Buzz
by Chidi Williams
Cross-platform desktop app for Whisper — open-source MacWhisper alternative.
Category
Open source
License
MIT
Stars
★ 18.8k
Last push
2026-04-19
Pricing
free
Platforms
macOS, Linux, Windows
What it is
Buzz is the open-source cross-platform desktop app for Whisper. File drop, live microphone, multiple model sizes, batch processing — all running locally. Free, MIT-licensed, and the closest OSS equivalent to MacWhisper across all three desktop OSes.
Best for: Non-technical users who want Whisper on their desktop without touching a terminal.
Watch out for: No native diarization; UI is functional rather than polished.
Watch out for: No native diarization; UI is functional rather than polished.
Install / use
brew install --cask buzz # or Windows/Linux installers from releases
Features
| Speaker diarization | No |
| Word-level timestamps | Yes |
| Streaming / real-time | Yes |
| Languages supported | 99 |
| HIPAA eligible | No |
Links
Alternatives
Whipscribe is a managed faster-whisper + whisperX service. If you want transcripts without running infrastructure, we're one click away.
Try Whipscribe →