Comparison

microAI vs Cipher AI

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

Head to head
About

microAI

This app provides a private, local AI workspace that organizes your thoughts, projects, and files. It allows you to run AI chat on your device, manage AI models, and build a personal memory system for enhanced productivity and offline use.

Highlights
  • Private Memory Map
  • Local AI Chat
  • Long-Term Memory
  • Projects With Context
  • Chat With Local Files
  • Private Journal
  • GGUF Model Management
Features
Read full description

AI ON YOUR PHONE. POWERED BY YOUR DEVICES. Run private AI directly on your phone. Need more power? Connect your own computer and let it handle the heavy AI work while you keep using microAI from your phone. No sign-up. No cloud AI account required. Ask questions. Talk instead of type. Show AI a photo. Read a file. Work on a project. Save something for later. microAI brings local AI, your devices, and your private context together in one workspace. YOUR PHONE. YOUR COMPUTER. YOUR AI. Your phone can run compatible local AI models on its own. When you need more power, connect your own computer. Scan a QR code and your approved Mac or browser can run the model while you continue using microAI from your phone. That means you can move heavier AI work off your phone—reducing the load, heat, and battery use caused by demanding on-device inference. Use your phone when that is enough. Use your computer when you want more power. You choose where your AI runs. NO SIGN-UP. NO CLOUD AI REQUIRED. Local AI should not require another account. microAI can run compatible models directly on your devices without requiring a cloud AI account. Your computer can also become your own AI compute node. Open the microAI website on your computer, load a compatible local model, scan the QR code, and connect. No separate website account is required. DIFFERENT AI FOR DIFFERENT JOBS Not every task needs the same AI. microAI includes task-focused AI helpers: • Private Chat — Ask, write, plan, brainstorm, or talk. • Image Chat — Ask questions about photos and screenshots. • Voice Chat — Talk instead of typing. • Review Writer — Turn your experience into a clear review. • Photo Tagger — Create titles, descriptions, and keywords for photos. Choose which compatible model powers each job. Use a small model for quick everyday tasks, a vision model for images, or a stronger model running on your computer when you need more capability. TALK. SEE. READ. AI should work with more than a text box. Talk naturally with Voice Chat. Add a photo or screenshot and ask questions about what you see. Add a supported PDF, TXT, or Markdown file and ask questions about its contents. Use microAI for writing, research, documents, photos, ideas, and everyday questions. COME BACK WITHOUT STARTING OVER Your useful context should not disappear into old chats. Create Projects to keep related conversations, files, instructions, and context together. Save quick thoughts in Journal. microAI can remember useful context and bring it back when relevant. Memory Map gives you a visual way to explore your conversations, projects, journals, models, and memories. LOCAL AI WITHOUT THE USUAL SETUP You should not need to be an AI engineer to start using local AI. Find a compatible model, download it, and start. microAI keeps model discovery, downloads, switching, and resource management in one place. Advanced users can also import compatible GGUF models. Actual performance depends on your device, model, and connection. YOUR AI. YOUR DEVICES. YOUR DATA. When AI runs on your phone, compatible models process requests directly on your device. When you connect your own computer, the model runs on the computer you approve while you continue using microAI from your phone. Your model files stay on the device running them. You decide when a remote compute node is connected and used. Internet access may still be required for model discovery and downloads, purchases, ratings, app services, and certain system features. RUN AI YOUR WAY. On your phone when you want portability. On your computer when you want more power. No sign-up. No cloud AI account required. Your AI. Your devices. Your choice. Want to use your computer with microAI? Visit: https://linklocalai.com/ By using microAI, you agree to Apple's Standard End User License Agreement (EULA). Apple EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Cipher AI

Features
Read full description

Cipher AI is a private, powerful AI assistant that runs entirely on your iPhone — no cloud, no accounts, no data collection. RUNS 100% ON YOUR DEVICE Download a model and start chatting instantly. No internet required. Your conversations never leave your devices. Privacy isn't a setting. It's the architecture. CIPHER LMBRIDGE — YOUR COMPUTER, IN YOUR POCKET Connect Cipher AI to your own computer via Cipher LMBridge and stream frontier models like Llama 3.3 70B, DeepSeek-R1, Qwen3, and more — directly from your Mac, PC, or Linux machine. Full model capability, zero cloud dependency. 200+ MODELS TO CHOOSE FROM Browse and download from the full Ollama and LM Studio catalogs, including: • Llama 3.2 · Llama 3.3 70B • Qwen3 · DeepSeek-R1 · Gemma 3 • Mistral · Phi-4 · Granite · and many more AI AGENTS THAT WORK FOR YOU Create autonomous AI agents that browse the web, research topics, write code, and automate tasks — 24/7. Monitor every run, review full history, and approve tool calls. Run agents supervised or fully autonomous. SCHEDULED JOBS Set agents to run on a schedule — daily briefings, stock alerts, research reports, fitness plans, and more. Set it and forget it. 45+ TOOLS & MCP INTEGRATIONS On-device tools give Cipher access to your contacts, calendar, location, reminders, and more. Connect Cipher LMBridge to unlock MCP integrations: run terminal commands, control Docker, query databases, browse the web with Puppeteer, connect Slack, GitHub, Notion, and more — all from your phone. DEEP THINKING, VISIBLE Full support for reasoning models like DeepSeek-R1 and Qwen3 with think-block rendering — watch the model reason through a problem, then read the clean answer. CIPHER PREMIUM Upgrade to remove ads and unlock everything: • No ads • All device tools • AI agents and scheduled jobs • MCP integrations via Cipher LMBridge • Document library (PDFs, Word, spreadsheets) • Unlimited conversation history FINE-TUNED CONTROL Adjust temperature, context length, token limits, and extended thinking parameters. Cipher AI is built for users who want real control over their AI. Terms of Use: https://lmbridge.org/terms Privacy Policy: https://lmbridge.org/privacy

Screenshots

microAI4 screens
Cipher AI4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: microAI at none against Cipher AI's shown. microAI also leads on iOS requirement (16.4 vs 18.0). On price, update cadence, 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. microAI sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and Cipher AI sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

microAI ships an update every 9 days, Cipher AI every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
microAI versus Cipher AI: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParametermicroAICipher AI
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings2 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 9 days — betterEvery 10 days
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, Mac — betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.4 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size234 MB15 MB
Age rating9+4+
Developergenghong XieChris Burchett

In-app purchases

4 purchases

microAI

Subscriptions2
  • microAI Pro – Monthly$0.991 Month
  • microAI Pro – Yearly7 Days trial$5.991 Year
One-time2
  • Remove Ads$4.99
  • microAI Pro – Lifetime$9.99
2 purchases

Cipher AI

Subscriptions2
  • Cipher Premium — Monthly$1.991 Month
  • Cipher Premium — Yearly$14.991 Year

Questions

Is microAI free?
microAI is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Cipher AI free?
Cipher AI is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do microAI or Cipher AI have ads?
Cipher AI shows ads; microAI does not.
Which is updated more often, microAI or Cipher AI?
microAI ships an update every 9 days, and Cipher AI every 10 days. Most recently, microAI was updated on October 7, 2026 and Cipher AI on October 13, 2026.

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