If you have an M-series Mac running macOS Sequoia 15.1 or later, Apple Intelligence Writing Tools are already on your machine. For free. They can proofread your text, rewrite it in a Professional, Friendly, or Concise tone, and summarize it. They work in any text field across the entire OS.
That’s a genuinely good tool, and for some people it’s all they need. This page is for the people wondering whether Kalamy is worth $5/month on top of what Apple already provides.
| Kalamy | Apple Intelligence | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $5/mo | Free (M-series Mac) |
| Works in every Mac app | Yes | Yes |
| Grammar / proofread | Yes | Yes |
| Tone rewrite | Yes (5 modes) | Yes (3 modes) |
| Translation between languages | 14 languages | No |
| Ask Kalamy chat about text | Yes | No |
| Trigger | Double-copy (1 gesture) | Right-click → submenu (3 clicks) |
| Works on Windows | Yes | No |
| Requires M-series Mac | No (macOS 10.13+) | Yes |
Apple Intelligence Writing Tools can proofread text (grammar, spelling, punctuation), rewrite in three tones (Professional, Friendly, Concise), and summarize. These tools appear via a right-click menu in any text field on macOS. They work in Safari, Mail, Notes, Pages, and third-party apps. If you’re a native English speaker who mostly needs grammar fixes on a Mac, Apple Intelligence handles that well — and it’s free.
Four things Kalamy does that Apple Intelligence does not: (1) Ask Kalamy — a multi-turn AI chat scoped to your copied text. Ask follow-up questions, get summaries, draft replies, all in markdown. Apple has nothing like this. (2) Translate between languages — Apple Intelligence Writing Tools do not translate text. Kalamy translates between 14 languages. (3) Work on Windows — Apple Intelligence is macOS-only, M-series only. (4) Trigger with a single gesture — Apple requires right-click then submenu navigation. Kalamy is one double-copy.
For non-native English speakers, translation is not a nice-to-have — it’s the daily workflow. Draft a Slack message in your native language. Double-copy. Kalamy translates it. Switch to Improve in the same popup and the translation reads like a native speaker wrote it. Apple Intelligence cannot do any part of this workflow.
Apple Intelligence: right-click on selected text, hover over “Writing Tools” in the context menu, then choose an action from the submenu. Three deliberate interactions. Kalamy: select text, press Cmd+C Cmd+C. One deliberate interaction. If you fix grammar a few times a week, the right-click menu is fine. If you do it twenty times a day, the friction difference matters.
Apple Intelligence does not exist on Windows. Kalamy works identically on both platforms. If you use a MacBook at home and a Windows machine at work — or if your team is split across both — Kalamy gives you the same shortcut and the same actions everywhere.
If all of these are true, Apple Intelligence is probably enough and you don’t need to pay for Kalamy: you only write in English, you only use a Mac with an M-series chip, you mainly need grammar and tone fixes, and you don’t mind the right-click menu. We’d rather be honest about that than overpromise. But if you work across languages, want Ask Kalamy chat, use Windows, or want a faster trigger — that’s where Kalamy earns the $5/month.
No. As of macOS 15.x, Apple Intelligence Writing Tools do not include translation. Kalamy translates between 14 languages.
No. Kalamy supports macOS 10.13 and later, including Intel Macs. Apple Intelligence requires an M-series chip, but Kalamy does not.
Yes. Many users use Apple Intelligence for quick proofreads via right-click and Kalamy for translation, Ask Kalamy chat, and faster double-copy access. They don’t conflict.
If you work across languages, want Ask Kalamy chat about your copied text, use Windows, or prefer the faster double-copy trigger, yes. If you only write in English on a Mac and only need grammar fixes, Apple Intelligence may be enough.
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