How does Alter compare with BoltAI?
TLDR: Alter offers a comprehensive free plan with access to advanced models and features, while BoltAI requires users to provide their own API keys and has limited free functionality. Alter supports a wider range of ready-to-use AI models from multiple providers, allows direct interaction with files/folders, enables reusing AI outputs with other actions, and provides automatic keyboard shortcuts.
Alter offers unique features like acting on apps and screenshot captures, creating presentations and diagrams, and generating images. While both platforms support local models and extensibility, Alter provides more out-of-the-box functionality and flexibility in its free and paid plans.
| Alter | BoltAI | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan |
|
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| Most popular pricing plan | $240/year | $57/year, perpetual license, AI consumption is excluded from the price |
| Max consumption per month with a paid plan |
|
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| Support for local models (Ollama, LM Studio) | ✅ | ✅ |
| Keyboard shortcuts | ✅ Automatic, Mnemonic | 🚧 Setup manually |
| Ready-to-use AI models | ✅
Multi-providers: OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, Groq, Together
| ❌ Bring your own API keys |
| Support for OpenAI compatible endpoints | ✅ | ✅ |
| Chat + history | ✅ | ✅ |
| Act on apps | ✅ | ❌ |
| Act on screenshot capture | ✅ | ❌ |
| Act on text-selections | ✅ | ✅ |
| Act on files and folders | ✅ From Finder selections | 🚧 Picker, files only |
| Create presentations, diagrams, charts and export in HTML or PDF | ✅ Artifacts to create all kinds of HTML mini apps | ❌ |
| Generate images | ✅ Flux models | ❌ |
| Ready-to-use AI actions | ✅ | ✅ |
| Reuse AI output with other actions | ✅ | ❌ |
| Voice mode | ❌ | ✅ |
| Extensibility | ✅ | ✅ |
| Web search, Perplexity like | ✅ | ✅ Requires Perplexity API key |
| Native app | ✅ MacOS 13+, 45MB | ✅ MacOS 12+, 49MB |
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