# MLC Chat vs AltBot Lite

The clearest difference is device support: AltBot Lite at 4 against MLC Chat's 2. AltBot Lite also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

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

## The numbers

| Metric | MLC Chat | AltBot Lite |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.2 (78 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mlc-chat/id6448482937/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **78** | — |
| Positive reviews | 68.3% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | — |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Size | 1.7 GB | 3.0 GB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac** |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [Tianqi Chen](https://appshunter.io/developer/1684828246) | [Quantaliz PTY LTD](https://appshunter.io/developer/1731306872) |

## 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


### AltBot Lite

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/altbot-lite/id6502375562)

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is MLC Chat free?

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

### Is AltBot Lite free?

AltBot Lite is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do MLC Chat or AltBot Lite have ads?

Neither MLC Chat nor AltBot Lite shows ads.

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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.*