Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. TORTUS: TORTUS is an ambient AI clinical assistant that listens to patient consultations and automatically transcribes them into structured clinical notes, letters, and coding suggestions. We compare them on cost, capture approach, and day-to-day fit so you can choose faster.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist Buzz when transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline matters most, and TORTUS when transcribing and documenting telephone triage and clinical hub calls 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.
TORTUS is an ambient AI clinical assistant that listens to patient consultations and automatically transcribes them into structured clinical notes, letters, and coding suggestions.
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
TORTUS is a regulated, healthcare-specific ambient voice AI built with the NHS. It acts as an AI scribe that listens to clinician-patient consultations, transcribes the conversation using speaker-diarized speech-to-text, and uses large language models to draft structured clinical notes, referral letters, patient summaries, and suggested clinical coding (including SNOMED) within seconds for clinician review. Audio is captured with on-device, locally encrypted processing, and the company states no patient audio is retained at rest. The platform supports both face-to-face and telephone consultations, with telephony integrations such as X-on Surgery Connect and Avaya. It integrates with major electronic health record systems including Epic, EMIS Health, TPP SystmOne, Oracle Health, Access Rio, and Medicus to enable clinician-approved write-back. It is registered as a UK Class I medical device and holds ISO 13485, ISO 27001, and Cyber Essentials Plus certifications. TORTUS is aimed at clinicians and healthcare organizations such as NHS Trusts, hospitals, ambulance services, outpatient clinics, and GP practices. The company reports use across more than 2.5 million consultations.
Best suited for
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); TORTUS is custom pricing (contact sales). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Buzz | TORTUS |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Offline transcription and translation using OpenAI's Whisper | Ambient voice capture of face-to-face and telephone consultations |
| Standout feature | Real-time transcription from microphone input | Real-time transcription with speaker diarization and local encryption |
| Team usage | Speaker identification and speech separation for noisy audio | Auto-generated clinical notes, referral letters, and patient summaries |
| Integrations | Exports to TXT, SRT, and VTT | Suggested clinical coding including SNOMED |
| Languages & capture | Watch folder for automatic transcription and a command-line interface | EHR integrations (Epic, EMIS, TPP SystmOne, Oracle Health, Access Rio, Medicus) with clinician-approved write-back |
| Best-fit workflow | GPU acceleration via CUDA, Apple Silicon, and Vulkan | Hallucination detection to validate notes against the source context |
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.
TORTUS
Choose TORTUS if you need generating clinical documentation from gp and outpatient consultations — strengths include purpose-built and regulated for clinical use (uk class i medical device, iso 13485 / iso 27001 certified).
Buzz
TORTUS
It depends on your workflow. Buzz is strong for transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline, while TORTUS is strong for generating clinical documentation from gp and outpatient consultations. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades and TORTUS is custom pricing. 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.
More head-to-head comparisons involving Buzz and TORTUS.
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.