Comparison

Nomad vs ENGRAI

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

Head to head
About

Nomad

This AI assistant prioritizes your privacy by running entirely on your device, with no server data collection. It works offline and can leverage more powerful models from your local network. Organize documents, take notes, and get AI-powered insights without an internet connection.

Highlights
  • On-device AI processing for complete privacy
  • Offline functionality for use anywhere
  • Document import and searchable knowledge base
  • Document-specific Q&A mode to prevent hallucinations
  • Smart notes with Markdown support
  • iCloud sync across Apple devices
  • Automatic Ollama server integration
Features
Read full description

Nomad AI: Intelligent Assistance Anywhere—Even Offline Nomad AI is a private, on-device AI assistant powered by Meta Llama 3.2. Every conversation stays on your device — no servers, no data collection, no internet required after the initial model download. When you're on your home network, Nomad AI automatically connects to your local Ollama server to leverage your desktop's more powerful models. Why Choose Nomad AI? Complete privacy. Zero compromise. Fully private — Your conversations, documents, and notes never leave your device or local network Works offline — Perfect for travel, remote work, or when you want to disconnect Document Library — Import PDFs, scan documents with your camera, paste text, or add photos to a searchable knowledge base organized into collections Document Q&A mode — Ask questions grounded strictly in your own documents, eliminating hallucinations for research and reference use Smart Notes — A built-in scratchpad with full Markdown rendering to capture and format ideas on the go iCloud Sync — Keep your conversation history in sync across all your Apple devices Ollama integration — Automatically discovers and connects to your locally running Ollama server over WiFi Model auto-detection — Seamlessly switches between your local on-device model and powerful Ollama models as you move between WiFi and offline OpenAI support — Optionally add your own OpenAI API key for access to cloud models when connected Web search — Optional live search integration to ground answers in current information Custom AI personality — Tailor the assistant's behavior and tone with custom system prompts Markdown support — Beautifully rendered responses with code blocks, lists, and formatting One-tap copy — Copy any response in a single tap Document Library Import and organize your knowledge base into named collections — work contracts, research notes, product docs, travel guides, anything. Import from PDF, camera scan (OCR), photos, plain text, or files (.txt, .md, .csv, .docx). Enable Document Q&A mode to restrict the AI to answering only from your imported content, ideal for accurate, source-grounded responses. Perfect For: Writing and brainstorming on the go Coding assistance while traveling or at your desk Researching without internet — ask questions against your own document library Private note-taking with Markdown formatting Reliable AI support in remote areas with zero connectivity Leveraging your desktop's powerful Ollama models on mobile Technical Details: Built-in Model: Meta Llama 3.2 (3B), optimized for mobile Additional Models: Download and switch between models directly in-app Ollama Support: Automatic discovery of locally running models on your network OpenAI: Optional cloud API integration (requires key and internet) Storage: Approximately 3 GB for the built-in model RAM: Approximately 1 GB for the built-in mobile model Recommended: iPhone 15 Pro or newer, iPad M3 or newer (4 GB+ RAM) Network: Local WiFi for Ollama; fully offline otherwise Your Data, Your Control Unlike cloud-based AI assistants, Nomad AI processes everything locally — on your device or through your own Ollama server. Your conversations, documents, and notes are never transmitted to any external service unless you explicitly enable an optional integration like OpenAI. Experience intelligent assistance that's private, portable, and powerful — online or off. Download Nomad AI today. © 2026 Red Noir Soft, Inc. All rights reserved.

About

ENGRAI

Read full description

ENGRAI: Your Private AI Tool. Simplified for Your Convenience. A native iOS and macOS client for AI-driven character conversations, called ENGRAIs. Your ENGRAIs, personas, and conversations live exclusively on your device. Messages go directly from your device to the endpoint you chose. ENGRAI simplifies the complexity of local large language models and setup by providing an interface that handles the technical work under the hood, so you can plug them in and use them with ease. Why Choose ENGRAI? - Fast & Fluid: Built natively for iOS and macOS, ENGRAI is designed for speed and battery efficiency. No web wrappers—just a smooth, responsive experience. - Consistent Identities: Define ENGRAIs across their identity, appearance, and detailed behavioral profiles. Characters & sessions remain consistent even in the longest storylines, without drifting after 20 messages. - Immersive World Building: Author detailed sandboxes for your stories. From overarching lore to specific settings, ensure every conversation is grounded in a consistent world. - Dynamic Relationships: Characters don't just chat with you; they chat with the world you build and other characters. Yes, group scenes let you put multiple ENGRAIs you create into a shared world you author. - Smart Long-Term Memory: Our automatic summarization ensures that ENGRAIs remember the important details - events, plot twists, and anything relevant you want an ENGRAI to remember after 20 messages. - Endless Possibilities: Customize everything. From app themes and fonts to advanced LLM settings, you control how your AI behaves, works, and engages in chats with your worlds. - Privacy First: No accounts, no analytics, and no developer server. Your API keys are stored securely in your device's keychain. With local models, your data never leaves your network. - Community Ready: Power users can easily import JSON-compatible character cards they use on their favorite LLM chat apps. Use them to keep your conversations, characters, personas, prompts, or lorebooks consistent without starting over. - Smarter Recall: Characters, assistants, or the worlds themselves? They all use state-of-the-art retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) to reference your lorebooks & artifacts by meaning. All thanks to your own device's power! - Assistant Chat: ENGRAI lets you use your own keys to enjoy a polished assistant chat with the same recall and session memory. You can upload files, use your own web tools, and ask your assistant to handle a wide range of tasks. Summarize a document? Draft a written piece of text? Search for sources? ENGRAI Assistant chat can handle all of that! - On Device Too: Don’t have your own key? ENGRAI lets you download and install models that run on devices of all sizes. All run on the device, using its powerful processing, fully private, fully local. ENGRAI is free. No subscriptions, no paid tiers, and no ads. ENGRAI is a project built by an indie developer for users who value privacy and freedom. REQUIREMENTS ENGRAI does not include an AI model or provide one. You need your own API key from a third-party AI provider or a locally hosted model. You are responsible for any usage costs that the provider charges you, and your use of their service is governed by their terms. ENGRAI is intended for adults aged 18 and over. You are responsible for the content you generate and for complying with the policies of the provider you connect to.

Screenshots

Nomad4 screens
ENGRAI4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Nomad at every 3 days against ENGRAI's every 2 weeks. Nomad also leads on iOS requirement (18.6 vs 26.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Nomad ships an update every 3 days, ENGRAI every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Nomad versus ENGRAI: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNomadENGRAI
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.9 (7 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews80.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings7 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 days — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS18.6 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size346 MB68 MB
Age rating12+17+
DeveloperRed Noir Soft.Vedant Desai

In-app purchases

None

Nomad

No in-app purchases

None

ENGRAI

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Nomad free?
Nomad is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is ENGRAI free?
ENGRAI is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Nomad or ENGRAI have ads?
Neither Nomad nor ENGRAI shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Nomad or ENGRAI?
Nomad ships an update every 3 days, and ENGRAI every 2 weeks. Most recently, Nomad was updated on October 24, 2026 and ENGRAI on October 31, 2026.

Other comparisons