# MLC Chat vs Nested

The clearest difference is rating: Nested at 5.0 against MLC Chat's 4.2. Nested also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 68%) and update cadence (every 8 days vs every 2 months). MLC Chat's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and ratings volume (84 vs 3). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Nested sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. MLC Chat asks for nothing beyond the download.

Nested holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: MLC Chat has 84 ratings behind it against 3, 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 100% of Nested's.

MLC Chat ships an update every 2 months, Nested every 8 days. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | MLC Chat | Nested |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.2 (84 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mlc-chat/id6448482937/reviews) | **[5.0 (3 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nested-habit-tracker/id6817334619/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **84** | 3 |
| Positive reviews | 68.3% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 8 days** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 1.7 GB | 2 MB |
| Requires iOS | **17.0** | 26.5 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad** | iPhone |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Tianqi Chen](https://appshunter.io/developer/1684828246) | [Julia Robinson Rosendorff](https://appshunter.io/developer/6817334621) |

## 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


### Nested

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/nested-habit-tracker/id6817334619)

Organize your habits within larger goals, allowing for flexible tracking of different methods or all required steps. Capture reflections with journal entries and maintain streaks with forgiving mechanisms for missed days or planned pauses. Your data remains private and stored locally.

**Highlights:** Nested habit grouping, Journal entries for habits, Forgiving streaks, Habit pausing, Local data storage, Weekly/monthly/yearly summaries, Home screen widgets

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

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Coffee | $2.99 | one-time |
| Treat | $4.99 | one-time |
| Bouquet | $9.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is MLC Chat free?

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

### Is Nested free?

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

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

Nested is rated higher. MLC Chat averages 4.2 out of 5 from 84 ratings, while Nested averages 5.0 from 3 ratings.

### Do MLC Chat or Nested have ads?

Neither MLC Chat nor Nested shows ads.

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

MLC Chat ships an update every 2 months, and Nested every 8 days. Most recently, MLC Chat was updated on October 24, 2026 and Nested on October 24, 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.*