Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. Zeck: Modern board meeting platform that replaces static decks with interactive updates, AI-generated minutes, smart agendas, pre-voting, and digital voting. 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 Zeck when generating board minutes and capturing votes during governance meetings matters most. Try them side by side on real calls before deciding — needs vary by team.
Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper.
Modern board meeting platform that replaces static decks with interactive updates, AI-generated minutes, smart agendas, pre-voting, and digital voting.
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
Zeck is a board management platform built to modernize how companies prepare for and run board meetings. Instead of distributing static slide decks, board leaders create mobile-first interactive updates that directors can read, comment on, and engage with before the meeting. Its pre-vote feature lets boards move routine discussion and approvals ahead of time so live meetings focus on strategy rather than procedure. Zeck's AI capabilities are aimed at the board workflow: it can generate board updates from reports and quick notes, summarize key takeaways from data and charts into concise points for directors, and automatically produce board minutes from agenda blocks, vote records, and discussions. Smart agendas help teams structure the meeting, while digital voting and an automated minutes book keep governance records, approvals, and historical documentation centralized without manual note-taking. The platform also includes real-time commenting throughout materials and engagement analytics, plus passwordless sign-in for security. Zeck positions itself as a consumer-style, visually modern alternative to traditional board portals and is geared toward startups and growth-stage companies, with thousands of CEOs and board members using it. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Zeck is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Buzz | Zeck |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Offline transcription and translation using OpenAI's Whisper | AI-generated board minutes from agenda blocks, votes, and discussions |
| Standout feature | Real-time transcription from microphone input | AI-assisted board update creation from reports and notes |
| Team usage | Speaker identification and speech separation for noisy audio | AI summaries of key takeaways from data and charts |
| Integrations | Exports to TXT, SRT, and VTT | Smart agendas and interactive, mobile-first board updates |
| Languages & capture | Watch folder for automatic transcription and a command-line interface | Pre-vote and digital voting with a centralized automated minutes book |
| Best-fit workflow | GPU acceleration via CUDA, Apple Silicon, and Vulkan | Real-time commenting across board materials |
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.
Zeck
Choose Zeck if you need preparing and distributing interactive board updates before a meeting — strengths include purpose-built to streamline board meeting prep, execution, and minutes.
Buzz
Zeck
It depends on your workflow. Buzz is strong for transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline, while Zeck is strong for preparing and distributing interactive board updates before a meeting. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades and Zeck 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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