Summon is an Elephas alternative for Mac only when the job is the text already on screen. Elephas, as sold in October 2026, is a private assistant for your documents. Those are different products that happen to share a menu bar.
What is Elephas?
Elephas calls itself private AI for your documents. You index files on the Mac, ask questions, and the answers cite the sources. The site says documents, the index, and chats stay on the computer, encrypted, and that personal details can be hidden before anything is sent to a cloud model. You can use Elephas’s own gateway, your own API key, or a model running on the computer.
It requires macOS 14 or later on Apple silicon. A 7-day trial covers one computer and does not ask for a card. The pricing page checked on October 27, 2026 lists Team at $29 per person per month, or $24 per person per month billed yearly. Personal and Professional prices were not printed as numbers on that page, so this post does not invent them. The site also says Elephas does not run agents, send email, or browse the web.
Why look for an Elephas alternative?
- You do not have a document pile. Indexing PDFs is the product. If the email is already selected, the index is extra machinery.
- The current app is not an inline rewriter. Older write-ups describe Elephas as a writing overlay. The site checked for this post describes document chat. Buy the product that is on the page today.
- Team pricing is a subscription. A personal license may suit you. Confirm the number on their pricing page, because it was not in the public copy used here.
Summon as an Elephas alternative
Summon does not index your files and does not cite a PDF. It runs a command on a selection: press ⌘K, pick a preset or a prompt from the command library, follow up, and insert the result.
The key for OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, or xAI stays in the macOS Keychain. The request goes to that provider. Summon does not store the prompt or the result, and it does not keep a local document index either. Optional analytics exclude your text. The privacy policy is the full version. There is no on-device model. If the files cannot leave the Mac, Elephas is the one that says they stay there.
Elephas vs. Summon
| Elephas | Summon | |
|---|---|---|
| How you use it | Ask questions about documents indexed on the Mac | Select text, press ⌘K, follow up, insert the result |
| Best at | Cited answers from your files | A repeatable command on text in any app |
| Models | Elephas gateway, your own key, or a model on the computer | OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, and xAI, with your own key |
| Offline | On-computer models are an option | No |
| Platform | macOS 14 or later, Apple silicon | Apple silicon, macOS 15 or later |
| Price | 7-day trial. Team $29 per person per month, or $24 billed yearly. Personal price not listed as a number on the page checked | Weekly $1.99, yearly $29.99, or lifetime $79.99. 72-hour trial on weekly and yearly |
Elephas wins when the answer has to come from your files and stay on the Mac. Summon wins when the text is already selected and the next step is a command.
Does Elephas work offline?
The site says you can run a model on the computer, and that documents and chats stay local. Cloud modes are still there if you choose them. Summon has no offline mode. Every command calls a provider.
Which one should you use?
Choose Elephas if you need a private document assistant and the trial shows that the index is worth it. Compare the license with Summon’s plans only after you know which job you are buying.
Choose Summon if you wanted a writing command and the document brain was never the point. A broader workbench is the Kerlig alternative. The shortlist is the best AI writing apps for Mac.
Facts were checked against elephas.app on October 27, 2026. Confirm the personal price on their pricing page before you buy.