# MLC Chat vs Local Brain

The clearest difference is rating: MLC Chat at 4.2 against Local Brain's 1.3. MLC Chat also leads on review sentiment (68% vs 30%) and ratings volume (78 vs 6). Local Brain's advantage is update cadence (every 10 days vs every 2 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

MLC Chat holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 1.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: MLC Chat has 78 ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 68% of MLC Chat's written reviews are positive against 30% of Local Brain's.

MLC Chat ships an update every 2 months, Local Brain every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on August 19, 2026 and July 5, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | MLC Chat | Local Brain |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.2 (78 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mlc-chat/id6448482937/reviews)** | [1.3 (6 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/local-brain/id6476066730/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **78** | 6 |
| Positive reviews | **68.3% of reviews** | 30.4% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 10 days** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 1.7 GB | 8 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Tianqi Chen](https://appshunter.io/developer/1684828246) | [Michal Jach](https://appshunter.io/developer/1474348197) |

## What reviewers say

### MLC Chat

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mlc-chat/id6448482937)

Engage in conversations with open language models directly on your iPad or iPhone. Once a model is downloaded, all interactions occur locally, ensuring privacy and offline functionality without internet access. This app is designed for non-commercial use, allowing you to run various open-source language models on your device.

**Highlights:** Local AI model chat, Offline functionality, No internet required, Privacy-focused, Open-source project integration, Downloadable language models

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Runs fast locally
- ✅ Works offline
- 💰 Free to use
- 👍 Easy to use
- 💡 Supports various LLM models

**What reviewers complain about**

- ⚠️ Limited model selection
- 📉 High VRAM requirements
- 📱 Incompatible with older devices
- ❌ Crashes on some devices/models
- 🗄️ Cannot save conversations

**Reported bugs**

- Phi model crashes on iOS 26.0.1 17 Pro Max
- App crashes on iPad Pro 4th Gen, iPadOs 17.7
- RedPajama model crashes app on initialization
- Update is extremely slow
- Download model button disabled in new version

**Requested features**

- Ability to import custom models (from URL/Hugging Face)
- Support for more specific models (DeepSeek, Phi-2, Gemma 2B/7B, MoE Mixtral 8x7B, LLaVA)
- History of conversations
- iOS shortcuts support
- Ability to export entire responses


### Local Brain

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/local-brain/id6476066730)

This app allows you to run powerful AI language models directly on your device, ensuring complete privacy and offline functionality. Select from various models and manage multiple conversations simultaneously for a personalized AI experience.

**Highlights:** Run AI models locally, Full offline capability, Choose from multiple models, Create multiple chat contexts, Privacy-focused AI

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is MLC Chat free?

MLC Chat is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Local Brain free?

Local Brain is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, MLC Chat or Local Brain?

MLC Chat is rated higher. MLC Chat averages 4.2 out of 5 from 78 ratings, while Local Brain averages 1.3 from 6 ratings.

### Do MLC Chat or Local Brain have ads?

Neither MLC Chat nor Local Brain shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, MLC Chat or Local Brain?

MLC Chat ships an update every 2 months, and Local Brain every 10 days. Most recently, MLC Chat was updated on August 19, 2026 and Local Brain on July 5, 2026.

---

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