AltoSum – AI Post Summary, TL;DR & Key Takeaways
Add an AI TL;DR summary & key-takeaways box to your posts. No API key, no setup. Free for 25 summaries a month.
Solid choice
AltoSum is a solid plugin choice in 2026, with a few things worth checking first. Was last updated 1 week ago, and scores 64/100 on our health check.
- Actively developed — last update 1 week ago
- Tested with the latest WordPress (7.1)
- Small user base (<10 active installs)
- Very few reviews so far
How does it stack up?
Side-by-side on installs, updates, ratings & support
Daily downloads
Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.
Rankings
Where AltoSum stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| ai summary | >100 |
| key takeaways | #10 |
| summarize | #91 |
| summary | >100 |
| tldr | #10 |
About AltoSum
From the official readme · v1.0.16Description
No API key. No account. No setup. Unlike almost every other AI summary plugin, which makes you sign up for OpenAI or Anthropic and paste in your own paid API key, AltoSum runs the AI on our hosted service, so there is nothing to configure. You generate each summary with one click from the post editor, free for the first 25 every month.
AltoSum reads your post and writes a short TL;DR plus a few key-takeaway bullets, then shows them in a tidy box at the top (or bottom) of the article. Great for readers in a hurry and for the AI search engines that increasingly quote summaries.
The free plan covers 25 summaries per month; AltoSum Pro removes the monthly limit (subject to fair use) and can summarise automatically on publish.
- No API key or third-party account. The AI runs on our service.
- One click to generate a summary from the post editor.
- Show it via the
[altosum]shortcode, or auto-insert it into single posts. - Optional key-takeaway bullets.
- Privacy-friendly: automation is off until you switch it on. To generate a summary we send the post title and content, with a hashed site ID and the plugin version that do not identify you. The External services section below lists everything that is sent.
- Pro: unlimited summaries (subject to fair use) and auto-summarise when you publish.
External services
This plugin connects to the Really Useful App Company API to generate summaries. It is required
for the plugin’s core feature.
- What is sent and when: the plugin sends the post title and post content to the API on
each of these actions, and nothing else triggers a send:- when you click “Generate summary” in the editor
- when you publish a post with auto-summarise on
- Also sent: a non-identifying site ID (a hash of your site URL) for usage counting, and the
plugin version, so we can tell which release a report relates to. Neither identifies you. Whether this site’s review prompt was shown, snoozed, dismissed or clicked is also sent, so we can tell whether that prompt is working. It records the site, not the individual user, and says nothing about what you did on WordPress.org afterwards. - Where it goes: the API (default
https://api.thereallyusefulappcompany.com), which uses Anthropic as an AI
subprocessor to generate the text. - Terms / privacy: https://www.thereallyusefulappcompany.com/altosum/terms , https://www.thereallyusefulappcompany.com/altosum/privacy ,
https://www.anthropic.com/legal/privacy
No data is sent until you click generate or publish with auto-summarise enabled.
Installation
- Install and activate AltoSum.
- Go to Settings → AltoSum, review the external-service notice, and choose how the box should display.
- Edit a post and click Generate summary in the AltoSum box, or enable auto-insert / auto-summarise.
- (Optional) Enter a AltoSum Pro licence key to remove the monthly limit.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an AI API key?
No. The AI runs on our service.
Where does the summary appear?
Wherever you place the [altosum] shortcode, or automatically at the top/bottom of single posts if you enable that.
Does it send my content anywhere?
Only when you generate a summary, and only the title and content. See the External Services section.
Changelog
Your licence key is no longer displayed in full or sitting in an editable box where a stray keystroke could replace it. Settings shows the last four characters, and changing the key now takes a deliberate click. No change to how anything is generated.
1.0.16
- Fixed: a licence key that our service does not recognise is no longer shown as “Pro”. The plugin now says the key was not recognised and keeps the upgrade link visible, instead of silently putting you on the free allowance with no way to correct it.
- Changed: your licence key is no longer shown in full or left in an editable box. Settings now shows only the last four characters, and replacing the key takes a deliberate click on “Update key”, so it cannot be typed over by accident. Removing a key is its own checkbox.
1.0.14
- Fixed: the address the plugin uses to reach our AI service is now required to be https, both when it is saved and every time it is read. Only an administrator could ever have changed it, and the default has always been secure, but an insecure address entered by hand would have sent your licence key and your content unencrypted. An address that is not https is now refused and the secure default is used instead.
- Fixed: a status message in the editor panel is now escaped on output. No visible change.
- Fixed: the panel no longer says “AI-generated” on a post that has no summary yet. That note now appears only where a summary exists or has just been written.
- Fixed: the editor panel now loads the script it depends on rather than relying on another plugin or screen to load it.
1.0.10
- Fixed: a generated summary could be saved and never appear anywhere on your site, with nothing to explain why. The panel now says where your summary will appear, and when it will not appear it tells you how to switch it on.
- Added: a Settings link on the Plugins screen, and a short notice after activation saying where to go. Previously the plugin gave no sign it was there.
- Fixed: after generating, the button no longer looks like the main thing to click again. It now reads Regenerate summary and shows that your summary is saved.
1.0.9
- Added: the plugin now reports whether this site’s review prompt was shown, snoozed, dismissed or clicked, so we can tell whether the prompt is working at all. It rides the request the plugin already makes, so no new outbound request is made and no new action triggers a send. It records the site rather than the individual user, and nothing about what happens on WordPress.org afterwards.
- Housekeeping: the front-end style is now registered with a version. No functional change; it silences a checker warning that could not apply here, so a standing warning does not hide a real one later.
1.0.8
- Fixed: when the AI could not be reached, the summary was still labelled “AI-generated”. It now says plainly that the text came from your own sentences and is worth rewriting.
- Added: the review prompt now appears in the post editor, where summaries are actually written, instead of only on the settings screen.
- Added: the plugin now reports its own version with each request, so we can tell which release a problem relates to. No personal data is involved.
- Housekeeping: the list of actions that send data is now checked automatically against the code before every release.
1.0.7
- Compatibility: tested with WordPress 7.1.
- New: a “Your usage” panel on the settings screen showing how much of this month’s
allowance you have used, with a progress bar. - New: an “Upgrade to Pro” link on the settings screen for free-plan users.
- When a monthly limit is reached, the message in the editor now includes an upgrade link.
Screenshots
For developers
Is this your plugin? Show off the numbers.
Add a live badge to your site, docs or GitHub README. It updates on its own — no account needed.
Best AltoSum alternatives
All ai summary plugins →FAQ
AltoSum: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Oct 3, 2026
Is AltoSum free?
Yes. AltoSum is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is AltoSum safe to use in 2026?
AltoSum is a solid plugin choice in 2026, with a few things worth checking first. Was last updated 1 week ago, and scores 64/100 on our health check.
How many websites use AltoSum?
AltoSum is active on <10 WordPress websites and has been downloaded 701 times since it launched in July 2026. It was downloaded 291 times in the last 30 days.
Does AltoSum work with WordPress 7.1?
Yes. The developer has tested AltoSum up to WordPress 7.1.2, the latest release. It requires WordPress 6.0 or newer.
What PHP version does AltoSum need?
AltoSum requires PHP 7.4 or higher. Most hosts run PHP 8.x today, so it works on any modern WordPress hosting.
When was AltoSum last updated?
The latest version, 1.0.16, was released on September 24, 2026 (1 week ago).
Who makes AltoSum?
AltoSum is developed and maintained by The Really Useful App Company.
What are the best alternatives to AltoSum?
The most popular alternatives to AltoSum are XHTheme AI Toolbox (100+ installs), Sumtics (60+ installs) and Video To AI Blog Post (<10 installs).
Powered by PageForge
Want thousands of pages that rank like these? Build them in an afternoon.
This directory runs on the same engine as PageForge. Turn any spreadsheet, CSV or API into thousands of fast, SEO-ready WordPress pages — with schema, internal links and AI-written copy baked in.
- CSV, Google Sheets & API data sources
- AI content, schema & internal links per page
- Works with Elementor, Gutenberg, Yoast & Rank Math
- Free on WordPress.org — no credit card
