PaletteBrain
Verified Oct 16, 2026 ActiveOne-time-purchase macOS utility that runs ChatGPT commands on selected text in any app, using your own API key
Listed on EffectHub ·
Pricing
- Pricing model
- Paid
- Paid options from
- $29/mo
- Billing
- Monthly
Lifetime licenses: $29 personal (listed as cut from a former $99/year), $99 family for five devices, custom pricing for teams, all with lifetime updates. The app is bring-your-own-key: OpenAI or Azure OpenAI usage is paid separately, which the vendor estimates at under $1/month for light use.
Use tool ↗About PaletteBrain
PaletteBrain puts ChatGPT one keystroke away in every macOS app: select text anywhere, hit the shortcut, run a saved command such as fix grammar, translate or summarize, and paste the result back in place. Users build their own prompt commands with per-command shortcuts. It is sold by indie developer Abruptive LLC as a lifetime license — $29 for one person, $99 for five devices — rather than a subscription, but it requires your own OpenAI or Azure OpenAI API key, so model usage is billed separately by OpenAI. macOS only.
- Platforms
- macOS
- API
- Not confirmed
- Last verified
- Oct 16, 2026
Verified sources
- Select-text-anywhere ChatGPT commands on macOS with custom shortcuts; requires user's own OpenAI or Azure API keypalettebrain.com ↗
- Lifetime pricing: $29 personal, $99 family (5 devices), team custom; vendor Abruptive LLC; lifetime updatespalettebrain.com ↗
Is PaletteBrain legit?
We don’t label tools safe or unsafe. Below are the records we checked ourselves, each with the date we read it.
- Domain registered
- Apr 16, 2023 (3 years ago)Registry record (RDAP), registrar NameCheap, Inc., looked up Sep 6, 2026
- TLS certificate
- Issued by Google Trust Services, valid until Dec 1, 2026Seen in our own connection to the site on Oct 16, 2026
- Last checked
- Oct 16, 2026The site answered
- Operated by
- Abruptive LLCOur research, card verified Aug 22, 2026
Pros & cons of PaletteBrain
A cheap, honest deal: one payment puts GPT into every Mac text field, and because you bring your own key there is no markup on model usage. The catch is scope — it is a thin OpenAI/Azure wrapper from a small indie vendor, with no Windows version and no support for Anthropic, Google or local models mentioned.
Pros
- One-time $29 license instead of a recurring fee
- Works on selected text in any macOS app or website
- Custom command library with per-command shortcuts
- Text goes only to OpenAI/Azure — no middleman server
Cons
- Useless without a separately billed OpenAI or Azure key
- Locked to OpenAI-family models; no Claude, Gemini or local options stated
- Single-developer product, so long-term maintenance is a bet
Best for
- Mac users who want system-wide AI text commands without a subscription
- People already holding an OpenAI API key
- Repetitive rewriting tasks bound to custom keyboard shortcuts
Not for
- Windows or Linux users
- Anyone unwilling to create and fund an OpenAI/Azure API account
Watch out: The sales page leans on urgency (prices said to rise at each roadmap milestone) and the former $99/year framing; judge it as a $29 utility, not by the discount theater.
Alternatives to PaletteBrain
PaletteBrain head-to-head
Side-by-side fact sheets against the competitors our research or their makers name — pricing, platforms, API and both verdicts on one page.