Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. VoiceScript: VoiceScript is an AI-powered legal transcription and court reporting platform that turns recorded and live proceedings into accurate, client-ready transcripts. 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 VoiceScript when streaming real-time transcripts to attorneys during live proceedings 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.
VoiceScript is an AI-powered legal transcription and court reporting platform that turns recorded and live proceedings into accurate, client-ready transcripts.
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
VoiceScript is a court reporting and attorney productivity platform that applies AI speech recognition to legal proceedings such as depositions, hearings, and trials. Its products include AutoScriptOne, a live-editing tool that delivers high-accuracy AI transcripts to reporters in real time; AttorneyView, which streams edited transcripts to attorneys and participants during proceedings; AutoScript Hub, which processes uploaded audio and video files into draft transcripts within minutes; and a free AutoScript Desktop Editor with a Word-like interface for editing and formatting. CourtCapture adds multi-channel courtroom audio recording with redundancy and backup for in-person, remote, and hybrid sessions. A Deposition-AI litigation assistant for preparation, real-time coaching, and post-proceeding analysis is listed as coming soon via a waitlist. The platform supports many media types and exports compatible with CAT software and case management systems. It is built for court reporters, scopists, court systems, law firms, and attorneys who need fast, accurate legal transcripts and streamlined reporting workflows.
Best suited for
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); VoiceScript is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Buzz | VoiceScript |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Offline transcription and translation using OpenAI's Whisper | AI speech-to-text transcription for legal proceedings |
| Standout feature | Real-time transcription from microphone input | Real-time live transcript editing (AutoScriptOne) |
| Team usage | Speaker identification and speech separation for noisy audio | Live transcript streaming to attorneys and participants (AttorneyView) |
| Integrations | Exports to TXT, SRT, and VTT | Audio/video file-to-draft transcript processing (AutoScript Hub) |
| Languages & capture | Watch folder for automatic transcription and a command-line interface | Multi-channel courtroom recording with redundancy and backup (CourtCapture) |
| Best-fit workflow | GPU acceleration via CUDA, Apple Silicon, and Vulkan | Free Word-like desktop transcript editor |
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.
VoiceScript
Choose VoiceScript if you need producing accurate deposition and hearing transcripts for court reporters and law firms — strengths include purpose-built for legal/court reporting with real-time, client-ready drafts.
Buzz
VoiceScript
It depends on your workflow. Buzz is strong for transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline, while VoiceScript is strong for producing accurate deposition and hearing transcripts for court reporters and law firms. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades and VoiceScript 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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