Claude alternatives for Mac
Claude — Anthropic's official Claude AI desktop app — is installed 19,855 times a month through Homebrew. These are hand-picked alternatives that occupy the same slot, ordered by how comparable their user base is.
Run
brew install --cask claude to install Claude itself.- ChatGPT12,860 installs/mo
- Diffusion Bee175.7× smaller user base
- MacWhisper24.3× smaller user base
- LM StudioApple silicon only · 3.4× smaller user base
- Draw Things16.6× smaller user base
- BoltAI 2509.1× smaller user base
- Jan55.0× smaller user base
- Cursor2.8× smaller user base
Full comparison
| Claude | ChatGPT | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | GUI app | GUI app |
| Category | AI & Machine Learning | AI & Machine Learning |
| Open source | Not declared | Not declared |
| Licence | Not declared | Not declared |
| Apple silicon | Universal | Universal |
| Latest version | 3.6556.2,20c019a1e61fa5b687616af57d31f97bb3181723 | 26.1021.31345 |
| Dependencies | 0 | 0 |
| Installs (30 days) | 19,855 | 12,860 |
| Install command | brew install --cask claude | brew install --cask chatgpt |
How we picked these
The list comes from a hand-maintained set of same-purpose apps, not from keyword matching. Alternatives are removed automatically when Homebrew no longer carries them. Ordering reflects 30-day install volume, not paid placement. Data updated 2026-10-26.