Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. Zell: Berlin-based sales performance intelligence platform that analyzes real sales calls, surfaces skill gaps, and delivers AI coaching and roleplays, using GDPR-compliant on-device transcription. 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 Zell when automating sales-manager coaching with personalized plans and ai roleplays 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.
Berlin-based sales performance intelligence platform that analyzes real sales calls, surfaces skill gaps, and delivers AI coaching and roleplays, using GDPR-compliant on-device transcription.
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
Zell is a Berlin-based AI platform that captures and analyzes real sales calls to give sales teams performance visibility and automated coaching. It works across video calls, phone calls, and in-person meetings, automatically evaluating call behaviors such as talk patterns, objection handling, and discovery depth, and producing scorecards and instant AI call summaries once conversations end. A skill-gaps dashboard helps managers see who is improving and where coaching is needed, while an AI coaching component (named Dave) generates personalized feedback, coaching plans, and roleplay simulations based on each rep's actual performance, then tracks improvement over time. Zell positions itself as a layer that turns conversation insights into action and automates much of the sales manager's manual coaching workload. As a European company founded in 2024, Zell emphasizes GDPR-compliant, on-device transcription that does not require a meeting bot or store customer data. The company has validated its model with clients across the US, Germany, Italy, and Spain and is backed by European pre-seed investors. It is a newer, privacy-focused alternative to large US conversation intelligence platforms. Pricing varies by plan. Check the official website for current pricing.
Best suited for
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium); Zell is a free tier with paid upgrades (freemium). Always confirm current pricing on each vendor's site before buying.
| Feature | Buzz | Zell |
|---|---|---|
| Core capability | Offline transcription and translation using OpenAI's Whisper | Captures and analyzes video, phone, and in-person sales calls |
| Standout feature | Real-time transcription from microphone input | GDPR-compliant on-device transcription without a meeting bot or stored customer data |
| Team usage | Speaker identification and speech separation for noisy audio | Automated scorecards on talk patterns, objection handling, and discovery depth |
| Integrations | Exports to TXT, SRT, and VTT | Instant AI call summaries after each conversation |
| Languages & capture | Watch folder for automatic transcription and a command-line interface | Skill-gap dashboard for managers across reps |
| Best-fit workflow | GPU acceleration via CUDA, Apple Silicon, and Vulkan | AI coaching, personalized coaching plans, and roleplay simulations |
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.
Zell
Choose Zell if you need analyzing real sales calls to score rep behaviors and identify skill gaps — strengths include privacy-first design with on-device transcription suited to gdpr-conscious eu teams.
Buzz
Zell
It depends on your workflow. Buzz is strong for transcribing recorded meetings, interviews, podcasts, or lectures offline, while Zell is strong for analyzing real sales calls to score rep behaviors and identify skill gaps. Both transcribe and summarize meetings.
Buzz is a free tier with paid upgrades and Zell 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.
More head-to-head comparisons involving Buzz and Zell.
Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. CLOVA Note: South Korean AI meeting-minutes service by Naver that records meetings, transcribes speech, separates speakers, and generates summaries and action items. Below, they line up on price, capture method, and how each fits a real meeting stack.
Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. Calendly Notetaker: An AI meeting notetaker built into the Calendly scheduling platform that records meetings and generates summaries, transcripts, and action items. Which one wins depends on your platform mix, budget, and how hands-off you want notes to be.
Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. CallBro: Bot-free AI meeting assistant that transcribes calls from system audio and produces structured notes without joining the call. We compare them on cost, capture approach, and day-to-day fit so you can choose faster.
Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. Callabo: Korean AI meeting-notes service from Return Zero that records, transcribes, summarizes, and analyzes meetings for individuals and teams. Which one wins depends on your platform mix, budget, and how hands-off you want notes to be.
Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. Canopy Notetaker: AI meeting assistant built for accounting firms that records client calls and produces accounting-specific summaries and tasks. Below, they line up on price, capture method, and how each fits a real meeting stack.
Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. CaptureMyMeeting: AI meeting assistant that imports Zoom and Webex cloud recordings to generate notes, action items, and insights. Here's where each one pulls ahead on pricing, features, and the meetings it suits best.
Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. Carv: AI assistant for recruiters that records, transcribes, and takes notes during interviews and intake calls, then drafts documents and updates the ATS. Below, they line up on price, capture method, and how each fits a real meeting stack.
Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. Castmagic: AI content platform that transcribes podcasts, videos, and recorded meetings with speaker diarization and turns them into show notes, summaries, and other assets. The right pick comes down to team size, budget, and the workflows you want to automate.
Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. Celeste AI: Brazilian Portuguese-focused AI voice and transcription platform offering on-demand transcription plus a meeting assistant and AI notes, with credit-based and subscription plans. Below, they line up on price, capture method, and how each fits a real meeting stack.
Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. Choppity: AI video and audio platform that transcribes recordings, generates styled captions, and turns long-form content into short clips. Below, they line up on price, capture method, and how each fits a real meeting stack.
Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. Claap: Async video plus AI meeting recording and CRM updates This comparison weighs them on pricing, features, and everyday workflow fit.
Buzz: Popular open-source desktop app that transcribes and translates audio offline on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper. Cleft Notes: AI voice-note app that turns spoken thoughts and meeting audio into structured, organized notes. Which one wins depends on your platform mix, budget, and how hands-off you want notes to be.