Buzz

A free, open-source desktop app for offline transcription and translation with Whisper.

Open sourceAI meeting assistants and transcription tools

Verified facts: 4 of 4
Alternatives ranked: 4
Approved reviews: 0
Visits sent from here: 0

About Buzz

Buzz transcribes and translates audio on your own computer using OpenAI's Whisper and compatible models, so recordings never need to be uploaded. You can import audio and video files and export transcripts as TXT, CSV, SRT or VTT, or transcribe live from your microphone. It supports transcription in more than 90 languages and translation into English, and lets you pick between Whisper, Whisper.cpp, Faster Whisper, Hugging Face models or the OpenAI API depending on speed and accuracy. The classic version is free and open source on GitHub and runs on Windows, Linux and macOS, while a paid Mac App Store edition adds a native interface with search, playback and inline transcript editing. Transcription speed depends on your hardware and model size, and the interface is functional rather than polished. For researchers, journalists and anyone wary of cloud services, it's a dependable free option.

Best for: Privacy-conscious users who want free offline transcription of files on any desktop.

What works

Free, open source and fully offline
Choice of Whisper engines and models
Exports subtitles and text formats

Why people leave

Slow on modest hardware with large models
Basic interface in the free version
No meeting bot or summaries

Top Buzz alternatives

See all 4

1
MacWhisper
Polished Mac app with meeting recording and dictation.
66.5
2
Handy
Free offline dictation into any app instead of file transcription.
62.6
3
Sonix
Cloud transcription with a better editor and translation, paid per hour.
59.6
4
Meetily
Open-source local transcription with meeting summaries.
57.2

Why people left Buzz

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Buzz: common questions

Is Buzz free?

Yes. Buzz is free, open-source software.

Is Buzz open source?

Yes. The source code is on GitHub at chidiwilliams/buzz.

What platforms does Buzz run on?

Buzz is available for Windows, macOS and Linux.

What are the best alternatives to Buzz?

The highest-ranked Buzz alternatives right now are MacWhisper, Handy and Sonix. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.

See all 4 Buzz alternatives

Buzz facts

4 of 4 verified

Offline: Yes; Checked Oct 25, 2026buzzcaptions.com(opens source in a new tab); “Offline audio transcription and translation Powered by OpenAI's Whisper”
Languages: 90+; Checked Oct 25, 2026buzzcaptions.com(opens source in a new tab); “in more than 90 languages * Audio transcription using Whisper is resource-intensive.”
Platforms: Windows, Linux, macOS; Checked Oct 25, 2026buzzcaptions.com(opens source in a new tab); “Buzz Classic Available on Windows, Linux, and macOS”
Export formats: CSV, SRT, TXT, VTT; Checked Oct 25, 2026buzzcaptions.com(opens source in a new tab); “export transcripts to CSV, SRT, TXT, and VTT”