Comparison
Toolbox vs Permute
MarkdownWhat each one is
Toolbox is a set of 96 small Mac tools for video, audio, images, PDFs, text and Mac housekeeping. It runs on your Mac, needs no account and costs from $19 once.
Permute is a Mac app by Charlie Monroe Software that converts media files.
Feature by feature
Only the areas where the two overlap are compared here.
| Feature | Toolbox | Permute |
|---|---|---|
| Video and audio conversion | Convert Video, Convert Audio | Over 100 formats across video, audio, images, PDFs and text |
| Image conversion | Convert Images tool | Images including HEIC, AVIF and WebP |
| Transcription | Transcribe tool | Transcribes audio to text or SRT subtitles |
| Text to speech | Text to Speech tool | Text-to-audio narration |
| OCR | Extract Text tool | Image to text |
| Requirements | See the Toolbox site | Permute 4 needs macOS 26 and Apple Silicon; Permute 3 supports macOS 11 to 15 or Intel |
| Price | From $19 one-time, no subscription | $14.99 one-time license direct from the developer (excluding tax) |
When Permute is the better choice
Choose Permute if you mostly convert files and want the widest range of formats in a single drag-and-drop app. It is also available on the Mac App Store and Setapp.
Toolbox does not try to match its format list.
When Toolbox is the better choice
Choose Toolbox if you also need to compress, trim, merge, redact or sign files, not only convert them.
Frequently asked questions
Is Permute a one-time purchase?
The developer's site lists Permute 4 at $14.99 as a permanent license, excluding tax.
Does Toolbox convert as many formats as Permute?
Permute lists over 100 formats. Toolbox has convert tools for video, audio, images and documents, but Permute's range is broader.
