Comparison

esper vs Based LLM

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

Head to head
About

esper

This AI chat app allows you to run powerful open-source models completely offline on your device. It offers features like multimodal support, local knowledge bases, and image generation, prioritizing user privacy with no tracking or server reliance.

Highlights
  • Run open-source models offline
  • Bring your own API keys
  • Multimodal support (images, PDFs)
  • Local RAG knowledge bases
  • Local image generation
  • Web search integration
  • Branching conversations
Features
Read full description

esper - Offline & Private AI is your personal AI chat app—designed to keep your conversations private and powerful. Run open-source models completely offline on your iPhone. With esper - Offline & Private AI, you can choose to keep your data on your device. No tracking. Key Features of esper - Offline & Private AI: – Run Offline Download top open-source models like Qwen, Gemma, and DeepSeek directly to your phone—fully functional even without internet or WiFi. – Bring Your Own Key Prefer ChatGPT or Claude? Plug in your own API key and get instant access to premium models from their providers. Swap between models anytime, even within the same conversation. – Multimodal Support Chat with models that support vision for images, PDFs, and other files. – Local RAG knowledge bases Upload documents into organized collections that you can add to chats to provide extra context for models, all 100% private and offline. – Local Image Generation Run stable diffusion directly on your device for unlimited image generations, with esper Pro. – Web search Ground your requests with search results with any model, or use native web search from providers like Google, xAI, OpenRouter, and more. – Shortcuts Send prompts and attachments to esper from shortcut workflows – Branching Conversations Explore different chat paths and easily toggle between threads. – Privacy-First No analytics, no log storage, no server necessary. esper - Offline & Private AI gives total user control to choose completely offline chats, or connect with their favourite online providers. The choice is yours. – Custom GPTs & Model Swapping Build and edit your own GPTs. Switch models mid-conversation—from Gemini to Claude in a single chat. – Customizable Adjust the interface to match your personal style. Take control of conversations with editing, deleting, or retrying messages. – iCloud Sync Sync conversations across your devices with Pro. – Go Pro Pro gives you unlimited model downloads, local image models, knowledge base access, iCloud Syncing, Kokoro voice model, and optional color themes and animations. If you want an AI chat experience that’s powerful, flexible, and private, esper - Offline & Private AI is built for you.

About

Based LLM

Features
Read full description

Dein persönlicher KI-Assistent — komplett lokal, komplett privat. Based bringt leistungsstarke KI direkt auf dein iPhone, iPad und deinen Mac. Kein Internet nötig, keine Cloud, keine Tracker. Alles bleibt auf deinem Gerät. Highlights: • Komplett offline nutzbar nach dem Modell-Download (Gemma 3 1B ist im App-Bundle enthalten) • Verschiedene KI-Modelle zur Auswahl — von schnell und kompakt bis leistungsstark • Websuche über DuckDuckGo — ohne persönliche Daten zu übermitteln • Bildanalyse direkt auf dem Gerät • Markdown-formatierte Antworten • Chat-Export und Suchfunktion • Komplett kostenlos, kein Abo, kein Account Deine Daten gehören dir. Nichts verlässt dein Gerät. Keine Cloud-Verarbeitung, kein Tracking, keine Überraschungen. Based nutzt Open-Source-Modelle, die direkt auf deiner Hardware laufen. Funktioniert überall. Im Flugzeug, im Ausland, im Keller — Based braucht nach dem Modell-Download kein Internet mehr.

Screenshots

esper4 screens
Based LLM3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Based LLM at none against esper's 1. esper's advantage is iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads and device support 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

Both are free to download. esper sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Based LLM asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
esper versus Based LLM: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameteresperBased LLM
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.4 (8 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews80.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings8 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size175 MB777 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperCody IngramMarcel Theiner

In-app purchases

1 purchases

esper

One-time1
  • esper Pro$12.99
None

Based LLM

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is esper free?
esper is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Based LLM free?
Based LLM is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do esper or Based LLM have ads?
Neither esper nor Based LLM shows ads.

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