# MLC Chat vs Sleeveworks

The clearest difference is rating: Sleeveworks at 5.0 against MLC Chat's 4.2. Sleeveworks also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 months). MLC Chat's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and ratings volume (78 vs 1). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Sleeveworks sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. MLC Chat asks for nothing beyond the download.

Sleeveworks 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, Sleeveworks every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | MLC Chat | Sleeveworks |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.2 (78 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mlc-chat/id6448482937/reviews) | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sleeveworks/id6777471014/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **78** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 68.3% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 5 days** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 1.7 GB | 418 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad** | iPhone |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [Tianqi Chen](https://appshunter.io/developer/1684828246) | [Jayson Hawley](https://appshunter.io/developer/6773509398) |

## 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


### Sleeveworks

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sleeveworks/id6777471014)

Engage in private AI conversations with distinct personalities running directly on your device. Choose from a variety of characters, interact via voice or text, and maintain local conversation history without internet access or tracking.

**Highlights:** On-device AI processing, Multiple AI personalities, Voice and text interaction, Offline conversation support, Local conversation history, Customizable themes

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

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Atlas | $1.99 | one-time |
| Stella | $1.99 | one-time |
| Quill | $1.99 | one-time |
| Vance | $1.99 | one-time |
| Doc Hertz | $1.99 | one-time |
| Pixel | $1.99 | one-time |
| Bea | $1.99 | one-time |
| Brio | $1.99 | one-time |
| Sterling | $1.99 | one-time |
| Specter | $1.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is MLC Chat free?

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

### Is Sleeveworks free?

Sleeveworks is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, MLC Chat or Sleeveworks?

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

### Do MLC Chat or Sleeveworks have ads?

Neither MLC Chat nor Sleeveworks shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, MLC Chat or Sleeveworks?

MLC Chat ships an update every 2 months, and Sleeveworks every 5 days. Most recently, MLC Chat was updated on October 14, 2026 and Sleeveworks on October 11, 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.*