// vs

Local, free, and yours — versus everything else.

LiveAudio generates real-time Whisper captions 100% on your own machine and broadcasts them to OBS over a local WebSocket. The table below compares it on the facts: cost, platforms, OBS integration, license, privacy and hardware. No spin — every cell is a capability statement.

// capability comparison · v1.2.0

Capability comparison across LiveAudio, OBS caption plugins, browser-source caption tools and cloud ASR APIs. Rows: local processing, cost, platforms, OBS integration, open-source license, privacy, and GPU requirement.
capability	LiveAudio v1.2.0 · this app	OBS caption plugins e.g. LocalVocal	Browser-source tools e.g. Caption.Ninja	Cloud ASR APIs e.g. OpenAI Whisper API
100% local processing	Yes: on-device Whisper	Yes: on-device	Conditional: varies by tool	No: audio sent to cloud
Per-minute cost	Yes: $0 · electricity only	Yes: $0	Conditional: free / paid tiers	No: ~$0.006/min metered
Platforms	Yes: Windows + Linux	Conditional: depends on host	Yes: any browser	Yes: any with internet
System-audio loopback	Conditional: Windows-only (WASAPI)	Conditional: host-dependent	Conditional: browser-dependent	Conditional: source-dependent
OBS integration	Yes: WebSocket Browser Source	Yes: native OBS plugin	Yes: Browser Source URL	Conditional: via add-ons
Open-source (MIT)	Yes: MIT	Conditional: license varies	Conditional: license varies	No: proprietary service
No telemetry	Yes: no telemetry	Conditional: varies by plugin	Conditional: varies by tool	No: server-side logs
Works without a GPU	Yes: CPU works · CUDA optional	Conditional: model-dependent	Yes: remote compute	Yes: remote compute
Works offline	Yes: offline after first run	Yes: on-device	No: needs the web page	No: needs internet

LiveAudio v1.2.0 · this app

100% local processing: ● on-device Whisper
Per-minute cost: ● $0 · electricity only
Platforms: ● Windows + Linux
System-audio loopback: ◐ Windows-only (WASAPI)
OBS integration: ● WebSocket Browser Source
Open-source (MIT): ● MIT
No telemetry: ● no telemetry
Works without a GPU: ● CPU works · CUDA optional
Works offline: ● offline after first run

OBS caption plugins e.g. LocalVocal

100% local processing: ● on-device
Per-minute cost: ● $0
Platforms: ◐ depends on host
System-audio loopback: ◐ host-dependent
OBS integration: ● native OBS plugin
Open-source (MIT): ◐ license varies
No telemetry: ◐ varies by plugin
Works without a GPU: ◐ model-dependent
Works offline: ● on-device

Browser-source tools e.g. Caption.Ninja

100% local processing: ◐ varies by tool
Per-minute cost: ◐ free / paid tiers
Platforms: ● any browser
System-audio loopback: ◐ browser-dependent
OBS integration: ● Browser Source URL
Open-source (MIT): ◐ license varies
No telemetry: ◐ varies by tool
Works without a GPU: ● remote compute
Works offline: ○ needs the web page

Cloud ASR APIs e.g. OpenAI Whisper API

100% local processing: ○ audio sent to cloud
Per-minute cost: ○ ~$0.006/min metered
Platforms: ● any with internet
System-audio loopback: ◐ source-dependent
OBS integration: ◐ via add-ons
Open-source (MIT): ○ proprietary service
No telemetry: ○ server-side logs
Works without a GPU: ● remote compute
Works offline: ○ needs internet

● yes
○ no
◐ conditional

// download

Local captions, on your terms.

Free & open-source (MIT). No subscription, no API key. You only pay your own electricity — hardware not included.

Download LiveAudio v1.2.0 (free)