Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. VIQ Solutions: VIQ Solutions is an enterprise provider of AI-driven speech-to-text transcription, digital voice and video capture technology, and managed transcription services for legal, government, and other regulated industries. 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 VIQ Solutions when law firms recording depositions and case notes for searchable, editable documents 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.
VIQ Solutions is an enterprise provider of AI-driven speech-to-text transcription, digital voice and video capture technology, and managed transcription services for legal, government, and other regulated industries.
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
VIQ Solutions is a publicly traded (TSXV: VQS) provider of secure, AI-driven digital voice and video capture and transcription technology with deployments in courtrooms across more than 25 countries. Its core platform, NetScribe, manages the documentation workflow from recording and dictation through editing and document distribution, supporting single and multi-channel recordings, including For The Record (TRM) and JAVS (OGG) audio files. Its speech-to-text engine, aiAssist, combines AI, machine learning, and natural language processing with human review to turn single- and multi-speaker audio and audio/video into formatted draft transcripts. The FirstDraft product lets legal professionals record depositions and case notes that are automatically converted into editable, searchable documents. Features include video-synced in-app transcript editing and AI-enabled translation for several non-English languages. VIQ serves courts, law firms, law enforcement, insurance, and media broadcasting, blending recording hardware/software with managed transcription services. It is geared toward organizations producing high volumes of accurate, official documentation from recorded proceedings.
Best suited for
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); VIQ Solutions is custom pricing (contact sales). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Buzz | VIQ Solutions |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Offline transcription and translation using OpenAI's Whisper | NetScribe transcription workflow platform from dictation to document distribution |
| Standout feature | Real-time transcription from microphone input | aiAssist AI/ML/NLP speech-to-text engine for single- and multi-speaker audio and video |
| Team usage | Speaker identification and speech separation for noisy audio | FirstDraft: record depositions and case notes into editable, searchable documents |
| Integrations | Exports to TXT, SRT, and VTT | Support for multi-channel recordings including For The Record (TRM) and JAVS (OGG) files |
| Languages & capture | Watch folder for automatic transcription and a command-line interface | Video-synced in-app transcript editing |
| Best-fit workflow | GPU acceleration via CUDA, Apple Silicon, and Vulkan | AI-enabled translation and transcription for non-English languages (Spanish, French, German, Dutch and more) |
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.
VIQ Solutions
Choose VIQ Solutions if you need producing official court and legal proceeding transcripts from recorded audio/video — strengths include decades of domain expertise with deployments in courtrooms across 25+ countries.
Buzz
VIQ Solutions
It depends on your workflow. Buzz is strong for transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline, while VIQ Solutions is strong for producing official court and legal proceeding transcripts from recorded audio/video. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades and VIQ Solutions is custom pricing. 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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