Comparison

Alidade vs MineChat

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

Head to head
About

Alidade

Explore your Minecraft worlds across Mac, iPhone, and iPad. Easily find structures and biomes, and mark important locations with photos and descriptions. Seamlessly sync across devices for a native experience.

Highlights
  • Explore Minecraft worlds
  • Locate structures and biomes
  • Pin favorite locations
  • Add photos and descriptions to pins
  • Native experience across Mac, iPhone, iPad
  • Seamless Continuity sync
Read full description

Navigate and explore your worlds across Mac, iPhone, and iPad for Minecraft Java Edition. Quickly locate nearby structures and biomes with a search. And pin your favorite or most memorable locations with photos, descriptions, and more. A FULLY NATIVE EXPERIENCE Alidade is designed to be a fully native app that works well across your Mac, iPhone, and iPad. Use Continuity to pick up where you left off, leverage your Photos library, and enjoy a blazingly fast experience. FILE SUPPORT Alidade stores your worlds as files that you can easily work with. Save them to your device, move them to iCloud Drive, or place them wherever you like. And even share them with your friends easily. CUSTOMIZABLE PINS Pin your favorite or frequently visited locations easily. Give them a color and name, add screenshots from your world, and write descriptions that best work for you. --- IMPORTANT: Alidade is NOT affiliated with or endorsed by Mojang AB and/or Microsoft, and it is not an official Minecraft product. Minecraft is a registered trademark of Mojang AB and Microsoft Corporation. iCloud, Mac, iPhone, iPad, and iCloud Drive are registered trademarks of Apple Inc.

About

MineChat

Features
Read full description

MineChat is a mobile client for Minecraft: Java Edition servers on iPhone and iPad. Connect directly from your device to read and send chat, run slash commands, check your inventory, walk around with touch controls, or keep your accounts online while AFK. MineChat connects directly from your device to the Minecraft server you enter. We do not run relay or proxy servers, and your credentials stay on your device. MULTIPLE ACCOUNTS AT ONCE • Connect with multiple accounts at the same time, on one server or across different servers, and switch between active sessions with a tap • Each connection keeps its own live chat, map, and inventory running while you view another • Active connections stay at the top of the home screen with unread message badges and a built-in memory monitor CHAT, CONTROLS, MAP, WAYPOINTS & INVENTORY • Full Minecraft chat with server colors, formatting, hover tooltips, clickable links, command autocomplete, in-chat message search, and a one-tap hotkey bar • Quick-reply directly from alert notifications without opening the app • Searchable per-session chat logs with match navigation and styled HTML export preserving Minecraft colors • Player list (Tab) with live ping indicators, scoreboards, boss bars, and health/hunger/XP bars • Touch controls with on-screen joystick, camera look, jump, sneak, fly, and block/entity interaction • Free live 2D top-down map around your character showing terrain, nearby players, mobs, and saved waypoints • Map waypoints: save coordinates with custom names and marker colors, see pins on the map, jump to any waypoint from the list, or copy its coordinates • Full 36-slot inventory and container viewer (armor, off-hand, hotbar, chests, barrels, shulker boxes, furnaces) rendered with item textures, durability bars, and enchantments • Sign in with a Microsoft account (official OAuth flow, tokens stored in the iOS Keychain) or join offline-mode / LAN servers with any username • Live server status (MOTD, player count, latency) with automatic Minecraft version detection when adding or editing a server, plus the iOS Home Screen Widget • Screen-off AFK mode and background session support (including extended background sessions on iOS 26+) FREE FEATURES • Up to 2 simultaneous server connections • Up to 2 saved accounts, 3 saved servers, 2 chat hotkeys, 3 map waypoints, and 1 on-connect command per server • Full chat with search, HTML log export, player list, scoreboards, touch controls, live 2D map, inventory/chests, and screen-off AFK mode • Background notifications with quick-reply for disconnect/kick, death, and up to 3 chat trigger words • Optional rewarded video unlocks 15 minutes of Pro (up to 3 times a day) • Ad-supported MINECHAT PRO (MONTHLY OR ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION) • Unlimited simultaneous connections (as many as your device's memory allows) • Unlimited saved accounts, servers, chat hotkeys, map waypoints, on-connect commands, and chat trigger words • 2.5D isometric block map (experimental): angled view rendered with the game's block models and textures • Automatic server login (/login password sent automatically when joining) and Anti-AFK movement • Extra background and AFK alerts for taking damage, low hunger, and character movement • No ads, and instant entry into screen-off AFK mode Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled in your App Store account settings at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Any extra accounts, servers, hotkeys, or waypoints saved during Pro or a 15-minute video trial are never deleted when Pro ends; they stay hidden until you unlock Pro again. SUPPORTED MINECRAFT VERSIONS Minecraft: Java Edition 1.21.5 through 26.3 (Java Edition servers only; Bedrock Edition is not supported). PRIVACY & TERMS Privacy Policy: https://minechat.fun/privacy/ Terms of Service (EULA): https://minechat.fun/terms/ NOT AN OFFICIAL MINECRAFT PRODUCT. NOT APPROVED BY OR ASSOCIATED WITH MOJANG OR MICROSOFT.

Screenshots

Alidade4 screens
MineChat4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Alidade at none against MineChat's 2. Alidade also leads on ads (none vs shown). MineChat's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 3 weeks) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.2). On price and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· Monetization

Both are free to download. MineChat sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Alidade asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Alidade ships an update every 3 weeks, MineChat every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences Ā· 4 level
Alidade versus MineChat: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAlidadeMineChat
PriceFreeFree
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 2 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS18.215.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size13 MB43 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMarquis KurtROBERT BALOG

In-app purchases

None

Alidade

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

MineChat

Subscriptions2
  • MineChat Pro - Monthly$2.991 Month
  • MineChat Pro - Annual$19.991 Year

Questions

Is Alidade free?
Alidade is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is MineChat free?
MineChat is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Alidade or MineChat have ads?
MineChat shows ads; Alidade does not.
Which is updated more often, Alidade or MineChat?
Alidade ships an update every 3 weeks, and MineChat every 2 days. Most recently, Alidade was updated on November 4, 2026 and MineChat on November 10, 2026.

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