The best Apple Writing Tools alternative for Mac

Apple Writing Tools vs Lyra: quick comparison

What Apple Writing Tools got right

Being fair: Apple's Writing Tools are genuinely well-designed for what they cover. The Concise action is fast. The tone options — Professional, Friendly, Concise — are the right ones. The UI is native and clean.

The problem isn't the tools. It's that Apple restricts them to Apple's own apps. Third-party developers can technically integrate, but adoption has been slow, and browsers, cross-platform apps, and Electron apps (Slack, Notion, VS Code, Discord) are effectively excluded.

If you spend most of your writing day in Apple Mail and Messages, Writing Tools might be enough. If you're like most Mac users and half your day is in Slack and browsers, they aren't.

Why you might switch to Lyra

It works everywhere you type

Lyra uses macOS Accessibility APIs to observe text fields across every app on your Mac. That includes:

• Mail, Messages, Notes — the same apps Apple Writing Tools covers
• Slack, WhatsApp, Teams, Discord
• Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo Mail in any browser
• Notion, Craft, Obsidian, Bear
• Chrome, Safari, Arc, Firefox
• Reply Assist specifically for Gmail and Outlook

You type, pause for a second, and a small pill appears with the rewrite. Tab to accept. Same experience in every app — no right-click, no menu hunting.

It learns your voice per recipient

Apple's Writing Tools can't do this, because they don't have context on who you're writing to. Lyra keeps a small on-device database of the rewrites you accept, keyed by recipient — based on the app and thread you were in.

After a couple of weeks, messages to your co-founder start reading noticeably differently from messages to your boss, because Lyra has learned that you write to them differently. You don't configure any of this. You don't pick a tone. It happens as you write normally.

This is the real category difference. Almost every other rewrite tool gives the same output regardless of who's on the other end.

Private by default — and you hold the switch

Apple pioneered this architecture: run locally first, and reach for the cloud only when a request genuinely needs it. Lyra follows the same private-by-default design. Your everyday typing is processed on-device using llama.cpp on Metal and the Neural Engine, and it keeps working with the Wi-Fi off. Cloud features are optional and Pro-gated — they fire only on the hard cases, never on your routine writing.

Three things Apple doesn't offer:

• Per-recipient voice learning. Lyra learns how you write to each person. Writing Tools gives everyone the same output.
• A Strict Local-Only switch. One toggle disables all network use, making the guarantee absolute. Private Cloud Compute is not something you can turn off.
• Every app, richer rewrites. Writing Tools stops at Apple's own apps; Lyra works anywhere there's a text field, and rewrites the whole line rather than flagging fragments.

How Lyra uses the cloud sets out exactly which features run where.

It ships faster than Apple

Apple ships features on its own schedule. Bugs get fixed in the next macOS update, which might be months away. If Apple Writing Tools quietly got worse for you in a recent macOS update — a common complaint — you wait and hope the next one fixes it.

Lyra is built by one person. Bug fixes ship within days. Users email me directly, and their feedback often lands in the next release.

What Apple Writing Tools does better than Lyra

• Free forever, no paid tier. There's nothing to upgrade to and nothing to run out of.
• Deeper macOS integration. Right-click menus and system-wide shortcuts, built into the OS.
• Already on your Mac. No download, no model to fetch on first launch.
• Zero setup. Grant permission once and forget about it.

If you write exclusively in Apple's own apps, Writing Tools is fine and you don't need an alternative.

What Lyra does better than Apple Writing Tools

• Works in every third-party app — Slack, WhatsApp, Teams, Notion, and anything in a browser.
• Learns your voice per recipient over time, without configuration.
• Ships faster, with a direct line to the developer.
• Reply Assist in Gmail and Outlook — say what you want in one line and Lyra drafts the full reply.
• Private by default, with a Strict Local-Only switch — cloud features are optional and Pro-gated, and one toggle disables all network use. Private Cloud Compute can't be turned off.
• Minimal telemetry — anonymous event counts only, and you can turn those off.

Common Apple Writing Tools use cases, and how Lyra handles them

"I loved Concise for shortening my emails"

Lyra's default rewrite is already on the concise side — it strips filler and tightens phrasing rather than padding it out. If you want an explicit tone choice, double-tap ⌘ over any selected text to get Professional and Friendly variants side by side, both generated on-device. A dedicated Concise variant is on the roadmap.

"I use Rewrite constantly to polish my Slack messages"

This is the Lyra sweet spot, and the one Apple can't cover. Lyra fires automatically in Slack as you type, so there's no selecting text and invoking a menu. Pause, and the pill appears with a cleaner version.

"Proofread is great for catching typos in long emails"

Lyra fixes typos as part of every ambient rewrite. For long emails specifically, Reply Assist — currently in Gmail and Outlook — drafts the whole message from a one-line prompt instead of you writing it first.

"I like that Apple's tools work on my Mac Studio"

Lyra works on all M1 and later Macs, Studios included. It also picks a model to match your machine: Macs with 20GB of RAM or more get Gemma 3 (~3GB) for higher-quality rewrites, while smaller Macs get Qwen3-1.7B (~1GB), which is faster and lighter on memory.

FAQ

Do I need to give up Apple Writing Tools to use Lyra?

No. They don't conflict. Keep using Apple's tools in Mail and Notes, and let Lyra handle everywhere else.

Does Lyra use Apple Intelligence?

No. Lyra runs its own local model via llama.cpp on Metal and the Neural Engine. It's independent of Apple Intelligence and works on Macs where Apple Intelligence is unavailable or switched off.

Is Lyra approved by Apple?

Lyra is a notarized Mac app, but it isn't on the App Store. It's distributed directly from heylyra.co.uk.

Does it work on Intel Macs?

No. Apple Silicon only — M1 or later, running macOS 14 or newer. That's the same hardware bar as Apple Intelligence.

Can I use Lyra when Wi-Fi is off?

Your everyday writing, yes — once the model is downloaded on first launch it runs locally and needs no connection. The optional cloud extras pause while you're offline, and are disabled entirely in Strict Local-Only mode.

What about privacy — where does my data go?

Your everyday typing is processed on-device. Cloud features are optional and Pro-gated — Strict Local-Only mode disables all network use. The optional analytics only send anonymous event counts, like "rewrite accepted" — never any text — and you can turn them off entirely. Here's exactly what goes where.

How much does it cost?

Free includes 500 rewrites a month, with no time limit. Pro is $6.99/month, or $39.99/year, for unlimited rewrites, a faster on-device model, and per-recipient voice learning.