The best AI tools for Mac in 2026
Ten Mac tools, A to Z, judged on one thing a Mac user actually cares about: whether it reaches the applications you already live in.
macOS is unusually good ground for this category, because the accessibility APIs make a genuinely system-wide assistant possible — a tool can read what you have selected in any application and type a result back into it. That is why the best Mac AI tools feel different from their web equivalents.
It is also why permissions are the recurring theme. Almost everything worth having here will ask for Accessibility, and some will ask for Screen Recording as well. Listed alphabetically, with what each one wants and what it gives you for it.
The list below is in alphabetical order, not ranked. aiCat is one of the tools in it, so any ranking we published would be worth what you would expect — instead, every entry says plainly which situation it is the right answer for, and which it is not.
What was actually compared
- Whether it acts on the selection in any application, or only in some
- Which macOS permissions it needs and what it does with them
- Apple Silicon support and whether anything runs on-device
- Whether the same tool exists if you also use a Windows or Linux machine
- Price, including whether there is a one-off licence option
All 10, A to Z
| Tool | Price from | What it is | Languages | Strongest at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| aiCat | Free · Premium from $6/mo | Every app, OS-wide | Any language the model speaks | One key that proof-reads, translates, explains, detects, dictates and reads aloud |
| Apple Intelligence | Free (supported hardware) | OS-level assistant | Growing, English-first | Built into the OS, with rewriting available in most text fields; On-device processing for most requests, which is a real privacy story |
| ChatGPT | Free · Plus from $20/mo | Chat assistant | Multilingual | General reasoning that is still at or near the top of the field; Long, open-ended sessions where the task changes as you go |
| Claude | Free · Pro from ~$17/mo | Chat assistant | Multilingual | Long-form writing that keeps a consistent voice; Following detailed instructions about tone and structure |
| DeepL | Free · Pro from ~$9/mo | Translator | 35+, European pairs strongest | Translation quality between European languages that is still the reference point for everyone else; Whole-document translation with the layout kept |
| Grammarly | Free · Pro from ~$12/mo | Writing assistant | English-first | Deep grammar, spelling and clarity checking in English; A browser extension plus Office, Google Docs and desktop surfaces |
| MacWhisper | Free · Pro one-off from ~$59 | Transcription app | Multilingual (Whisper models) | Whisper running locally on your Mac, so audio never leaves it; One-off price instead of a subscription |
| Raycast AI | Free launcher · AI from ~$8/mo | Launcher assistant | Multilingual | Being the best macOS launcher there is, with or without the AI; AI commands you can write yourself and bind to a key |
| Superwhisper | Free · Pro from ~$8.49/mo | Dictation app | Multilingual (Whisper models) | Local, offline dictation that types into any macOS application; Modes that post-process what you said for a chosen context |
| Wispr Flow | Free (word-capped) · Pro from ~$12/mo | Dictation app | Many, English-first | Dictation typed straight into whatever application you are in; Tidying the filler words and false starts out of what you said |
The list, A to Z
aiCat
For a Mac that is not the only machine you use
Why: Same hotkeys and the same behaviour on macOS, Windows and Linux, acting on the selection in any application. Dictation and text share the keys. Free to start, Premium from $6/month.
Watch out: Asks for Accessibility on first run — which is what makes it work system-wide — and it is a download rather than a tab.
Download for free →Apple Intelligence
The baseline everything else has to beat
Why: Free on supported hardware, built into the OS, on-device for most requests. For a quick tidy in Mail it is often enough.
Watch out: Recent hardware only, English-first, and very little control over what it does.
How aiCat works on a selection →ChatGPT
The Mac app that is a chat window, and a good one
Why: The desktop app is well made, and the reasoning behind it is still at the top of the field for anything open-ended.
Watch out: It is a place you go to, not a layer over what you are doing. $20/month.
aiCat vs ChatGPT →Claude
For long Mac writing sessions with a voice to keep
Why: The best of the desktop chat assistants at holding a consistent voice across a long document.
Watch out: Same window-shaped limitation, and the free tier runs out on a real session.
How aiCat works on a selection →DeepL
The one Mac app on this list built around one job
Why: Its macOS app has its own selection shortcut and the translation quality between European languages is still the reference.
Watch out: Around 35 languages, and a separate subscription from about $9/month on top of everything else.
aiCat vs DeepL →Grammarly
For English writing on a Mac, at depth
Why: Desktop app plus extensions and add-ins, with the deepest English style engine here and suggestions that appear as you type.
Watch out: English-first, and its coverage on a Mac stops where its integrations stop. From about $12/month.
aiCat vs Grammarly →MacWhisper
For transcription that must not leave the laptop
Why: Whisper models running locally, batch transcription of recordings, speaker detection, subtitle export — and a one-off Pro licence from about $59 instead of a subscription.
Watch out: macOS only, built more for files than for live dictation at a caret, and local models want memory.
How aiCat works on a selection →Raycast AI
For anybody who already lives in a launcher
Why: The best macOS launcher there is, and the AI is one keystroke inside a habit you already have. Hundreds of extensions, window management, clipboard history.
Watch out: macOS-first with no Linux build, and every AI action starts with choosing a command. AI from about $8/month.
aiCat vs Raycast AI →Superwhisper
For offline dictation with a lifetime licence
Why: Local models typing into any macOS application, with modes that post-process what you said for a chosen context, and no subscription if you buy the lifetime option.
Watch out: macOS and iOS only, costs memory and battery, and nothing acts on the text once it is down.
How aiCat works on a selection →Wispr Flow
For English dictation that reads like writing
Why: The cleanest English output of anything here: filler words and false starts removed as a matter of course, on macOS, Windows and an iPhone keyboard.
Watch out: English-first, no Linux, a waveform rather than words while you talk, and a free tier capped by words per week.
aiCat vs Wispr Flow →Hands-on notes
First-person impressions from using these, not a benchmark. They are here because everything above this point is a table, and a table cannot tell you which tool you will still be opening in three months.
First run took four minutes and the permission screen explained itself in one line rather than three paragraphs, which on macOS is rarer than it should be. What I keep noticing is that speaking and writing are the same gesture here — one key dictates into whatever is in front of me, the neighbouring one fixes what I just said — and that it holds on to what I have told it about my work and uses it where it belongs without being prompted. The trade is that this is a downloaded application with an installer, not a browser tab. For anybody who would rather have the assistant on the machine, that is the point rather than the cost.
Stayed on the Mac and will. The launcher, the clipboard history and the window snapping earn their place with the AI switched off entirely. Its AI commands are good; choosing between three of them forty times a day is the bit that wore thin.
Local dictation with nothing leaving the laptop, and a lifetime licence. For anyone whose objection to dictation is where the audio goes, this is the answer, at the cost of some memory and some battery.
It is free and it is already there, and for a quick tidy of an email in Mail that is often all that is needed. Outside English, and outside the handful of things it does, it runs out fast.
One of them is a hotkey. Try it on the text you have open
Free to start with 10 aiCatCoins, no card. Premium starts from $6/month. macOS, Windows and Linux.
aiCat pricing at a glance
| Plan | Price | aiCatCoins / month | Max selection | What it unlocks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 10 | 500 chars | Everything aiCat does, plus free dictation and your own memory |
| Premium | from $6/mo (list $10) | 3 000 | 5 000 chars | Think More, read-aloud, encrypted memory, premium models |
| Team + Offline | from $18/member | 12 000 | 50 000 chars | Edit your memory, MCP access, local models, team sync |
| Enterprise | from $90/member | 150 000 | Unlimited | SSO, audit, best coin rate |
Shortlist of one? Start with the one that costs nothing to try
aiCat's free tier includes every task, 10 aiCatCoins a month, and coins bought outright never expire. macOS, Windows and Linux.
Frequently asked
Why do these apps need the Accessibility permission?
Reading what you have selected in another application, and typing a result back into it, is what that permission governs on macOS. A tool that works system-wide without it is not reading your selection at all.
What runs entirely on-device?
Apple Intelligence for most of its requests, and MacWhisper or Superwhisper when configured with a local model. aiCat can run local models on the Team + Offline plan.
Is anything here a one-off purchase rather than a subscription?
MacWhisper sells a Pro licence outright and Superwhisper offers a lifetime option. aiCat's coins can be bought outright and never expire, which is the nearest thing to it in a usage-based product.
Which operating systems does aiCat support?
macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel), Windows 10/11, and Linux as AppImage, .deb or .rpm.
Is my text sent anywhere?
Only the text you explicitly act on is sent to the model you selected, for that one request. Your history is stored locally on your device. Team + Offline can run a local model so nothing leaves the machine at all.