Alter

What is Alter?

Alter is a native macOS assistant that reads whatever is in your active window and returns AI answers straight into that app. An email thread, a web page or a Keynote deck becomes the prompt context without any copying and pasting.

The workflow centres on a keyboard shortcut or a spoken command. You press the shortcut while working, ask for a reply, a summary or a rewrite, and Alter places the result back where your cursor sits. Behind that request you can choose from more than 50 cloud models or run open models locally, so the same interface works whether you pay for Alter’s cloud access, bring your own API keys or stay fully offline.

The official site does not name the people behind the product. One directory lists the developer as DEVX in India, which we could not confirm. Product Hunt lists several launches for the app, including one titled Alter 4 and another dedicated to meetings, and the website and pricing page were both active in early October 2026. Several unrelated AI products also use the name Alter, so check that you are on alterhq.com before downloading.

Key Features

Screen awareness drives everything in Alter: the assistant already knows the document or thread in front of you, so voice, actions and meeting tools all start with context.

• Screen context: Alter reads the content of the active app or browser tab when you call it. That means a request such as summarise this or draft a polite reply works on the open email or page without any manual copying.
• Voice commands: Spoken requests are transcribed and the response is typed into the field you are editing. This suits quick replies and dictation when you would rather talk than switch to a separate chat window.
• Meeting notes: Calls can be recorded, transcribed and split by speaker, followed by a summary and a list of action points. Local+ adds the Whisper Pro and Parakeet V3 voice models on the Mac, while Pro adds speaker identification.
• Model hub: More than 50 cloud models are available, including OpenAI, Anthropic Claude, Google Gemini, Llama, Qwen and DeepSeek. Requests can also go through OpenRouter or LiteLLM, so you can pick a model per task.
• Custom actions: Over 80 ready-made actions cover common jobs such as rewriting and summarising, and each one can be edited. Saved actions turn a prompt you type every day into a single shortcut.
• Tool connections: The Pro plan links Alter to Notion, Slack, Gmail and, by the company’s count, more than 2,000 other services. Webhooks and Apple Shortcuts extend this to custom workflows on the Mac.

Pros

Staying inside the app you already use is Alter’s strongest argument, since answers appear in place rather than in a browser tab you have to copy from.

• Works in place: Requests start and finish inside the current window. People who write many emails or documents save the repeated round trip to a chat site and keep their focus on the task.
• Model choice: You can swap between providers or run open models offline through Ollama or LM Studio. Developers and cost-conscious users can match the model to the job instead of paying for one fixed assistant.
• Usable free tier: Core features keep working on the free plan if you supply your own API keys or local models. A 7-day trial of the cloud models also lets newcomers test the full experience first.
• Privacy stance: Alter says chats are encrypted and stored on the Mac, that it does not train on your data and that analytics are optional. Combined with local models, this gives a fully offline option for sensitive text.
• Flexible licensing: Yearly and lifetime options sit side by side, plus a low-cost Local+ tier at $29 a year. Buyers who dislike subscriptions can pay $720 once instead of renewing every year.

Cons

Being Mac-only rules Alter out for many teams, because no Windows, Linux, Android or iPhone version is offered on the official site.

• Mac only: Alter runs on Apple Silicon and Intel Macs and nowhere else. Mixed-platform teams cannot standardise on it, so they may prefer a cross-platform assistant such as ChatGPT or Raycast.
• Broad permissions: Screen reading and voice input need screen recording and microphone access in macOS settings. Some company IT policies block these permissions, so check with your administrator before installing on a work machine.
• Learning curve: Shortcuts, actions, model settings and meeting options take time to learn. New users often stick to a couple of actions at first, which leaves much of the value unused for several weeks.
• Pro price: Unlimited cloud access costs $240 a year, with no monthly price shown, and the lifetime licence is $720 for one active device at a time. Light users may get better value from their own keys.
• Thin support: Help is offered mainly through Discord and email rather than live chat or detailed knowledge base articles. Paid plans add priority help, Local+ through a Discord VIP channel, but no formal service levels are published.

Who is Using Alter?

Mac-based knowledge workers who write, read and meet all day form Alter’s core audience, along with developers who want local models on their own hardware. The site claims more than 5,000 Mac users.

• Knowledge workers: Writers, analysts and consultants use it on emails, reports and web research. Shortcut summaries and drafted replies cut the time spent moving text between apps.
• Managers: Staff with back-to-back calls use the meeting tools. Speaker-labelled transcripts and action points replace manual note taking during busy days.
• Developers: Engineers use custom endpoints, OpenRouter and local runtimes such as Ollama. They test different models from one interface without building their own tooling.
• Privacy-minded users: Lawyers, researchers and freelancers handling confidential text pair Alter with local models. Their work then never leaves the Mac for a cloud provider.

Pricing

Alter is freemium: a free plan runs on your own keys or local models, and Pro costs $240 a year (official prices, October 2026).

Earlier listings quoted $20 a month for Pro, but the official page now shows only the yearly price. One review cites AppSumo deals from $79 and a $550 yearly price, and neither figure appears on the official page.

Disclaimer: plan names and limits at Alter have moved before, so read the live pricing page on the day you buy.

What Makes Alter Unique?

The whole Mac acts as Alter’s input field. You press a shortcut in Mail, Finder, Keynote or a browser, and the assistant already has the thread, file or slide in view, so prompts can be a few words long.

The mix of features is also unusual for a single Mac app. Most menu bar chat tools offer one cloud model, while Alter combines voice input, meeting capture, editable actions and a choice of more than 50 cloud or offline models under one shortcut.

Compatibilities and Integrations

Alter connects to the major model providers, two local runtimes and common Mac apps, all from a single macOS client.

• Platforms: macOS Ventura 13 or later on Apple Silicon and Intel; no Windows, Linux or mobile app.
• Cloud models: OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Mistral, Groq, Cerebras, Llama, Qwen and DeepSeek, plus OpenRouter, LiteLLM, Together and custom endpoints.
• Local AI: Ollama and LM Studio for running open models offline.
• Apps and automation: Apple Mail, Finder, Keynote, webhooks and Apple Shortcuts, with Notion, Slack, Gmail, Linear, GitHub, Jira and Figma among the services on Pro.

Alter Tutorials

A first useful setup takes about 20 minutes, most of it spent granting permissions and choosing a model.

1. Download the Mac app from alterhq.com and grant screen recording and microphone access when prompted.
2. Choose a cloud model for the trial, or add your own API key or a local Ollama model.
3. Open an email, press the Alter shortcut and ask for a short reply.
4. Browse the ready-made actions and save the three you expect to use most.
5. Record a short test call and check the speaker labels and action points.
6. Review privacy settings and switch off optional analytics if you prefer.

How We Rated It

Alter earns 4.1 out of 5 because model choice and custom actions are excellent, while Mac-only support and thin help resources pull the score down.

Summary

Alter suits Mac users who want AI help inside the apps they already use, especially people who write and meet all day. Its range is wide, with screen context, voice, meeting notes and over 50 models behind one shortcut. The main limitations are Mac-only support, broad system permissions and a Pro price that adds up over a year. Privacy-minded users can keep everything local by pairing it with Ollama or LM Studio. Start on the free plan with your own API key, and upgrade only once you know the meeting and cloud features earn their cost.