Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. toruno: Ricoh's Japanese meeting recording service combining transcription, audio recording, and screen capture for online and in-person meetings. 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 toruno when organizations wanting screen context preserved alongside the transcript 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.
Ricoh's Japanese meeting recording service combining transcription, audio recording, and screen capture for online and in-person meetings.
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
toruno is a meeting recording service from Ricoh Company, Ltd. in Japan that captures meetings as a combination of transcription, audio recording, and screen capture, so users can later review who said what and what was shown on screen. It works with web meetings on platforms such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom as well as on-site meetings. toruno offers several capture methods: a Windows desktop application that performs real-time transcription during live meetings, an iPhone app for recording on-site discussions, and a web interface for uploading existing audio or video files. After capture, it can generate AI summaries with customizable templates to turn raw transcripts into structured meeting minutes. Japanese transcription is the primary focus, and a business/AI summary plan also supports transcription of other languages such as English and Chinese. The service includes enterprise-grade security and administration features, including two-factor authentication, IP restrictions, and per-user permission management over transcriptions, plus integration with kintone. It is aimed at Japanese businesses that want a searchable, shareable record of meetings and negotiations. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); toruno is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Buzz | toruno |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Offline transcription and translation using OpenAI's Whisper | Combined transcription, audio recording, and screen capture of meetings |
| Standout feature | Real-time transcription from microphone input | Real-time transcription via Windows desktop app, plus iPhone and file-upload capture |
| Team usage | Speaker identification and speech separation for noisy audio | AI-generated summaries with customizable minutes templates |
| Integrations | Exports to TXT, SRT, and VTT | Japanese-first transcription with English and Chinese support on higher plans |
| Languages & capture | Watch folder for automatic transcription and a command-line interface | Enterprise security: two-factor authentication and IP restrictions |
| Best-fit workflow | GPU acceleration via CUDA, Apple Silicon, and Vulkan | Per-user permission management over transcriptions |
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.
toruno
Choose toruno if you need japanese teams needing searchable records of meetings and business negotiations — strengths include screen capture alongside transcript preserves visual context from meetings.
Buzz
toruno
It depends on your workflow. Buzz is strong for transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline, while toruno is strong for japanese teams needing searchable records of meetings and business negotiations. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades and toruno is a free tier with paid upgrades. Check each vendor's pricing page for the latest plans and free-tier limits.
Yes. Many teams run more than one meeting assistant when the workflows are complementary.
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