Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. Transkriptor: AI speech-to-text platform that transcribes meetings, interviews, lectures and audio/video files into editable text in many languages. 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 Transkriptor when capturing and summarizing virtual meetings on zoom, meet or teams 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.
AI speech-to-text platform that transcribes meetings, interviews, lectures and audio/video files into editable text in many languages.
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
Transkriptor is an AI-powered transcription service that converts spoken audio and video into written text. Users can upload recordings in common formats such as MP3, MP4, WAV, AAC and M4A, paste a link, record directly, or connect the tool to virtual meetings on Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams so calls are captured and transcribed automatically. The underlying speech recognition engine supports transcription across a wide range of languages and uses speaker diarization to detect and label who is speaking in multi-participant conversations. Beyond raw transcripts, Transkriptor includes an AI assistant and AI chat layer that can summarize a conversation, draft follow-up emails, extract key points and answer questions about the content of a transcript. Transcripts can be organized in folders and workspaces, edited in-browser, translated, and exported, including the ability to create SRT subtitle files for video. It is offered as a web app along with mobile apps and a Chrome extension. The product is aimed at professionals and students such as journalists, researchers, lawyers, consultants and sales teams who need to turn recorded conversations into searchable, shareable documents. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Transkriptor is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Buzz | Transkriptor |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Offline transcription and translation using OpenAI's Whisper | Automatic transcription of uploaded audio/video files and links |
| Standout feature | Real-time transcription from microphone input | Direct meeting capture and transcription for Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams |
| Team usage | Speaker identification and speech separation for noisy audio | Speaker diarization that labels individual speakers |
| Integrations | Exports to TXT, SRT, and VTT | Support for transcription in 100+ languages plus translation |
| Languages & capture | Watch folder for automatic transcription and a command-line interface | AI assistant and AI chat to summarize transcripts and answer questions |
| Best-fit workflow | GPU acceleration via CUDA, Apple Silicon, and Vulkan | SRT subtitle export and in-browser transcript editing |
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.
Transkriptor
Choose Transkriptor if you need transcribing recorded interviews and research conversations — strengths include handles many input methods (file upload, link, recording, and live meetings).
Buzz
Transkriptor
It depends on your workflow. Buzz is strong for transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline, while Transkriptor is strong for transcribing recorded interviews and research conversations. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades and Transkriptor 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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