# ai.local vs Cactus Chat

The clearest difference is rating: Cactus Chat at 4.8 against ai.local's 3.6. Cactus Chat also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 64%) and in-app purchases (none vs 1). ai.local's advantage is update cadence (every 9 days vs monthly). On price, ratings volume, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. ai.local sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Cactus Chat asks for nothing beyond the download.

Cactus Chat holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 9 and 4 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 64% of ai.local's written reviews are positive against 100% of Cactus Chat's.

ai.local ships an update every 9 days, Cactus Chat monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 10, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | ai.local | Cactus Chat |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [3.6 (9 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ailocal/id6741479958/reviews) | **[4.8 (4 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cactus-chat/id6744444212/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **9** | 4 |
| Positive reviews | 64.3% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 9 days** | Monthly |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 44 MB | 43 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.2 | **15.1** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Bruno Wernimont](https://appshunter.io/developer/1009262680) | [Roman Shemet](https://appshunter.io/developer/1782773354) |

## What reviewers say

### ai.local

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ailocal/id6741479958)

Run advanced language models directly on your iOS device with a privacy-first design. This app offers a user-friendly interface for easy setup and offline AI capabilities, supporting an Ollama-style API for compatibility with your preferred LLM UIs.

**Highlights:** Local LLM server on iOS, Ollama-style API support, Privacy-first design, Vast model selection, Easy setup and management, Offline AI capabilities

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

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Pro - Lifetime | $7.99 | one-time |


### Cactus Chat

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cactus-chat/id6744444212)

Engage in private conversations with an AI directly on your device. This application runs offline, ensuring your data remains secure and local. Developers can also utilize it to test and compare the performance of different large language models.

**Highlights:** Offline AI conversations, Private data storage, Developer LLM benchmarking, Runs directly on device, Free to use

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

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is ai.local free?

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

### Is Cactus Chat free?

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

### Which has better reviews, ai.local or Cactus Chat?

Cactus Chat is rated higher. ai.local averages 3.6 out of 5 from 9 ratings, while Cactus Chat averages 4.8 from 4 ratings.

### Do ai.local or Cactus Chat have ads?

Neither ai.local nor Cactus Chat shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, ai.local or Cactus Chat?

ai.local ships an update every 9 days, and Cactus Chat monthly. Most recently, ai.local was updated on September 10, 2026 and Cactus Chat on September 19, 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.*