Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. Wavel AI: Wavel AI is an AI media platform that transcribes uploaded audio and video into speaker-labeled, editable, and translatable transcripts, with note and summary generation. Which one wins depends on your platform mix, budget, and how hands-off you want notes to be.
How Hosiqo compares and tests toolsFinal recommendation
Shortlist Buzz when transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline matters most, and Wavel AI when turning recorded meetings and calls into editable, shareable transcripts and summaries 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.
Wavel AI is an AI media platform that transcribes uploaded audio and video into speaker-labeled, editable, and translatable transcripts, with note and summary generation.
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
Wavel AI is an AI-powered media platform whose transcription product converts uploaded audio and video into written text, automatically detecting and differentiating multiple speakers so transcripts are easy to follow. It is aimed at content creators, marketing and L&D teams, interviewers, and enterprises that need to capture meetings, interviews, lectures, and other recorded conversations. Users add media by uploading from their device, pasting a link, or importing from Google Drive, Dropbox, or YouTube, and can choose automatic AI transcription or a slower human-reviewed option. A built-in editor lets users correct text, fix punctuation, and adjust timestamps, while a summary feature can generate structured notes that highlight key points and discussion items. Transcripts and notes can be exported in formats such as DOCX, TXT, and PDF for sharing or archiving. Wavel supports dozens of languages and accents and can translate transcripts, and it sits alongside the broader Wavel suite for subtitling, dubbing, voiceover, and video editing. It runs on a freemium model with paid subscription tiers.
Best suited for
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Wavel AI is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Buzz | Wavel AI |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Offline transcription and translation using OpenAI's Whisper | Automatic speech-to-text transcription of uploaded audio and video |
| Standout feature | Real-time transcription from microphone input | Speaker detection and identification for multi-participant recordings |
| Team usage | Speaker identification and speech separation for noisy audio | AI summary and structured note generation highlighting key points |
| Integrations | Exports to TXT, SRT, and VTT | Built-in editor for correcting text, punctuation, and timestamps |
| Languages & capture | Watch folder for automatic transcription and a command-line interface | Multilingual transcription and translation across dozens of languages and accents |
| Best-fit workflow | GPU acceleration via CUDA, Apple Silicon, and Vulkan | Export of transcripts and notes to DOCX, TXT, and PDF |
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.
Wavel AI
Choose Wavel AI if you need transcribing recorded interviews so interviewers can focus on the conversation instead of note-taking — strengths include combines transcription with translation, subtitling, dubbing, and voiceover in one platform.
Buzz
Wavel AI
It depends on your workflow. Buzz is strong for transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline, while Wavel AI is strong for transcribing recorded interviews so interviewers can focus on the conversation instead of note-taking. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades and Wavel AI is a free tier with paid upgrades. Check each vendor's pricing page for the latest plans and free-tier limits.
Often yes: teams combine tools when one handles capture and another handles analysis.
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