# Chatbox vs CHM Reader

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Chatbox at none against CHM Reader's 2. On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. CHM Reader sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Chatbox asks for nothing beyond the download.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 18, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Chatbox | CHM Reader |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.6 (659 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chatbox-powerful-ai-client/id6471368056/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **659** | — |
| Positive reviews | 77.8% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Weekly |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Size | 48 MB | 6 MB |
| Requires iOS | **16.0** | 17.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 17+ | 9+ |
| Developer | [Mediocre Apps](https://appshunter.io/developer/1772881024) | [文利 罗](https://appshunter.io/developer/1743701483) |

## What reviewers say

### Chatbox

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chatbox-powerful-ai-client/id6471368056)

This application acts as a universal client, connecting you to leading AI models across various devices. It offers features like code assistance, image generation, and smart file understanding, all while prioritizing local data storage for privacy.

**Highlights:** Connect to multiple AI models, Analyze documents, images, and code, AI-powered code generation and optimization, Text-to-image generation, Local data storage for privacy, Cross-device synchronization

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

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Good customization options
- 🚀 Works well with local LLMs
- 💡 Supports multiple API formats
- 🔒 Privacy-focused (account-free)

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Local network access issues on iOS
- 🐛 Compatibility problems with older iOS versions
- 🐛 Streaming response issues
- 🐛 UI/UX not optimized for mobile

**Reported bugs**

- Cannot select Ollama models
- Custom API URL connections failing
- Live scrolling issues during streaming
- Proxy settings not working on mobile

**Requested features**

- Add support for local Ollama models
- Improve organization features (folders, projects, etc.)
- Implement iCloud syncing
- Add Chinese language support


### CHM Reader

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chm-reader-offline-and-pdf/id6502591888)

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

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| chm阅读器会员 | $1.99 | one-time |
| chm阅读器永久会员 | $1.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Chatbox free?

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

### Is CHM Reader free?

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

### Do Chatbox or CHM Reader have ads?

Neither Chatbox nor CHM Reader shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Chatbox or CHM Reader?

Chatbox ships an update weekly, and CHM Reader weekly. Most recently, Chatbox was updated on October 20, 2026 and CHM Reader on October 18, 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.*