# MathKey vs Liquid Apollo

The clearest difference is price: Liquid Apollo at Free against MathKey's $4.99. Liquid Apollo also leads on rating (4.5 vs 3.9) and review sentiment (68% vs 48%). MathKey's advantage is iOS requirement (14.0 vs 18.0). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Liquid Apollo is free to download; MathKey costs $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Liquid Apollo holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 339 and 680 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 48% of MathKey's written reviews are positive against 68% of Liquid Apollo's.

MathKey ships an update every 2 weeks, Liquid Apollo every 8 days. Both last shipped on November 12, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | MathKey | Liquid Apollo |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $4.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [3.9 (339 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mathkey-latex-converter/id1387782884/reviews) | **[4.5 (680 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/liquid-apollo/id6448019325/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 339 | **680** |
| Positive reviews | 47.8% of reviews | **67.8% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | **Every 8 days** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 18 MB | 158 MB |
| Requires iOS | **14.0** | 18.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Age rating | +4 | 12+ |
| Developer | [Nicolas Dalbard](https://appshunter.io/developer/1242835441) | [Liquid AI, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1772686878) |

## What reviewers say

### MathKey

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mathkey-latex-converter/id1387782884)

Easily convert handwritten math equations into LaTeX, MathML, or image formats. This app supports Apple Pencil input and offers a remote keyboard feature to paste content directly onto your computer. Customize output colors and choose between light and dark themes.

**Highlights:** Handwriting to LaTeX/MathML conversion, Handwriting to image conversion, Remote keyboard for computer pasting, Customizable output colors, Dark and light themes, Apple Pencil support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Typing equations is much easier
- 👍 Excellent for students and researchers
- 💡 Useful remote keyboard feature
- 🚀 Handwriting recognition is good
- 👍 Generates LaTeX and images well

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Inconsistent recognition of symbols and subscripts
- 🐛 Requires internet connection, doesn't work offline
- 🐛 Generates incorrect LaTeX in some cases
- 🐛 Doesn't work well with complex equations
- 🐛 Incompatible with some apps like PowerPoint

**Reported bugs**

- Keeps asking to check internet connection even with good connection
- Crashes when used with iPad Pro keyboard cover
- Doesn't work on iPhone, only iPad
- Doesn't recognize cursive writing well
- Generates incorrect output for some equations

**Requested features**

- Add shortcut or button to quickly type $$ or \mk
- Allow editing of generated LaTeX code
- Provide larger preview of handwritten equations
- Add support for matrices and other advanced math notation
- Integrate with computational engines like Wolfram Alpha


### Liquid Apollo

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/liquid-apollo/id6448019325)

Access a wide range of AI language models, from local on-device options to those available through external APIs. This app allows you to connect to open-source and privately hosted LLMs, offering a customizable client for diverse AI interactions.

**Highlights:** Local AI model support, OpenRouter API integration, Custom backend LLM connection, Private on-device LLM execution, Access to diverse open-source models, Connect to privately hosted LLMs

**Features:** Vision Pro support, iPhone Duo support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Great app
- 🚀 Works well with OpenRouter
- 🚀 Excellent for running local models
- 🚀 Convenient one-time purchase
- 🚀 Clean and intuitive UI

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes frequently
- 🐛 Glitches when editing messages
- 🐛 Inconsistent message formatting
- 🐛 Slow performance with larger conversations
- 🔒 Unable to disable app transport security

**Reported bugs**

- Unable to download Liquid Models
- Deleted locally installed models
- OpenRouter support crashes the app
- Voice list doesn't load all available voices
- Backspace lag leading to unintended text deletion

**Requested features**

- Add support for more open-source models (e.g. Gemma 3)
- Implement image generation and upload functionality
- Allow scheduling of asynchronous tasks
- Integrate with Hugging Face model repository
- Provide built-in prompt library


## Frequently asked questions

### Is MathKey free?

MathKey costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Liquid Apollo free?

Liquid Apollo is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, MathKey or Liquid Apollo?

Liquid Apollo is rated higher. MathKey averages 3.9 out of 5 from 339 ratings, while Liquid Apollo averages 4.5 from 680 ratings.

### Do MathKey or Liquid Apollo have ads?

Neither MathKey nor Liquid Apollo shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, MathKey or Liquid Apollo?

MathKey ships an update every 2 weeks, and Liquid Apollo every 8 days. Most recently, MathKey was updated on November 12, 2026 and Liquid Apollo on November 12, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*