Zush vs AI Renamer (2026): Desktop, CLI, Price

Quick answer: Zush is a complete Mac and Windows desktop AI file renamer with $8/month or $38 one-time PRO plans, 100+ supported image, design, document, video, and audio formats, folder monitoring, undo, templates, Naming Blocks, and BYOK. AI Renamer comes in two unrelated products with the same name: an open-source CLI (free, image + video, no automation/undo) and a $19 Desktop app with local/cloud modes, OpenAI/custom model support, and a current “all file types” pricing claim. Pick by how much workflow you want included and how much public format detail you need.

Pricing and public feature claims last checked June 12, 2026.

If you are searching “Zush vs AI Renamer”, first know the comparison covers two different products that share the name “AI Renamer”: an open-source CLI (ozgrozer/ai-renamer on GitHub, GPL-3.0) and a separate commercial desktop app at airenamer.app. They are not made by the same team. We compare both against Zush below.

TL;DR comparison

Zush

Platform

Mac (macOS 15+) and Windows 10/11

Pricing

Free tier (50 renames), Pro $8/month or $38 one-time for unlimited PRO renames, BYOK optional at API cost (Gemini/Groq/OpenAI/Claude), Local Ollama on supported Mac builds

Website

zushapp.com

Zush is a complete desktop AI file renamer for Mac and Windows. The differentiators in this comparison are the things AI Renamer (either version) does not do: 100+ formats across images, design files, documents, videos, and audio; reusable templates and 145+ Naming Blocks; folder monitoring for automatic ongoing renames; full rename history with one-click undo; and BYOK across 4 providers included with paid PRO.

AI Renamer Desktop (airenamer.app)

Platform

Mac and Windows desktop

Pricing

10 free credits on signup, Local Mode $19 one-time (unlimited local), Cloud Mode $10 per 200 credits (1 credit per rename)

Website

airenamer.app

The AI Renamer Desktop app costs $19 one-time for unlimited local processing or $10 per 200 cloud credits. Its current pricing page says Local Mode and Cloud Mode support all file types, and Local Mode lists Ollama, LM Studio, OpenAI, and custom model support. The feature page is more conservative, with examples for JPG/PNG/GIF/WEBP images and PDF/TXT/text files. The site still does not list folder monitoring or rename history as features, so bad bulk renames appear harder to roll back inside the app.

AI Renamer CLI (open-source)

The AI Renamer CLI is ozgrozer/ai-renamer on GitHub — a free GPL-3.0 Node.js command-line tool. Install via npx ai-renamer /path or globally with npm. Backends: Ollama (default), LM Studio, OpenAI. It handles images and videos (via ffmpeg) but does not rename documents like PDFs.

The CLI is the right pick for developers who want a local-only renaming tool, are comfortable in a terminal, and accept the trade-offs: no folder monitoring, no undo, no GUI for preview.

Format support

RAW + HEIC: Zush is the documented option

Zush has explicit RAW format support: CR2, CR3, NEF, ARW, DNG, ORF, RAF, RW2, PEF, SRW, SR2. Zush also documents HEIC support for iPhone photos. AI Renamer Desktop’s pricing page now says all file types, but the public feature examples still list only standard image examples. If RAW or HEIC is part of the buying decision, verify AI Renamer with your actual files before treating the two products as equivalent.

Documents and iWork: Zush has a granular list; AI Renamer has broader marketing copy

Zush handles PDFs, Office files, iWork files, OpenDocument files, text, Markdown, CSV/TSV, JSON, XML/YAML, EML, SRT, and VTT. AI Renamer Desktop now markets all-file support on its pricing page, but its public feature examples still call out PDF/TXT/text files rather than a granular Office/iWork/design/audio list. The CLI does not parse document content — it can rename files but only based on what its model can infer from the filename or video frames.

Video: Zush and the CLI

The AI Renamer CLI can rename videos by extracting frames with ffmpeg and feeding them to the AI. Zush 3.0 now supports common video formats from the desktop app, using sampled frames and optional sidecar subtitles as context. AI Renamer Desktop’s pricing copy says all file types, but the feature page does not publish a video-specific workflow.

Features that differ

Folder monitoring

Zush has folder monitoring — a “Watch” feature that automatically renames new files dropped into specified folders. Neither AI Renamer product offers this. If your goal is “make my Downloads folder clean automatically forever,” Zush is the only fit here.

Undo / rename history

Zush keeps a full rename history with one-click revert per file. The AI Renamer Desktop and CLI do not advertise undo functionality. If you batch-rename hundreds of files and 5% of names are wrong, Zush lets you fix those individually; with AI Renamer you would need to manually rename them back.

BYOK and provider control

Zush includes BYOK with paid PRO plans across Gemini, Groq, OpenAI, and Claude. The AI Renamer CLI supports OpenAI keys directly. AI Renamer Desktop lists OpenAI and custom model support under Local Mode, which is a stronger provider-control story than before, but it is not presented as the same multi-provider BYOK workflow as Zush.

Local-only setup

For privacy-first users, the AI Renamer CLI’s local-only Ollama path is the lightest setup once you have Ollama installed. Zush’s Offline AI mode (Ollama on Mac builds) is similar but bundled into a GUI. Both keep files on-device.

Pick by use case

Pick Zush if:

• You want a complete desktop app, not a CLI
• You handle RAW/HEIC photos or office documents (DOCX/XLSX/PPT)
• You want folder monitoring for ongoing automatic renaming
• You want undo/rollback when batch-renaming hundreds of files
• You want BYOK across 4 providers included with paid PRO

Pick AI Renamer CLI if:

• You are a developer comfortable in the terminal
• You want a free, open-source, local-only renaming tool
• You are fine with images and videos (no documents)
• You can live without folder monitoring and undo

Pick AI Renamer Desktop ($19) if:

• You want a lower-cost GUI and are comfortable validating its current all-file claim against your own folders
• You do not need folder monitoring or undo
• $19 fits your budget and you do not want to set up Ollama

Honestly, the AI Renamer Desktop is still the harder choice for mixed folders. It costs less upfront than Zush One-Time, and its current pricing copy is broader than older feature wording, but the gaps that matter for ongoing file hygiene remain: no public folder monitoring, no public rename history, and no granular public list for RAW, iWork, design, audio, or video workflows.

Setup effort

Zush installs as a native Mac or Windows app via signed Mac download, Mac App Store, or Microsoft Store. Drag-and-drop, no terminal.

AI Renamer Desktop installs the same way (commercial download).

AI Renamer CLI requires: Node.js, npm/npx, Ollama (4–8GB disk), a vision model (LLaVA), and terminal comfort. The setup itself takes 15–30 minutes if you have not done it before.

FAQ

Are AI Renamer Desktop and AI Renamer CLI from the same company?

No. The CLI is ozgrozer/ai-renamer on GitHub (GPL-3.0). The Desktop app is at airenamer.app, a separate commercial product. They share the name “AI Renamer” but are not the same project.

Can the AI Renamer CLI rename PDFs and Office documents?

No. The CLI handles images and videos (with ffmpeg). It does not parse document content. For PDFs/DOCX/XLSX, you need a tool that reads document text — Zush, NameQuick, Renamer.ai, or Renamed.to.

Does AI Renamer Desktop have folder monitoring?

Their site does not list folder monitoring as a feature. If you need ongoing automatic renaming, Zush is the fit.

Is the AI Renamer CLI really free?

Yes. GPL-3.0 open source. The only “cost” is potential OpenAI API charges if you use OpenAI as the backend; if you use Ollama or LM Studio locally, it is fully free with no API cost.

Which has the most formats?

Zush has the broadest granular public format list: 100+ formats across images, design files, documents, videos, and audio. AI Renamer Desktop now markets all-file support, but its feature examples are still much shorter. The CLI handles images + video (with ffmpeg) but does not parse documents.

Verdict

The three tools are different in ambition, not just price:

• For a finished desktop app with the most coverage: Zush at $8/month or $38 one-time.
• For free, local, terminal-based renaming: AI Renamer CLI on GitHub.
• The AI Renamer Desktop at $19 sits in a more competitive middle than before — easier than the CLI and now marketed with all-file/custom-model support, but still less documented than Zush for monitoring, undo, RAW, iWork, design, audio, and video workflows.

For a broader market view, see Best AI File Renamers 2026 . For free options including the AI Renamer CLI in detail, see How to Rename Files with AI for Free .