and speech separation for noisy audio | Sync notes to docs and task tools |
| Integrations | Exports to TXT, SRT, and VTT | Multi-language support |
| Languages & capture | Watch folder for automatic transcription and a command-line interface | Shareable recaps |
| Best-fit workflow | GPU acceleration via CUDA, Apple Silicon, and Vulkan | Automatic capture and transcription |
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.
timeOS
Choose timeOS if you need automated post-meeting workflows — strengths include automates post-meeting follow-up across tools.
Buzz
timeOS
It depends on your workflow. Buzz is strong for transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline, while timeOS is strong for automated post-meeting workflows. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades and timeOS is a free tier with paid upgrades. Check each vendor's pricing page for the latest plans and free-tier limits.
Sure. Running both makes sense when their strengths don't overlap and the budget allows.
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