Summon is a Kerlig alternative for Mac when the job is a command on text you already selected. Kerlig stays the broader app: 350+ models, document chat, and local models. Use this page to decide which of those you actually need.
What is Kerlig?
Kerlig is a native Mac app that puts a large language model behind a global hotkey. You can fix grammar, rewrite, summarize, translate, or open a chat. It connects to 350+ models through your own API keys, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Groq, and OpenRouter, and it can run local models through Apple Foundation Models, Ollama, and LM Studio.
The rest of the product matches that scope. Kerlig chats with document attachments, keeps an encrypted chat history on your Mac, shows reasoning traces, supports MCP servers, and can run actions in the background. The license is a one-time purchase, not a subscription. As of October 27, 2026, kerlig.com lists a Basic license at $49. Cloud tokens are still billed by your AI provider.
It deserves the reputation. If you want one app that is close to a full LLM client, Kerlig is a fair place to start.
Why look for a Kerlig alternative?
The same breadth is why some people keep shopping:
- A workbench, when you wanted a command. Document chat, deep research, MCP, background actions, and hundreds of models are real features. They are also a lot of surface area if the daily job is “make this Slack message clearer.”
- Setup before the first rewrite. The 350-model catalog means API keys, providers, and sometimes a local model runtime. Power users like that. Everyone else is configuring a platform to fix a paragraph.
- A history you may not want. Kerlig stores chats on your Mac. Useful if you treat it as your assistant. Less relevant if each command is a one-off on text you already selected.
- A license, then a token bill. Pay-once is a good deal. Cloud models are still billed by the provider, so light use can feel like a lot of machinery for a shortcut.
None of that makes Kerlig a bad product. It makes it a specific kind of product.
Summon as a Kerlig alternative
Summon starts from the selection. Highlight text in Mail, Slack, Notes, a browser, or almost any other Mac app, press ⌘K, and pick a command. Built-in commands cover the everyday jobs: fix the writing, shorten it, summarize it, translate it, pull out action items. You can save your own prompts, and the command library has ready-made ones for replies, meetings, code, and social posts.
The result opens in a panel. You can follow up there (“shorter”, “warmer”, “make this a table”) and then insert it back where you were typing. Commands can return text or an image.
Models stay on four providers: OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, and xAI. You bring your own API key, stored in the macOS Keychain. The request goes from your Mac to that provider. Summon’s servers do not see the prompt or the result, and Summon does not store them. Pseudonymous usage analytics never include your text, and you can turn them off in Settings. There is no on-device model and no OpenRouter catalog. If those are requirements, Kerlig is the better fit.
Summon needs an Apple silicon Mac on macOS 15 Sequoia or later.
Kerlig vs. Summon
| Kerlig | Summon | |
|---|---|---|
| Best at | A broad AI workbench: chat, files, research, many models | Commands on text you have selected, then back into the app |
| How you use it | Global hotkey, actions, and a chat window | Select text, press ⌘K, pick a command, insert the result |
| Models | 350+ through your API keys, plus Apple Foundation Models, Ollama, and LM Studio | OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, and xAI, with your own key |
| Your own prompts | Custom actions and shortcuts | Custom commands, plus a library of ready-made ones |
| Documents and images | Chat with common document types and attachments | Text and image outputs from the command you run |
| Offline / local models | Yes | No |
| What gets stored | Chats stored encrypted on your Mac; requests go to the provider | Prompts and results are not stored by Summon. Optional usage analytics exclude your text |
| Macs | Intel and Apple silicon, including older macOS versions | Apple silicon, macOS 15 or later |
| Price | One-time license. Basic is $49 as of October 27, 2026, plus provider tokens | Weekly $1.99, yearly $29.99, or lifetime $79.99. Provider tokens are separate. 72-hour trial on weekly and yearly |
Kerlig wins on model count, local models, and document chat. Summon wins when you want a command you can repeat, a short trial, and a lifetime license that includes every future update on up to three Macs.
Is Kerlig a subscription?
No. Kerlig is a one-time purchase, and you pay the model provider for cloud usage. Summon offers both: a weekly or yearly plan, and a lifetime license at $79.99 with every future update on up to three personal Macs. Weekly is $1.99 for one Mac. Yearly is $29.99 for up to three. Weekly and yearly include a 72-hour trial, and you are not charged until it ends. Every plan has a 14-day refund.
In both apps, the license is not a bundle of AI usage. A command on a cloud model spends tokens on your provider account.
Does Kerlig work offline?
Yes, if you set up Apple Foundation Models, Ollama, or LM Studio. That is a genuine advantage for offline work and for people who do not want a cloud API key.
Summon does not run a local model. Every command uses the provider behind the key you added. The privacy boundary is narrower on purpose: the text leaves your Mac only when you run a command, it goes straight to that provider, and Summon does not keep a copy. Details are in the privacy policy.
Which one should you use?
Choose Kerlig if you want the workbench: hundreds of models, local models, PDFs and other attachments, MCP, and a chat history you can return to. The $49 Basic license is a reasonable price for that scope.
Choose Summon if the text is already on screen and you want a command for it. Press ⌘K, use a preset or a prompt you wrote once, follow up if the first draft is off, then insert it back. Try it for 72 hours before you decide whether a subscription or the lifetime license fits.
Prices and Kerlig’s feature set were checked against kerlig.com on October 27, 2026. Confirm the license you are buying, especially how many Macs it covers and how long updates are included. For the wider set of Mac writing apps, see the best AI writing apps for Mac.