Meshtastic vs Odysseus
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Meshtastic
This app enables off-grid, decentralized text messaging using low-power LoRa radios. It creates a mesh network for communication in areas lacking cellular or WiFi service. The open-source platform is designed for reliable, decentralized connectivity.
- Off-grid communication
- Decentralized mesh network
- LoRa radio integration
- Text messaging
- Open source platform
- Low-power operation
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Meshtastic® is an open source, off-grid, decentralized, mesh network built to run on low-power Lora radios letting you send text messages in areas without reliable cellular or WiFi service.
Odysseus
This native application connects to your self-hosted AI server, offering a private and secure way to interact with your models. It provides a full AI workspace with features like notes, a calendar, email client, and document integration, all within a customizable interface.
- Native chat with live streaming
- Connect to various AI models
- AI workspace with notes, calendar, email
- Built-in agent tools
- Customizable themes and languages
- On-device voice capabilities
- Optional app lock
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Odysseus is your self-hosted AI, as a real native app. It's a fast, 100% native app (no WebView) for your own Odysseus / Open WebUI server. Bring your models, your data and your privacy — and talk to them from a beautiful iPhone and Mac app. WHAT YOU GET • Native chat with live streaming, full Markdown, tables and code — never a wrapped web page. • Connect any model: OpenRouter, Ollama, local llama.cpp, and other compatible endpoints. • A real AI workspace, not just a chatbot: notes, calendar, a built-in email client (IMAP/SMTP), personal documents (RAG) and image generation. • 68 built-in agent tools — code, web search, documents, multi-agent, email and calendar. • Compare two models side by side, and run Deep Research with a native report view. MAKE IT YOURS • 34 languages, including right-to-left (Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Pashto). Auto-detects your device language. • 16 themes, custom fonts and animated backgrounds. PRIVACY FIRST • It's YOUR server. Odysseus only talks to the address you configure — nothing is sent to us. • On-device voice (speech-to-text and text-to-speech). • Optional Face ID / Touch ID app lock. Note: Odysseus is a client for a self-hosted Open WebUI / Odysseus server. You need your own server to sign in.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Meshtastic at Free against Odysseus's $2.99. Meshtastic also leads on ratings volume (846 vs 1) and device support (5 vs 3). Odysseus's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.1) and chart position (#113 vs unranked). On review sentiment, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Meshtastic is free to download; Odysseus costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Odysseus holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Meshtastic has 846 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 44% of Meshtastic's written reviews are positive against 50% of Odysseus's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Meshtastic | Odysseus |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $2.99 |
| Rating | 4.1 (846 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 44.0% of reviews | 50.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 846 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Weekly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | #113 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 17.5 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 147 MB | 23 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Meshtastic LLC | Joao Victor Zao |
Customer experience
Meshtastic
Odysseus
Bugs and requests
Meshtastic
Reported bugs
4 issues- Canned messages configuration issues
- Location sharing and traceroute functions not working
- Settings screen bugs and crashes
- Inconsistent behavior when switching between devices
Requested features
5 requests- Offline maps support
- Ability to customize notifications
- More sorting and filtering options for nodes
- Apple Watch and Shortcuts integration
- Improved documentation and user guidance
Odysseus
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Meshtastic
No in-app purchases
Odysseus
No in-app purchases
