Collate
Collate is a free Mac app for reading, organizing, and working through PDF documents.
What Collate is
Collate is a free Mac app for reading, organizing, and working through PDF documents. Its tools include PDF chat, citations to sources, summaries, automatic highlights, folders, persistent conversations, and management of local models. The Local AI option processes documents on the Mac and can work offline once the app and a supported model are downloaded. Users may instead connect their own OpenAI or Anthropic API key; content needed for a request is sent to the chosen provider. Collate also lets users compare findings across selected documents, keep conversations with folders, and export selected work as HTML, PDF, email drafts, or web links. Shared links for selected answers, summaries, or highlights are public, require no sign-in, and expire after 90 days. The app has no account-based document quota, though practical capacity depends on available storage and memory, PDF complexity, and model choice. Collate is available for macOS 13.5 or later on Apple Silicon and Intel Macs. Windows is not yet ready, and the current document workflow focuses on PDFs.
Good
- Local AI processes documents on the Mac
- Works offline after downloading a model
- Supports citations and multi-file chat
- Exports to HTML, PDF, email drafts, and web links
- Free to download for supported Macs
Watch out
- Focused on PDF files
- Not yet ready for Windows
- Recommended local model is about 5.9 GB
- Public share links expire after 90 days
Who it suits
Collate suits students, researchers, and others who build understanding from PDF documents. It is also a fit for Mac users who want local document processing or the option to use their own cloud-model API key.
Verdict
Collate combines PDF reading and research tools with a choice between local processing and user-supplied cloud API keys. Check your Mac's available memory and model needs before relying on local AI.
Plans and prices
From Collate's own pricing page, checked 4 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Collate for Mac | Free | Free to download · macOS 13.5+ · Apple Silicon and Intel |
The facts
Each one read from Collate's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Analytics
- Firebase app analytics is disabled by default and can be toggled in the Collate menu.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Audience
- Collate describes itself as made for students, researchers, and anyone building understanding from documents.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Cloud AI
- Users can optionally select OpenAI or Anthropic models with their own API key; Collate sends content required for the request to the selected provider.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Features
- The app includes PDF chat, source citations, summaries, automatic highlights, folders, persistent conversations, and local model management.checked 4 Oct 2026
- File support
- The current reading and AI workflow is focused on PDF files.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Local AI
- Local AI processes documents on the Mac and works offline after the app and a supported model have been downloaded.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Model requirements
- The recommended local model is about 5.9 GB, larger options can exceed 8 GB, and 16 GB or more of Mac memory provides more model choices.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Privacy
- Collate says Local AI does not send document content to a cloud model provider, and cloud API keys are stored in the macOS Keychain.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Product
- Collate is a native Mac workspace for reading, organizing, questioning, summarizing, and highlighting PDFs.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Research workflow
- Users can compare findings across selected documents, keep conversations with folders, and export selected work.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Sharing
- Collate can create web share links for selected answers, summaries, or highlights; links are public, unauthenticated, and expire after 90 days.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Support
- Collate provides email support at [email protected].checked 4 Oct 2026
- Usage limits
- Collate says it imposes no account-based document quota; practical limits depend on storage, memory, PDF complexity, and the selected model.checked 4 Oct 2026
Where it runs
- Windows availability
- The download page says Collate is not yet ready for Windows and invites users to join a waitlist.checked 4 Oct 2026
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