The on-device alternative to NotebookLM and cloud document AI.
SiloVault is a private, offline-first research vault for macOS — an on-device alternative to cloud document tools like NotebookLM that indexes your PDFs, Word files, and notes locally and answers with cited page numbers, with no account and nothing uploaded unless you turn on your own cloud key.
SiloVault vs NotebookLM.
on-device · vs cloud| Dimension | SiloVault | Cloud (NotebookLM, ChatGPT) |
|---|---|---|
| Where it runs | On your Mac by default (Apple Silicon, offline) | Google's servers |
| Your documents | Indexed locally; text you query goes only to the provider you set up with your own key | Uploaded & stored |
| Account | None required | Google account required |
| Answers | Cited with page numbers from your vault | Grounded in uploaded sources |
| OCR for scans | On-device Apple Vision OCR | Cloud processing |
| Contract review | Legal mode with risk flags & redline | General Q&A only |
| Pricing | One-time $19.99 | Subscription / usage limits |
| Works without internet | Yes, after optional model download | No |
Cloud column reflects the typical architecture of NotebookLM and similar hosted tools. Names are trademarks of their owners; not affiliated.
NotebookLM alternative, answered.
SiloVault · on-deviceYes. SiloVault does the same core job — ask questions about your documents and get grounded answers — but indexes and searches entirely on your Mac. Your files are never uploaded to a cloud library the way they are with NotebookLM. If you turn on your own cloud key, each request carries your question, recent messages in that chat, and the vault or Timeline passages it draws on, sent directly from your Mac to the provider you set up.
Yes. Every answer includes citations with page numbers drawn from your indexed vault, so you can verify each claim against the original document.
After an optional one-time model download, SiloVault indexes, searches, and chats entirely offline. NotebookLM requires a constant internet connection.
SiloVault includes a Legal/Contracts mode with risk flags, clause extraction, playbook comparison, and redline — capabilities NotebookLM doesn't offer for agreement review.
Keep your work on your Mac.
SiloVault: $19.99 one-time · no subscription. No subscription, no account, nothing uploaded — a private, on-device alternative to NotebookLM.