Comparison

MLC Chat vs VaultArm

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

VaultArm

Manage your firearm collection with this privacy-focused inventory app. Track detailed records, add photos, and log maintenance for each weapon. Includes new location tracking to know where each firearm is stored.

Highlights
  • Privacy-first design, data stays on device
  • Detailed firearm records (make, model, serial)
  • Location tracking for storage management
  • Photo and document storage
  • Maintenance logging
  • CSV data import/export
Features
Read full description

VaultArm is the ultimate privacy-first firearm inventory app built for responsible gun owners. Whether you're a collector, enthusiast, or professional, VaultArm helps you track, organize, and manage your firearms with confidence. Now with location tracking for each firearm, you can easily stay on top of where everything is stored—at home, in a safe, or offsite. * Privacy-First Design: Your data stays on your device—no cloud storage, no accounts, no tracking. * Detailed Firearm Records: Store make, model, caliber, serial number, condition, and photos for every firearm. * Location Tracking (NEW): Assign a location to each firearm—helpful for managing multiple safes or storage spots. * Photo & Document Storage: Add images of receipts, certifications, or other important documents. * Maintenance Tracking: Log cleaning, service, or modifications to help keep your collection in top shape. * Import/Export Data: Back up your data or move it to a new device easily with CSV file export/import. * Universal App: Works on iPhone and iPad. Pay once—no subscriptions, no in-app purchases. Why Choose VaultArm? 1. Designed for privacy-conscious firearm owners 2. Built for collectors, professionals, and everyday gun owners 3. Simple one-time purchase: just $4.99 4. Always improving with regular feature updates

Screenshots

MLC Chat2 screens
VaultArm4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: MLC Chat at 68% against VaultArm's 0%. MLC Chat also leads on price (Free vs $4.99) and rating (4.2 vs 3.5). VaultArm's advantage is chart position (#154 vs unranked) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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

MLC Chat is free to download; VaultArm costs $4.99 up front. 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 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: MLC Chat has 84 ratings behind it against 2, 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 0% of VaultArm's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
MLC Chat versus VaultArm: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMLC ChatVaultArm
PriceFree — better$4.99
Rating4.2 (84 ratings) — better3.5 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews68.3% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings84 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
Best chart rank—#154 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size1.7 GB33 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperTianqi ChenNorth View Enterprises, LLC

Customer experience

MLC Chat

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

VaultArm

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

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

VaultArm

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

MLC Chat

No in-app purchases

None

VaultArm

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is MLC Chat free?
MLC Chat is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is VaultArm free?
VaultArm costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, MLC Chat or VaultArm?
MLC Chat is rated higher. MLC Chat averages 4.2 out of 5 from 84 ratings, while VaultArm averages 3.5 from 2 ratings.
Do MLC Chat or VaultArm have ads?
Neither MLC Chat nor VaultArm shows ads.
Which is updated more often, MLC Chat or VaultArm?
MLC Chat ships an update every 2 months, and VaultArm every 2 months. Most recently, MLC Chat was updated on October 24, 2026 and VaultArm on October 25, 2026.

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