# BoltAI

> Native Mac AI client that runs on your own API keys

BoltAI is a native macOS app for working with more than 300 AI models through your own API keys for OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, Mistral, Azure OpenAI and Amazon Bedrock, or through local models in Ollama and LM Studio. Beyond chat it offers an overlay opened by a global shortcut, screenshot questions, dictation, reusable agents, projects and MCP tools. It is sold as a perpetual license with one year of updates, and chats are stored locally unless optional Cloud Sync is switched on.

- **Category:** AI Assistants
- **Made by:** BoltAI (Podzim LLC) (since 2023)
- **Website:** https://boltai.com
- **Runs on:** macOS, iOS
- **Facts last checked:** Oct 6, 2026

## Pricing

BoltAI is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $79 one-time (Essential, 1 device, one year of updates).

- **Pricing model:** Free trial
- **Free plan:** None.
- **Free trial:** Free trial with limited features and no account required; the site states no time limit.

| Plan | Price | What you get |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Essential | $79 one-time, 1 device, one year of updates | For students and hobbyists: every app feature on 1 Mac, with 512 MB of cloud storage for sync and no mobile device. |
| Pro | $99 one-time, 2 desktop devices + 1 mobile, one year of updates | For freelancers and professionals: every app feature, 1 GB of cloud storage and 1 mobile device. Shown as a bundle valued at $200. |
| Pro+ | $199 one-time, 3 desktop devices + 2 mobile, one year of updates | For use across more devices: every app feature, 5 GB of cloud storage and 2 mobile devices at once. |
| Team Perpetual | $99 per seat, one-time, 5-seat minimum | One device per seat with 10 GB of shared team storage, the mobile app during its beta and priority support. Optional renewal is $79 per seat per year. |

Read from https://boltai.com/pricing on Oct 6, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with BoltAI before buying.

## Ways to pay less

- **Perpetual license from $79** (Lifetime license): Every license is a one-time purchase that keeps working after its year of updates ends: Essential is $79, Pro $99 and Pro+ $199, with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Source: https://boltai.com/pricing
- **50% off for students and educators** (Education): Emailing BoltAI from a university address gets a discount code for 50% off, which makes the Essential license $39.50. The 40% renewal discount still applies afterwards. Source: https://boltai.com/pricing
- **40% off renewals for individual licenses** (Other savings): Individual licenses can renew updates and sync for another year at 60% of the original list price, and the discount does not expire. Team licenses get no renewal discount. Source: https://help.boltai.com/articles/9415943-license

## Key features

- **Your own keys and local models:** Connects with your API keys to OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, Mistral, Azure OpenAI, Amazon Bedrock and others, and to local models through Ollama and LM Studio. No AI credits are bundled.
- **Instant Chat and ShotSolve:** A global shortcut opens a chat overlay on top of any app, and ShotSolve sends a screenshot to a vision model for an explanation, a fix or a summary.
- **Instant Dictation and AI Workflows:** Push-to-talk dictation works in any text field with cloud or local models, and AI Workflows run one-click actions and in-place text transforms inside other apps.
- **Agents, projects and prompt library:** Reusable agents carry their own instructions, knowledge and tools. Projects share context across chats, chats can be forked, and saved prompts are inserted with a shortcut.
- **MCP tools and code execution:** Connects to local and remote MCP servers with individual tools switched on or off, and supports web search, code execution and Claude skills for Office documents and PDFs.
- **Local storage with optional Cloud Sync:** Chats are kept in a local SQLite database and API keys can be encrypted with a passphrase. Optional Cloud Sync shares chats, agents and projects with other devices.

## Good for

- Mac users who want a native app instead of a browser tab
- People who prefer a one-time license to a monthly subscription
- Users with API keys for several providers or local models in Ollama

## Worth knowing

- The price covers the app only: you need your own API keys, and each AI provider bills usage separately.
- It runs on macOS 13 or later. Windows is listed as coming soon, and the iPhone, iPad and Android apps are in beta with sign-up through a form.
- Updates, Cloud Sync and mobile access last one year per purchase. After that the app keeps working locally, but sync and mobile pause until you renew.
- Teams and companies are required to buy the Team license, which starts at 5 seats at $99 per seat.

## Works with

OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, Mistral, Azure OpenAI, Amazon Bedrock, Ollama, LM Studio

**Tags:** Chat assistant, One-time purchase, Local-first, Works offline, Dictation, AI agents, AI features

## Alternatives

- [TypingMind](https://toolgpa.com/tools/typingmind): Chat interface for AI models that runs on your own API keys. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/boltai-vs-typingmind)
- [Chatbox](https://toolgpa.com/tools/chatbox): AI chat client for your own API keys or a hosted model plan. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/boltai-vs-chatbox)
- [Msty](https://toolgpa.com/tools/msty): Private AI workspace for local and online models. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/boltai-vs-msty)
- [Elephas](https://toolgpa.com/tools/elephas): Private AI knowledge assistant for Mac with local indexing. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/boltai-vs-elephas)
- [Alter](https://toolgpa.com/tools/alter): Voice-driven Mac AI assistant that reads on-screen context. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/alter-vs-boltai)

## Sources

The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 6, 2026:

- https://boltai.com/pricing
- https://boltai.com/
- https://boltai.com/about
- https://boltai.com/terms
- https://help.boltai.com/articles/9415943-license
- https://help.boltai.com/articles/2306606-features
- https://help.boltai.com/articles/2296408-getting-started

Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/boltai
Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).