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Explain a letter or contract

Plain-language summary of official letters.

Plain-language summary of official letters. The tools below run on your computer. Most of them are free, and the work stays on your machine.

ScanWriting

Works offline · Free options

Not financial or legal advice. These tools only read and summarize text on your computer.

Easiest way to start

olmOCR + olmOCR 2 7B

Allen AI's document reader. It turns a PDF or a scan into text, including tables.

Will it run on my computer?

Check my computer
Local or cloud?4 shown

Most tools here are free.

HONEST COMPARISON

Local AI or cloud for explain a letter or contract?

Reviewed Oct 2026

  • Privacy: Local winsThe letter stays on your computer
  • Cost: Local winsAn explanation is free
  • Quality: Cloud winsLong contracts are read more carefully in a top model
  • Ease: Cloud winsPaste and read, no setup

Local AI

A local model can explain a letter in plain words, and the letter stays at home. This is not legal advice.

  • Contracts and official letters stay on your PC
  • You can ask it to use simpler words
  • Works offline

Where it falls short

  • It can miss a clause
  • It is not a lawyer
See local tools for this task ↓

Cloud & apps

A cloud model is often clearer on long contracts, if you are willing to upload them.

  • CClaudeCloud AIFreemiumPopular choice

    Better on a long contract, with the risk of uploading it.

    Best for: Long contracts

    The letter is sent to Anthropic

    Visit Claude (opens in new tab)
  • CChatGPTCloud AIFreemium

    A plain-language pass on a letter you are willing to share.

    Best for: Plain language

    The letter is sent to OpenAI

    Visit ChatGPT (opens in new tab)

Our take

Explain a private letter locally, and ask a person when the letter is a contract that matters.

Choose local if…

  • The letter is personal or official
  • You want a plain paraphrase

Choose cloud if…

  • The contract is long and shareable
  • You still plan to ask a professional

How to do it in 3 steps

  1. Install olmOCR from its official guide: olmOCR on GitHub.
  2. Open the olmOCR 2 7B page and check the traffic light for a few kinds of computer.
  3. Follow that official guide. This site does not add its own install steps.

Questions

Does this upload my files?
No. The tools on this page are meant to run on your computer.
What does it cost?
Most options are free. A few apps are a one-time purchase, and a few models need a computer with more memory.
What if it will not fit?
Use Check my computer, or turn on the lighter memory filters. A red light on the model page means the file is too big.

Not into local AI? Try these instead

Ordinary apps for money & paperwork. The links use a placeholder referral code and may pay us.

Not financial or legal advice. These are budgeting and bookkeeping apps.

  • YNAB

    A budget that gives every dollar a job before the month starts.

    YNAB · #ad

  • GnuCash

    Free bookkeeping for accounts, invoices, and small businesses.

    GnuCash · #ad

  • Wave

    Invoicing and basic bookkeeping for a small business.

    Wave · #ad

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