# Bark vs ChatX

The clearest difference is rating: Bark at 4.9 against ChatX's 4.6. Bark also leads on review sentiment (98% vs 88%). ChatX's advantage is ratings volume (482 vs 110). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Bark sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.69 per year and ChatX sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Bark holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 110 and 482 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 98% of Bark's written reviews are positive against 88% of ChatX's.

Bark ships an update every 3 weeks, ChatX fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Bark | ChatX |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.9 (110 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bark-custom-notifications/id1403753865/reviews)** | [4.6 (482 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chatx-ai-chat-client-top/id6446304087/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 110 | **482** |
| Positive reviews | **98.4% of reviews** | 88.1% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | **Fortnightly** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 32 MB | 28 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [丰 黄](https://appshunter.io/developer/1090589311) | [6X Studio LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/888749139) |

## What reviewers say

### Bark

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bark-custom-notifications/id1403753865)

Send custom push notifications to your iPhone via an HTTP API. Supports advanced features like custom icons, grouping, and critical alerts. Offers privacy-protected, end-to-end encrypted pushes with self-deployable server options.

**Highlights:** HTTP API for push notifications, Custom icons and grouping, Continuous and critical alerts, End-to-end push encryption, Self-deployable server options, Privacy-protected notifications

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Continuous support | $2.69 | per year |
| One-time donation | $2.69 | one-time |


### ChatX

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chatx-ai-chat-client-top/id6446304087)

This AI chat client leverages advanced language models to help you generate content and boost efficiency. It offers features like prompt collections, quick phrases, and image generation, all accessible through high-speed API servers. Manage your conversations and settings across multiple devices with ease.

**Highlights:** Multiple advanced AI models, High-speed API servers, Prompt collections, Image generation, iCloud multi-device sync, Quick phrases and shortcuts

**Features:** Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (6)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pro (Lifetime) | Free | one-time |
| Add Words Pack 1 | $0.99 | one-time |
| Add Words Pack 2 | $3.99 | one-time |
| Pro | $4.99 | one-time |
| Add Words Pack 3 | $7.99 | one-time |
| Add Words Pack 4 | $17.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Great app, quality
- 👍 Useful and powerful client
- 👍 Excellent replacement for ChatGPT
- 👍 Nice features
- 👍 Very solid AI chat app with many features

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Text-to-Speech voices could use improvement
- 🐛 AI image generation needs an upgrade
- 🐛 UI size for chats can be unpredictable
- 🔒 Words limit is not nice
- 🐛 Difficulty identifying uncensored models

**Reported bugs**

- Inconsistent iCloud sync for chat settings
- Occasional crashes
- Compatibility issues with older devices
- Login screen freezes

**Requested features**

- Safari extension
- Keyboard extension
- Support for Azure OpenAI API
- Markdown support
- Local model import and loading


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Bark free?

Bark is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is ChatX free?

ChatX is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Bark or ChatX?

Bark is rated higher. Bark averages 4.9 out of 5 from 110 ratings, while ChatX averages 4.6 from 482 ratings.

### Do Bark or ChatX have ads?

Neither Bark nor ChatX shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Bark or ChatX?

Bark ships an update every 3 weeks, and ChatX fortnightly. Most recently, Bark was updated on October 25, 2026 and ChatX on October 21, 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.*