Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. TranscribeTube: TranscribeTube is an AI transcription web app that turns YouTube videos, podcasts, and audio files into timestamped text with speaker labels, summaries, and subtitle export. 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 TranscribeTube when generating srt subtitle files for youtube videos and other video content 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.
TranscribeTube is an AI transcription web app that turns YouTube videos, podcasts, and audio files into timestamped text with speaker labels, summaries, and subtitle export.
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
TranscribeTube is a browser-based AI transcription tool that converts spoken content into editable text. Users paste a YouTube URL or upload audio and video files, and the platform returns a timestamped transcript with automatic speaker diarization, so each speaker's lines are labeled. It handles content of any length, from short clips to multi-hour podcasts, live streams, and lectures. Beyond raw transcription, it offers AI-powered summarization to surface key points, smart chapter segmentation, and one-click translation across a large set of languages. Finished transcripts can be edited in an in-browser text editor and exported in multiple formats, including SRT subtitles for video editors and YouTube Studio, plain text, and PDF. It is aimed at content creators, podcasters, video producers, researchers, and academics who need accurate written versions of spoken media. An API is available on higher tiers for developers who want to integrate transcription into their own workflows. The company states it does not store video content, only the resulting transcript text, and claims GDPR compliance.
Best suited for
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); TranscribeTube is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Buzz | TranscribeTube |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Offline transcription and translation using OpenAI's Whisper | Paste a YouTube URL or upload audio/video to generate timestamped transcripts |
| Standout feature | Real-time transcription from microphone input | Automatic speaker identification (diarization) with labeled speakers |
| Team usage | Speaker identification and speech separation for noisy audio | AI-powered summaries and smart chapter segmentation of long videos |
| Integrations | Exports to TXT, SRT, and VTT | Translation across a large set of languages |
| Languages & capture | Watch folder for automatic transcription and a command-line interface | Export to SRT subtitles, plain text, and PDF, plus an in-browser transcript editor |
| Best-fit workflow | GPU acceleration via CUDA, Apple Silicon, and Vulkan | API access for developers on higher-tier plans |
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.
TranscribeTube
Choose TranscribeTube if you need transcribing podcast episodes into searchable, editable text for show notes or repurposing — strengths include works directly from a youtube url with no browser extension or download needed.
Buzz
TranscribeTube
It depends on your workflow. Buzz is strong for transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline, while TranscribeTube is strong for transcribing podcast episodes into searchable, editable text for show notes or repurposing. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades and TranscribeTube 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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