Comparison

MLC Chat vs Mollama

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

MLC Chat

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
Read full description

MLC Chat lets users chat with open language models locally on ipads and iphones. After a model is downloaded to the app, everything runs locally without server support, and it works without internet connections do not record any information. Because the models run locally, it only works for the devices with sufficient VRAM depending on the models being used. MLC Chat is part of open source project MLC LLM, with allows any language model to be deployed natively on a diverse set of hardware backends and native applications. MLC Chat is a runtime that runs different open model architectures on your phone. The app is intended for non-commercial purposes. It allows you to run open-language models downloaded from the internet. Each model can be subject to its respective licenses.

About

Mollama

This AI companion runs entirely on your device, ensuring complete privacy and security. It offers intelligent conversations, creative support, and problem-solving without sending your data to external servers. Enjoy offline functionality and real-time interaction with various AI models.

Highlights
  • Fully on-device processing
  • Zero data transmission
  • Offline functionality
  • Real-time interaction
  • Multi-model support
  • Contextual understanding
Read full description

Mollama: Your Intelligent AI Companion, Running Entirely On-Device Mollama is a privacy-first, secure AI assistant that processes everything locally on your device. It offers intelligent conversations, creative support, and problem-solving capabilities without sending your data to external servers. ## Privacy and Security - Fully on-device processing: Complete control over your data, no cloud dependency - Zero data transmission: No collection, storage, or sharing of personal information ## Core Technologies: MLX and Ollama - Powered by Apple Neural Engine: Efficient on-device AI for optimized performance - Open-source language models: Flexibility to choose models suited to different tasks ## Key Features - Offline functionality: Operates seamlessly without internet after initial setup - Real-time interaction: Natural conversation experience with quick responses - Multi-model support: Adapts to various tasks with different AI models - Contextual understanding: Remembers conversation history for consistent replies - User-friendly interface: Intuitive design for easy and straightforward use ## Ideal for - Developers: Code generation, debugging, technical assistance - Writers: Creative writing, text editing, brainstorming - Students: Homework help, research support, exam preparation - Professionals: Email drafting, report generation, data analysis - Creatives: Idea generation, storytelling, problem-solving - Lifelong learners: Exploring knowledge across multiple fields ## Technical Highlights - MLX integration: Unlocks the full potential of Apple's machine learning accelerator - Ollama support: Effortless management of large open-source language models - Resource-efficient: Optimizes performance while minimizing battery usage ## Privacy Commitment All data is processed locally on your device; we do not collect or transmit any personal information, ensuring your privacy is always protected. ## Get Started Download Mollama now to explore the next generation of AI technology, combining intelligence with top-notch privacy protection. ## Important Notes - Storage requirements: Sufficient device space is needed for AI model operation - Device performance: Experience may vary based on hardware specifications Download Mollama now and step into a new era of secure, private AI experiences.

Screenshots

MLC Chat2 screens
Mollama4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: MLC Chat at 4.2 against Mollama's 3.4. MLC Chat also leads on review sentiment (68% vs 42%). Mollama's advantage is update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months). On price, ratings volume, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

MLC Chat holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 3.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 84 and 36 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 68% of MLC Chat's written reviews are positive against 42% of Mollama's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

MLC Chat ships an update every 2 months, Mollama every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
MLC Chat versus Mollama: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMLC ChatMollama
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (84 ratings) — better3.4 (36 ratings)
Positive reviews68.3% of reviews — better42.0% of reviews
Number of ratings84 — better36
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size1.7 GB296 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperTianqi Chen飞 杨

Customer experience

MLC Chat

All ratings78 ratings
Positive83.3%
Neutral3.8%
Negative12.8%
Written reviews63 reviews
Positive68.3%
Neutral12.7%
Negative19.0%

Mollama

All ratings29 ratings
Positive58.6%
Neutral20.7%
Negative20.7%
Written reviews50 reviews
Positive42.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative38.0%

User reviews

MLC Chat

From 84 App Store ratings

What we love

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

Room to improve

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

Mollama

From 36 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great for local models
  • 👍 Native MLX support
  • 👍 Simple interface
  • 👍 Good for hobbyists
  • 👍 Works with Llama

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes frequently
  • 🐛 Buggy and error-prone
  • 🐛 Unusable with larger models
  • 🐛 Download issues
  • 🐛 Slow downloads

Bugs and requests

MLC Chat

Reported bugs

17 issues
  • 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
Show 12 more
  • RedPajama model crashes, custom model download removed
  • App closes when hitting send on iPhone 13
  • Conversation resets when app is backgrounded
  • Vicuna and Mistral 7B models cause crashes
  • Some 7b q4f16/q4f32 models crash on iPhone 15 Pro
  • App crashes on iPhone 13 mini
  • Cannot load other models from URL
  • Crash on iPhone 12
  • Severe heating and frequency reduction on A15
  • Low VRAM failed initialization on 3GB LP DDR4X phone
  • Cannot run 4bit model on iPhone 15 with 8GB RAM
  • Loading models from HF MLC official Repo causes crashes

Requested features

14 requests
  • 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
Show 9 more
  • Information on VRAM requirements per phone/model
  • Ability to change system message/create custom profiles
  • Ability to edit responses and system prompt
  • Add coffee support
  • Delete downloaded models
  • Change settings per model (repetition penalties, temperature)
  • How-to guide for importing/recompiling LLMs
  • Estimate model compatibility before download
  • Support for CN and ZH languages

Mollama

Reported bugs

18 issues
  • App crashes on sending messages with certain models
  • Tokenizer metadata errors in offline mode
  • Unsupported model type errors (e.g., Gemma, Qwen3)
  • Models not loading when selected
  • App freezes phone during model download
Show 13 more
  • Download bar lags app significantly
  • Downloads stop when app is inactive
  • Downloaded models stop working offline
  • App crashes when trying to run chain-of-thought models
  • App crashes with Qwen2.3 35b
  • Keyboard overlaps chat box and send button
  • Cannot load external servers
  • App crashes when trying to chat
  • App crashes on newer generation iPad with Qwen2.3 35b
  • App crashes on older iPhone 11 Plus
  • Ollama access not working
  • App crashes when trying to send prompts in long chats
  • Camera button in chat window doesn't work

Requested features

10 requests
  • Add notification permission for background downloads
  • Show LLM name for each answer
  • Support for Qwen3 family of models
  • Ability to use any HuggingFace MLX models
  • Allow user-defined model folders
Show 5 more
  • Adjustable model parameters (temperature, etc.)
  • Shortcut support
  • Support for interacting with shortcuts
  • Ability to modify system prompt
  • Add a donate button

In-app purchases

None

MLC Chat

No in-app purchases

None

Mollama

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is MLC Chat free?
MLC Chat is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Mollama free?
Mollama is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, MLC Chat or Mollama?
MLC Chat is rated higher. MLC Chat averages 4.2 out of 5 from 84 ratings, while Mollama averages 3.4 from 36 ratings.
Do MLC Chat or Mollama have ads?
Neither MLC Chat nor Mollama shows ads.
Which is updated more often, MLC Chat or Mollama?
MLC Chat ships an update every 2 months, and Mollama every 2 weeks. Most recently, MLC Chat was updated on October 24, 2026 and Mollama on October 23, 2026.

Other comparisons