Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Lacona VS ForthWrite

Compare Lacona VS ForthWrite and see what are their differences

Lacona logo Lacona

Fast, simple, powerful keyboard-driven commands for Mac

ForthWrite logo ForthWrite

Email that sounds like you, and gets measurably more like you every week. Drafts in Gmail, Outlook, and the browser. Free to start.
Visit Website
  • Lacona Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-09-19
  • ForthWrite Landing Page
    Landing Page //
    2026-06-19
  • ForthWrite Dashboard
    Dashboard //
    2026-06-19
  • ForthWrite In Gmail
    In Gmail //
    2026-06-19
  • ForthWrite Pricing
    Pricing //
    2026-06-19

ForthWrite is an AI email writing assistant for Gmail and Outlook that learns your writing style from your real sent mail. The more you use it, the more it sounds like you. Get smart drafts in seconds, auto-draft replies before you open your inbox, and maintain your personal voice at scale. Free to start, no credit card required. Works inside Gmail and Outlook on the web.

How it works

ForthWrite captures your tone, sentence rhythm, and sign-offs from your actual sent emails, then uses that profile to generate drafts that match how you write, not a generic AI voice. Every draft you edit or send improves the model over time.

Key features

  • Auto-draft: replies waiting in Gmail before you open your inbox
  • Voice matching from your real sent mail, not templates
  • Recipient-aware drafts that adapt to who you are emailing
  • Prompt Lab for version-controlling and A/B testing your persona prompt
  • BYOK support: bring your own API key for Claude, OpenAI, Grok, Mistral, and more
  • Works in Gmail and Outlook on the web, plus a standalone browser widget
  • Training data export and full data portability

Who uses it

Professionals who send high volumes of relationship-critical email: lawyers, financial advisors, recruiters, account executives, founders, and anyone who wants their inbox handled without sounding like a chatbot wrote it.

Pricing

Free tier includes 10 drafts per week with no credit card required. Paid plans start at $12/month and include unlimited drafts, custom persona prompts, and auto-draft.

Lacona

Website
lacona.app
Pricing URL
-
$ Details
-
Platforms
-
Release Date
-

ForthWrite

$ Details
freemium $12.0 / Monthly (Standard plan)
Platforms
Web
Release Date
2026 June
Startup details
Country
United States
State
California
City
San Diego
Founder(s)
Curtis Boortz
Employees
1 - 9

Lacona features and specs

  • Natural Language Processing
    Lacona allows users to interact with their Mac using natural language, making it easier to perform various tasks without needing to know specific commands.
  • Time-saving Commands
    By enabling complex tasks to be executed through simple phrases, Lacona can save users considerable time and effort compared to using traditional methods.
  • Integration with MacOS
    Lacona integrates seamlessly with MacOS, enabling it to access and control system functions, applications, and settings.
  • Customizable
    Users can create custom commands and workflows, allowing Lacona to be tailored to individual needs and preferences.
  • Expandable
    Lacona can be extended with plugins to support additional applications and services, increasing its versatility and utility.

Possible disadvantages of Lacona

  • Learning Curve
    Some users may find the concept of natural language commands difficult to grasp initially, requiring a period of adjustment and learning.
  • Limited Free Version
    The free version of Lacona offers limited functionality, potentially requiring users to purchase the full version to access all features.
  • System Resource Usage
    Running Lacona might consume significant system resources, which could affect the performance of other applications on older or less powerful Macs.
  • Compatibility Issues
    Lacona might experience compatibility issues with certain MacOS versions or applications, leading to unreliable performance in some cases.
  • Dependency on Natural Language Processing
    The effectiveness of Lacona relies heavily on the accuracy of its natural language processing, which may not always interpret user commands correctly.

ForthWrite features and specs

  • Voice Matching
    Learns from your real sent mail, not templates
  • Auto-draft replies
    Replies waiting in Gmail before you open your inbox
  • Batch-drafting
    Draft replies for your entire inbox with one click
  • Works in browser
    Gmail, Outlook, and web browsers
  • BYOK support
    Claude, OpenAI, Grok, Mistral, and more
  • Prompt Lab
    Version control and A/B test your persona prompt
  • Free tier
    10 drafts per week, no credit card required

Analysis of Lacona

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Lacona is a good tool, especially for users who appreciate automation and efficiency in their daily workflow. Its ability to understand natural language makes it both accessible and powerful for a broad range of users.

Why this product is good

  • Lacona is considered a good tool because it provides a powerful and efficient way to interact with your macOS system through natural language processing. It allows users to perform a wide range of tasksโ€”from web searches to controlling system featuresโ€”using simple text commands. This enhances productivity by streamlining common tasks and reducing the need for multiple applications or manual searching.

Recommended for

    Lacona is recommended for macOS users who want to enhance their productivity and streamline their workflows. It's particularly useful for those who prefer using keyboard shortcuts and commands over graphical interfaces. Tech-savvy users, productivity enthusiasts, and individuals looking for customizable, natural language automation on their Macs will likely find it very beneficial.

Analysis of ForthWrite

Overall verdict

  • I don't have verified information about a product called ForthWrite (forthwrite.ai). I cannot confirm its features, quality, or reputation, so I'm unable to provide an accurate assessment of whether it's good.

Why this product is good

  • No reliable data available on this specific product in my knowledge base
  • This may be a newer product, a niche tool, or possibly a fictional/hypothetical name
  • Providing details without verified information could result in inaccurate or fabricated claims

Recommended for

  • Unable to determine without verified product information
  • Consider checking the official website, user reviews on platforms like G2 or Trustpilot, and independent tech review sites for accurate details

Lacona videos

Lacona: The Better Version of Spotlight | macOS Apps

More videos:

  • Review - Elbamar Lacona - Hotel Review
  • Review - Lacona - Natural Language Commands for your Mac - Official Kickstarter Video

ForthWrite videos

No ForthWrite videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Lacona and ForthWrite)
Productivity
100 100%
0% 0
Writing Tools
0 0%
100% 100
Mac
100 100%
0% 0
Email
0 0%
100% 100

Questions & Answers

As answered by people managing Lacona and ForthWrite.

Which are the primary technologies used for building your product?

ForthWrite's answer:

Next.js, React, Supabase, Anthropic Claude, OpenAI, Stripe, Vercel, Chrome Extensions API

What makes your product unique?

ForthWrite's answer:

ForthWrite learns your writing style from your actual sent mail, not a generic prompt. Every draft sounds like you wrote it because it was trained on how you actually write. It also auto-drafts replies before you open your inbox, so your email is partially handled before your day starts.

Why should a person choose your product over its competitors?

ForthWrite's answer:

Most AI email tools give you a blank box and a "write for me" button. ForthWrite builds a voice profile from your sent history and gets more accurate with every draft you edit or send. Unlike ChatGPT or Gemini, it works natively inside Gmail and Outlook with no copy-paste. Unlike Lavender, it writes the draft, not just scores it.

How would you describe the primary audience of your product?

ForthWrite's answer:

Professionals who send high volumes of relationship-critical email and cannot afford to sound generic: lawyers, financial advisors, recruiters, account executives, consultants, and founders managing their own inbox.

What's the story behind your product?

ForthWrite's answer:

Built out of frustration with AI writing tools that produce text that sounds nothing like the person sending it, and as a way to handle large amounts of daily email. The core insight was that your sent mail is the best training data you already have, and no tool was using it.

User comments

Share your experience with using Lacona and ForthWrite. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Lacona and ForthWrite

Lacona Reviews

We have no reviews of Lacona yet.
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ForthWrite Reviews

  1. curtisboortz
    ยท Founder at ForthWrite ยท
    I built ForthWrite to fix generic AI email, and I still use it every day

    I built ForthWrite because I kept sending emails that sounded like they came from the same generic AI as everyone else. After launching it, I still use it for my own inbox every day, which is about the most honest endorsement I can give.

    The Chrome extension lives inside Gmail and Outlook on the web. Open a thread, hit Alt+Shift+D, and a draft comes back in your voice, not a template. The free tier is real: 10 drafts per week, no API key, no credit card. Voice matching is included on free, because that is the point.

    What keeps it useful compared to Gemini or a chat tab: it learns from what you actually send. Every edit you make before hitting send becomes a signal. Over time the drafts drift closer to how you really write, and the dashboard shows the improvement curve so you can see it happening.

    The web compose surface lets you draft from forthwrite.ai without installing anything, useful for people who want to try before committing to the extension.

    Standard adds recipient-aware and intent-aware drafting plus AI coaching. Pro adds auto-draft (replies waiting when you open Gmail), batch replies, and Prompt Lab for version-controlling your prompts. Teams adds a shared persona and seat-level analytics.

    ForthWrite is not for everyone. If you just need quick replies and tone does not matter, Gemini is free and already in your inbox. ForthWrite is for people where tone does matter: client communication, relationship-driven threads, external correspondence where sounding off costs something real.

    Disclosure: I am the founder and use it daily. Happy to answer questions in the comments.

    ๐Ÿ Competitors: Jace.ai, Fyxer, Mailmeteor
    ๐Ÿ‘ Pros:    Drafts land inside gmail and outlook; no copy-pasting from a chat window|Voice matching is on the free tier, not paywalled behind paid plans|No api key, no credit card to start; free tier runs on a server-side proxy|Learns from every edit you make before sending; drafts improve over time|Full keyboard flow: alt+shift+d to draft in any thread, no mouse required|Byok on paid plans, 9 providers supported, keys encrypted at rest|Web compose at forthwrite.ai works without installing the extension at all
    ๐Ÿ‘Ž Cons:    10 free drafts/week is enough to evaluate, not enough for a heavy inbox|Auto-draft, batch replies, and prompt lab all require the pro tier|Early-stage product; fewer third-party integrations than mature inbox tools|No mobile app: the extension and add-in are desktop-only (chrome on web, or the outlook desktop add-in)

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Lacona seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 2 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Lacona mentions (2)

  • Ask HN: Those making $500/month on side projects in 2022 โ€“ Show and tell
    I wrote and maintain Lacona, a Mac productivity App (https://lacona.app). The majority of my revenue comes from being a part of the Setapp subscription service. - Source: Hacker News / over 4 years ago
  • Command Palette Interfaces
    I love these interfaces and use them wherever I can. On MacOS I use Alfred for launching applications, killing processes, controlling music playback, searching the web and my filesystem, swapping file tabs, and tons more. Spotlight search, which is built in, is also very competent. For the command line I use fzf which can add fuzzy search for all sorts of things. Built in its ctrl+r functionality I find very... - Source: Hacker News / about 5 years ago

ForthWrite mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of ForthWrite yet. Tracking of ForthWrite recommendations started around Jun 2026.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Lacona and ForthWrite, you can also consider the following products

Alfred - Alfred is an award-winning app for macOS which boosts your efficiency with hotkeys, keywords, text expansion and more. Search your Mac and the web, and be more productive with custom actions to control your Mac.

Superhuman - Superhuman is an email management tool.

Raycast - Fastest way to control Jira, GitHub and other web apps

Gemini - Gemini, formerly known as Bard, is a generative artificial intelligence chatbot developed by Google. Based on the large language model (LLM) of the same name, it was launched in 2023 in response to the rise of OpenAI's ChatGPT.

Charmstone - The quicker switcher launcher for macOS

Lavender - Realtime coaching for sales emails.