# MLC Chat vs ChatterBox Pro

The clearest difference is price: MLC Chat at Free against ChatterBox Pro's $4.99. MLC Chat also leads on ratings volume (78 vs 1) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). ChatterBox Pro's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.2) and update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 months). On ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

MLC Chat is free to download; ChatterBox Pro costs $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ChatterBox Pro holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: MLC Chat has 78 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

MLC Chat ships an update every 2 months, ChatterBox Pro every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | MLC Chat | ChatterBox Pro |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $4.99 |
| Rating | [4.2 (78 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mlc-chat/id6448482937/reviews) | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chatterbox-pro/id6769175911/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **78** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 68.3% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 5 days** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Paid |
| Size | 1.7 GB | 39 MB |
| Requires iOS | **17.0** | 26.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [Tianqi Chen](https://appshunter.io/developer/1684828246) | [Tyler Paglia](https://appshunter.io/developer/1843265229) |

## 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


### ChatterBox Pro

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chatterbox-pro/id6769175911)

This local-first AI workspace allows users to run compatible AI models on their device, manage model files, and connect to remote services. It offers flexible control over AI generation settings, document attachment, and various export options, all without a subscription.

**Highlights:** Run local AI models on-device, Manage GGUF and sideloaded models, Connect to remote AI endpoints, Attach documents for context, Tune generation settings, Export chats to text, Markdown, or PDF, Optional web search and memory

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is MLC Chat free?

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

### Is ChatterBox Pro free?

ChatterBox Pro costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, MLC Chat or ChatterBox Pro?

ChatterBox Pro is rated higher. MLC Chat averages 4.2 out of 5 from 78 ratings, while ChatterBox Pro averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do MLC Chat or ChatterBox Pro have ads?

Neither MLC Chat nor ChatterBox Pro shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, MLC Chat or ChatterBox Pro?

MLC Chat ships an update every 2 months, and ChatterBox Pro every 5 days. Most recently, MLC Chat was updated on October 6, 2026 and ChatterBox Pro on October 2, 2026.

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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.*