Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. TranscribeGo: A browser-based AI transcription tool that converts uploaded files, social-media clips, and voice notes into text with automatic summaries and translations. 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 TranscribeGo when students transcribing and summarizing lecture recordings 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.
A browser-based AI transcription tool that converts uploaded files, social-media clips, and voice notes into text with automatic summaries and translations.
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
TranscribeGo is a browser-based AI transcription platform that turns audio and video into accurate text. Users can upload files, record directly in the web app, paste links from YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and other platforms, or send voice notes through WhatsApp and a Telegram bot. It is aimed at journalists turning interviews into articles, students transcribing lectures, content creators generating subtitles, and professionals who need fast voice-to-text. Beyond raw transcription, every output can include a smart AI summary of long recordings such as hour-long interviews or multi-hour lectures, plus extraction of key points, main topics, and exact quotes. The tool supports more than 90 languages with automatic language detection and one-click translation, speaker diarization, and timestamps, and it exports to formats including PDF, Word, and SRT subtitles. It also offers article generation and auto-generated visuals on higher tiers. TranscribeGo is positioned as an affordable, no-friction transcriber for people working with files and online video rather than live meeting calls.
Best suited for
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); TranscribeGo is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Buzz | TranscribeGo |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Offline transcription and translation using OpenAI's Whisper | Transcribes uploaded audio/video files plus in-browser recordings |
| Standout feature | Real-time transcription from microphone input | Native URL transcription from YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and other platforms without downloading |
| Team usage | Speaker identification and speech separation for noisy audio | Smart AI summaries of long interviews and lectures, with key points and quote extraction |
| Integrations | Exports to TXT, SRT, and VTT | Support for 90+ languages with automatic detection and one-click translation |
| Languages & capture | Watch folder for automatic transcription and a command-line interface | Speaker diarization and timestamps with export to PDF, Word, and SRT subtitles |
| Best-fit workflow | GPU acceleration via CUDA, Apple Silicon, and Vulkan | Voice-note transcription via WhatsApp and a Telegram bot |
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.
TranscribeGo
Choose TranscribeGo if you need journalists transcribing recorded interviews and turning them into articles — strengths include accepts an unusually wide range of inputs (files, social clips, whatsapp/telegram voice notes) including url transcription on the free tier.
Buzz
TranscribeGo
It depends on your workflow. Buzz is strong for transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline, while TranscribeGo is strong for journalists transcribing recorded interviews and turning them into articles. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades and TranscribeGo 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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