Comparison

DEVONthink To Go 4 vs Private AI

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

DEVONthink To Go 4

Manage your entire knowledge library on your iPad and iPhone. Organize, edit, and annotate documents, notes, and more. Leverage generative AI for summaries, content creation, and advanced search. Syncs privately and securely across devices.

Highlights
  • Document organization and management
  • AI-powered summaries and content creation
  • PDF annotation and editing
  • On-device OCR for searchable documents
  • Cross-device secure synchronization
  • Custom metadata and tagging
  • Shortcuts automation
Features
Read full description

Your entire knowledge library. Always with you. Always private. DEVONthink To Go is your document repository when you're not at your Mac. Collect, organize, edit, and annotate. Use generative AI to work with your stored knowledge or create new documents. Automate with Shortcuts. Our time-tested technology keeps all your data in sync between your Mac, iPad, and iPhone, privately and securely. The professional document and information manager for iPad and iPhone. From DEVONtechnologies, driving innovation since 2002. - Students: Annotate research papers with AI-powered summaries - Teachers: Organize your materials, use AI to create handouts and tests - Researchers: Have your data with you in a robust, powerful knowledge manager - Lawyers: Keep all case files organized and encrypted Have your important documents with you at all times: - Never lose an important document again, keep everything organized - Store PDFs, notes, images, bookmarks, just about any type - File your documents in groups, even more than one group at a time - Use tags, mark documents with flags or as unread, give them a star rating - Versioning lets you return to a previous state of a document - Revision-proof databases prevent edits to documents with special requirements - Sync your data between Macs, iPads, and iPhones, securely and privately Work with your documents: - Edit texts, Markdown files, or rich text documents - Annotate and edit PDFs with common tools - Make scans, scanned PDFs, or images searchable with the built-in, on-device OCR - Add custom, searchable metadata fields to enrich your documents Use generative AI: - Work with your favorite provider and model - Chat with your documents, analyze or summarize them - Transform text or extract text from images and even handwritten notes - Create new images from your data - Find documents using natural language with the AI-powered search assistant - Let the AI make order from chaos, rename documents, add tags, or label or rate them DEVONthink To Go is well-integrated with other apps: - Link to your documents from other apps with universal links - Access all your documents also through the Files app - Clip data from almost any app with the Clip to DEVONthink extension - Use drag-and-drop, inside DEVONthink To Go or between apps - Automate repetitive tasks with Shortcuts actions DEVONthink To Go is great standalone but also works perfectly with DEVONthink for Mac and across multiple devices. Synchronize your databases securely and privately over the local network or through a cloud service of your choice. You decide what data is synced, when, and where. Strong encryption makes sure that your data belongs to you, not to your service provider or us. Privacy policy: https://www.devontechnologies.com/r/privacy End user license agreement: https://www.devontechnologies.com/r/eula

About

Private AI

Features
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Transform how you work with information using Private AI: Document Chat, the AI assistant that keeps 100% of your data private on your device. No internet required. No data uploaded. Ever. 100% PRIVATE & OFFLINE Your conversations, documents, and data stay on YOUR device. Forever. Unlike ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, or other cloud AI services, Private AI uses Apple's built-in Intelligence models for completely offline, lightning fast responses. Zero tracking. Zero uploads. Zero compromises. Perfect for confidential, sensitive, or personal use. NO HIDDEN COSTS No subscriptions. No in-app purchases. No "premium" features locked behind paywalls. Buy once, use forever. POWERED BY APPLE INTELLIGENCE Built exclusively for iPhone 15 Pro+, iPad M1+, and Mac with Apple Silicon. No large, external vendor model downloads eating your storage - Private AI leverages the powerful AI models already in your device from Apple. Fast, efficient, and always ready. CHAT WITH YOUR DOCUMENTS Upload PDFs, code files, spreadsheets, notes, research papers, meeting transcripts, word documents, and more. With any text-based file, you can ask questions, get summaries, extract insights, analyze data, and more using advanced RAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation) technology. Your personal document library becomes instantly searchable and queryable. 25 SPECIALIZED AI EXPERTS READY TO USE No prompt engineering needed. Just pick your expert: • Study & Learn: Teacher, Summarizer, Simplifier • Coding: Code Expert, Debugger, Technical Writer • Writing: Creative Writer, ReWriter, Spell Checker, Poet, Story Teller • Business: Analyst, Marketer, Meeting Notes, Recruiter, Planner • Creative: Brainstormer, Social Media, Guide Creator, Motivator • Utility: Translator, Pros & Cons, Follow Ups, Concise Mode Plus, create unlimited custom prompts for your specific needs! VS CHATGPT, CLAUDE, GEMINI, & OTHERS They require internet & upload your data → Private AI is 100% offline They charge monthly subscriptions forever → Private AI is yours (one-time purchase) They track your usage & conversations → Private AI has zero analytics, zero tracking They can't guarantee where your data goes → Private AI your data never leaves your device WHO IS THIS FOR? • Students - Study aids, research analysis, essay help, exam prep • Professionals - Confidential docs, reports, presentations, meeting notes • Developers - Code review, debugging, documentation, architecture planning • Writers - Brainstorming, editing, storytelling, content creation • Researchers - Paper analysis, data insights, literature review Anyone who values privacy and wants to leverage AI with sensitive information that absolutely does not belong in the cloud. POWERFUL FEATURES • Multiple isolated conversations - keep contexts separate • Document library - reuse files across chats • Beautiful themes - customize every color • Smart search - find conversations and documents instantly • Markdown support - beautifully formatted responses • No ads, ever - you own the app, not the other way around HOW DOES IT WORK? Private AI uses Apple's Foundation Models that are already on compatible devices. When you upload a document, it's split into intelligent chunks and converted to vector embeddings (mathematical representations of meaning) stored in a local database. When you ask questions, our RAG system finds the most relevant chunks and provides them as context to the AI model alongside your query. The model generates responses using both the retrieved information and its built-in knowledge - all processed locally on your device's Neural Engine. No internet. No APIs. No cloud processing. Just pure, private, on-device AI. Your knowledge. Your privacy. Your control. Download Private AI: Document Chat and experience truly private AI assistance today. REQUIREMENTS: • iOS26 • iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 16+ models • iPad mini (A17 Pro) or iPad with M1+ • Mac with Apple Silicon (M1+)

Screenshots

DEVONthink To Go 44 screens
Private AI4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: DEVONthink To Go 4 at Free against Private AI's $4.99. Private AI's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and update cadence (every 2 days vs every 3 weeks). On ads, device support and iOS requirement 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

DEVONthink To Go 4 is free to download; Private AI costs $4.99 up front. DEVONthink To Go 4 sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Private AI asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

DEVONthink To Go 4 ships an update every 3 weeks, Private AI every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and July 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
DEVONthink To Go 4 versus Private AI: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDEVONthink To Go 4Private AI
PriceFree — better$4.99
Rating4.7 (226 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews42.9% of reviews—
Number of ratings226 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
Best chart rank—#195 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.026.0
Further details — not scored
Size191 MB6 MB
Age rating17+12+
DeveloperDEVONtechnologies, LLCGTechnologies LLC

In-app purchases

2 purchases

DEVONthink To Go 4

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly1 Month trial$2.991 Month
  • Yearly1 Month trial$19.991 Year
None

Private AI

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is DEVONthink To Go 4 free?
DEVONthink To Go 4 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Private AI free?
Private AI costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do DEVONthink To Go 4 or Private AI have ads?
Neither DEVONthink To Go 4 nor Private AI shows ads.
Which is updated more often, DEVONthink To Go 4 or Private AI?
DEVONthink To Go 4 ships an update every 3 weeks, and Private AI every 2 days. Most recently, DEVONthink To Go 4 was updated on September 23, 2026 and Private AI on July 30, 2026.

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