Who wrote this
This page is written by the developer of WeType, one of the apps below. That is a reason to read it carefully, so here is how it is kept fair: every fact about another app links to that app’s own website and was checked on 26 September 2026; where a vendor does not state something, the table says so instead of guessing; and WeType’s own weaknesses are listed alongside its strengths. Prices change, so follow the links before you buy.
What actually differs
On the surface these apps are strikingly similar. All of them put an AI prediction of the rest of your sentence at the cursor in grey, accept it with Tab, work across Mac apps through the accessibility layer, and say the model runs on your Mac. So the differences that decide a purchase are elsewhere:
- How you pay: once, monthly, yearly, or not at all.
- What is free: a permanent free tier, a time-limited trial, or only a refund window.
- Which Macs: most need Apple Silicon; one also supports Intel; one needs the newest macOS.
- Model choice: a single built-in model, or a choice of models you can match to your Mac and your work.
- How it feels: suggestion speed, placement and fit. This is the most important difference and no table captures it, which is why trials exist.
The comparison table
| App | Price | Free option | Hardware | macOS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WeType | $20 once, or $6/month | 5-day trial, 100 words/day; 30-day refund | Apple Silicon | 14 or later |
| Cotypist | Plus $72/year, Pro $108/year (billed annually) | Free tier, 100 completed words/day; 30-day Pro trial | Apple Silicon | 14 or later |
| Typeahead | $79 once (launch price) | 30-day money-back guarantee | Apple Silicon or Intel, 8 GB RAM | 14 or later |
| TypeSeer | £2.99/month, £23.99/year or £59.99 once | 14-day trial | Apple Silicon | 14 or later |
| MacAutocomplete | $125 once (discounted at launch) | 14-day money-back guarantee | Apple Silicon | 14.2 or later |
| Cotabby | Free, open source (AGPL-3.0) | Free | Not stated | 26 or later |
| macOS inline predictions | Free, built in | Free | Built into macOS | 14 or later |
All of the third-party apps state that their models run on the Mac. Prices are as listed on each vendor's site and may exclude tax; launch prices and discounts change often.
Each app, briefly
WeType
Good at: the lowest one-time price in this list, and the widest choice of models: 9 of them, from a 379 MB model for an 8 GB Mac to a 4.5 GB code model, including code-tuned ones. Larger models read the conversation around the field. Tab takes one word at a time, and behaviour can be set per app. The app itself is 7.9 MB.
Weaker at: the trial is short, 5 days with a daily word cap, and there is no permanent free tier. It is Apple Silicon only. You choose and download a model on first run, which is an extra step. It is built by one independent developer.
Cotypist
One of the best-known apps in the category, with a permanent free tier of 100 completed words a day and a 30-day trial of its Pro plan. Paid plans are billed annually, and the higher tier covers more than one Mac. There is no one-time purchase.
Typeahead
A one-time purchase, and the only app here that states support for Intel Macs as well as Apple Silicon. Its site lists an 8 GB memory minimum and a model of about 3 GB.
TypeSeer
Offers the widest spread of payment options, monthly, yearly and lifetime, priced in pounds, with a 14-day trial and each licence covering two Macs. Its site highlights text snippets and grammar checking alongside autocomplete.
MacAutocomplete
A one-time purchase covering up to three Macs, built on Apple’s MLX framework, with an emphasis on making zero outbound network connections. The most expensive option in this list.
Cotabby
Free and open source, and able to use Apple Intelligence as its engine on compatible Macs or local GGUF models otherwise. It requires macOS 26, so it will not run on older systems.
macOS inline predictions
Already on your Mac, free, and good for a word or short phrase. Space accepts. You cannot choose the model, give it the surrounding conversation, or set it per app. If it is enough for you, it is the best value here. WeType vs Apple, in detail.
How to choose
- You want to pay once, as little as possible: WeType.
- You want something free indefinitely: Apple’s built-in predictions, Cotypist’s free tier, or Cotabby on macOS 26.
- You have an Intel Mac: Typeahead is the only one here that states Intel support.
- You write code as well as prose: an app that lets you pick a code model, such as WeType.
- You are not sure: install two trials and use each for a day of real work. Suggestion quality and speed on your own writing, on your own Mac, is the thing that matters most, and it is the one thing no comparison page can tell you.