Sunset Mesa Software
Kerlig vs Rewire Text
Kerlig and Rewire Text share a philosophy: pay once, bring your own API key, and work on selected text in any app through a global hotkey. If you are comparing the two, you have already rejected the subscription model, so the question is what each tool does beyond the shared core.
Kerlig is a Mac AI assistant that has grown toward chat: you can converse with documents, webpages, and images, across a large model catalog. Rewire Text stays a text-transform utility, runs on Windows as well as macOS, and pairs its AI transforms with 43 deterministic transforms that use no model at all.
At a glance
| Rewire Text | Kerlig | |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | macOS and Windows | macOS only (12+) |
| Price | $29 one-time | One-time: $49 Basic (1 Mac), $79 Pro (2 Macs), $297 Team (10 Macs) |
| License and trial | One license, any 2 devices, managed by you. 7-day fully functional trial, then a core set of transforms stays free. 14-day refund. | 7-day trial, no card. 14-day money-back guarantee. |
| How you trigger it | Global hotkey and command palette in any app, plus a full window for longer text | Global hotkey (Option+Space) acting on the selected text |
| Non-AI transforms | 43 transforms (case, encoding, formatting and cleanup, Markdown, developer tools). Instant, on-device, no key, no network. | None |
| AI transforms | 18 fixed transforms (tone, proofread, summarize, and more), one-click translation into 29+ languages, free-form custom instructions, and custom transforms you save and reuse | Fixed writing actions (fix grammar, improve, summarize, shorten, tone) plus custom actions and chat with documents, webpages, and images |
| Bring your own key | Google Gemini, Anthropic Claude, OpenAI, xAI Grok, and OpenRouter built in, plus any OpenAI-compatible endpoint. Through OpenRouter and compatible endpoints, that reaches hundreds of models from effectively every major provider. | Bring your own keys; advertises 350+ models across OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, Groq, OpenRouter, Perplexity, Bedrock, and Mistral |
| Local models | Ollama, LM Studio, llama.cpp | Ollama, LM Studio, Apple Foundation Models |
Kerlig facts verified July 13, 2026 against kerlig.com. Out of date? Tell us.
Where Kerlig is the better pick
- Chat with documents, webpages, and images. Kerlig can take a PDF or a page and hold a conversation about it. Rewire Text has nothing comparable; it transforms the text you select and stops there.
- A larger curated model surface. Kerlig advertises 350+ models with built-in presets across many providers. Rewire Text reaches a similar catalog through OpenRouter and OpenAI-compatible endpoints, but Kerlig gives more of them first-class treatment in its UI.
- Apple Foundation Models. On Apple Silicon, Kerlig can use Apple's on-device models with no extra software installed.
Where Rewire Text is the better pick
- Windows. Kerlig is macOS-only. Rewire Text treats macOS and Windows as first-class, and one license covers a machine of each.
- The deterministic half. Case conversion, encoding and decoding, whitespace cleanup, Markdown utilities, JSON tools: 43 transforms that run instantly on-device, work offline, and cost nothing per use. In Kerlig, everything is a model call.
- Price. $29 for any two devices, versus $49 for one Mac or $79 for two Macs. If the AI-on-a-hotkey core is what you want, Rewire Text delivers it for less and throws in the deterministic catalog.
- Useful before any setup. The deterministic transforms work the moment Rewire Text is installed, before any key or model is configured.
Which should you choose?
- You are Mac-only and chatting with documents is part of the job: Kerlig. Its chat features are the real differentiator and Rewire Text does not compete there.
- Windows appears anywhere in your setup: Rewire Text. Kerlig does not run there.
- Your text work mixes mechanical fixes with AI rewrites: Rewire Text. The deterministic transforms handle the mechanical half without tokens or latency.
- You mainly want AI actions on selected text and both platforms are Macs: either tool does the core job well. Both let you save your own custom actions. Rewire Text costs $50 less for two machines; Kerlig offers the bigger curated model list. Both have free trials, so try the one that reads better to you first.
Questions
Is Kerlig available for Windows?
No. Kerlig is a macOS app (macOS 12 and later). Rewire Text runs on macOS and Windows, and one $29 license covers any two devices across both.
Do both work with local models?
Yes. Kerlig supports Ollama, LM Studio, and Apple Foundation Models. Rewire Text supports Ollama, LM Studio, and llama.cpp, plus any local server that exposes an OpenAI-compatible API.
Can Kerlig do non-AI transforms like case conversion or encoding?
No. Every Kerlig action runs through a model. Rewire Text ships 43 deterministic transforms (case, encoding, formatting, Markdown, developer tools) that run instantly on-device with no key and no tokens.
What is the actual price difference?
Kerlig is $49 for one Mac or $79 for two Macs, one-time. Rewire Text is $29 one-time for any two devices, and those two can be a Mac and a Windows PC.
Can Rewire Text chat with documents like Kerlig?
No. Rewire Text transforms selected text; it does not index files or hold conversations about them. Its Custom Instruction can answer a quick question about the text you selected, but if chatting with PDFs and webpages is a main use, Kerlig is the better fit.
Try it on your own text
Download Rewire Text and use everything free for 7 days. Buy it once for $29 and it runs on any two of your devices, macOS or Windows.