// 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 · v1.2.5

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	LiveAudiov1.2.5 · this app	OBS caption pluginse.g. LocalVocal	Browser-source toolse.g. Caption.Ninja	Cloud ASR APIse.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

LiveAudiov1.2.5 · 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 pluginse.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 toolse.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 APIse.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 v1.2.5 (free)