Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. Typeless: Typeless is an AI voice dictation app that turns natural speech into polished, ready-to-use text across the apps you already use. 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 Typeless when dictating across productivity and communication apps on desktop and mobile matters most. Trial each on a few real meetings before you commit — the better fit usually shows fast.
Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper.
Typeless is an AI voice dictation app that turns natural speech into polished, ready-to-use text across the apps you already use.
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
Typeless is an AI voice dictation tool that converts spoken words into clean, formatted text in real time. Rather than producing a raw transcript, it cleans up speech as you talk: removing filler words like "um" and "uh," recognizing when you correct yourself mid-sentence and keeping only the final intended wording, and auto-formatting spoken lists and key points into structured text. It adapts tone to context, supports a personal dictionary for custom terms, and lets you edit existing text by selecting it and saying how you want it changed. Typeless captures audio through its app and dictation keyboard and inserts the resulting text directly into whatever you are working in, claiming compatibility across dozens of applications such as Notion, Google Docs, Slack, Gmail, and others. It runs on macOS, Windows, iOS, and Android, and supports 100+ languages with automatic detection plus translation. It is aimed at professionals, writers, students, and developers who want to draft messages, emails, and documents faster than typing.
Best suited for
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Typeless is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Buzz | Typeless |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Offline transcription and translation using OpenAI's Whisper | Real-time speech-to-text dictation that inserts directly into other apps |
| Standout feature | Real-time transcription from microphone input | Automatic filler-word removal and self-correction recognition |
| Team usage | Speaker identification and speech separation for noisy audio | Auto-formatting of spoken lists and structured content |
| Integrations | Exports to TXT, SRT, and VTT | Context-aware tone adaptation and personal dictionary for custom terms |
| Languages & capture | Watch folder for automatic transcription and a command-line interface | Voice commands to edit and revise existing text |
| Best-fit workflow | GPU acceleration via CUDA, Apple Silicon, and Vulkan | 100+ language support with automatic detection and translation |
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.
Typeless
Choose Typeless if you need drafting emails, messages, and documents by speaking instead of typing — strengths include cross-platform coverage including macos, windows, ios, and native android.
Buzz
Typeless
It depends on your workflow. Buzz is strong for transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline, while Typeless is strong for drafting emails, messages, and documents by speaking instead of typing. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades and Typeless 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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