handy vs buzz
Two of the top projects in Voice, side by side: who leads on each score part and who each one suits, then setup, license, activity and what each review found.
handy
Offline push-to-talk dictation app that pastes transcripts into any text field
buzz
Offline desktop app for transcribing and translating audio with Whisper
Verdict
handy ranks higher, 91 to 84. Of the 4 score parts we measure for both, handy leads on 2, buzz on none and 2 are even.
- Adoptionhandy leads by 10 points, 88 to 78.
- FreshnessEven at 100.
- Maintenancehandy leads by 14 points, 92 to 78.
- Agent-readyEven at 70.
Pick handy if you are
Desktop users who want private, local dictation into any app
- Runs fully offline on Windows, macOS and Linux with Whisper or Parakeet models
- Hold-to-talk or toggle shortcuts, plus CLI flags and signals for remote control
Pick buzz if you are
People transcribing or subtitling audio and video locally on their own computer
- Runs offline; transcription and translation stay on the local machine
- Several Whisper backends: Whisper.cpp with Vulkan, CUDA, Apple Silicon, Hugging Face models
| What we compare | handy | buzz |
|---|---|---|
| Score parts, out of 100 | ||
| Adoption | 88, widely used | 78, popular |
| Freshness | 100, active | 100, active |
| Maintenance | 92, healthy | 78, fair |
| Agent-ready | 70, partly | 70, partly |
| Facts from GitHub and the README | ||
| Stars | 38.5k | 22.7k |
| License | MIT (permissive) | MIT (permissive) |
| Last commit | Nov 2026 | Nov 2026 |
| Last release | Nov 2026 | Aug 2026 |
| Language | Rust | Python |
| Docker | No | No |
| GPU | Optional | Optional |
| arm64 or Apple Silicon | Mentioned | Mentioned |
handy
Handy is a cross-platform desktop app (Rust, Tauri) for local speech-to-text. Hold or toggle a global shortcut, speak, and the transcript is pasted into the focused app. Silero VAD filters silence, and transcription runs locally on Whisper models (Small, Medium, Turbo, Large) or Parakeet, with no audio sent to the cloud.
Who it is for: Desktop users who want private, local dictation into any app
Strengths
- Runs fully offline on Windows, macOS and Linux with Whisper or Parakeet models
- Hold-to-talk or toggle shortcuts, plus CLI flags and signals for remote control
- Accepts custom Whisper GGML models and manually downloaded GGUF files
- Release artifacts are signed, with documented minisign verification steps
Weaknesses
- Linux Wayland support is limited and needs wtype, dotool or ydotool for text input
- Clipboard paste can insert stale clipboard content; Reliable Paste is still experimental
- fn/Globe key shortcuts work only on Apple keyboards on macOS
- Model downloads are large, from 487 MB to 1.6 GB for Whisper variants
- GPU optional
- Needs xdotool (X11), wtype or dotool (Wayland), libgtk-layer-shell (Linux)
- Models: Whisper GGML (.bin), Parakeet (GGUF), Silero VAD
buzz
Buzz is a desktop app that transcribes and translates audio and video files, YouTube links, or live microphone input with OpenAI's Whisper, on the local machine. It supports several Whisper backends (Whisper.cpp with Vulkan, CUDA, Apple Silicon, Hugging Face models) and exports to TXT, SRT and VTT. It also has a CLI, a watch folder and a plugin system.
Who it is for: People transcribing or subtitling audio and video locally on their own computer
Strengths
- Runs offline; transcription and translation stay on the local machine
- Several Whisper backends: Whisper.cpp with Vulkan, CUDA, Apple Silicon, Hugging Face models
- Speaker identification and speech separation for noisy audio
- CLI and watch folder allow scripted or automatic transcription
Weaknesses
- Current releases require Apple silicon; last Intel Mac version is 1.4.5
- Windows installer is unsigned and triggers a security warning
- PyPI install needs ffmpeg, Python 3.12 and manual torch CUDA setup for GPU
- Export formats listed are only TXT, SRT and VTT
- GPU optional
- Needs ffmpeg (PyPI install), Python 3.12 (PyPI install)
- Models: Whisper, Whisper.cpp, Hugging Face Whisper-type models
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