Comparison

Persimmon vs Q

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

Head to head
About

Persimmon

This app simplifies complex scientific research papers from arXiv and SocArXiv using AI. It offers customizable summaries tailored to your expertise level and allows you to search, save, and get daily updates on new publications. You can also use it as a basic preprint browser without AI.

Highlights
  • AI-powered paper summaries
  • Customizable AI models and expertise levels
  • Search arXiv and SocArXiv
  • Save papers for offline access
  • Daily updates and notifications
  • Privacy-focused, no data collection
Features
Read full description

Welcome to Persimmon, the ultimate AI-assisted research exploration tool for iOS! In a world where scientific breakthroughs are accelerating faster than ever but many struggle to keep pace, Persimmon bridges the gap between cutting-edge research and everyday understanding. Designed for researchers, scientists, students, and anyone with a passion for discovery, the app transforms complex arXiv and SocArXiv paper abstracts into digestible, tailored insights using the language models of your choice. Whether you’re diving into machine learning, quantum computing, or macroeconomic trends, Persimmon makes research accessible, engaging, and available at your fingertips. Why Persimmon? The sheer volume of scientific research published today is staggering. Thousands of papers flood leading preprint servers like arXiv and SocArXiv each week, making it nearly impossible to stay informed without specialized knowledge. At the same time, scientific literacy is declining, with many people feeling disconnected from the innovations shaping our future. Persimmon tackles these challenges head-on by simplifying the process of exploring, understanding, and saving research papers – no PhD required! Key Features: - Customizable AI Summaries: Choose your preferred OpenAI-compatible language model (LLM) to generate summaries. Control costs and model preferences with your own API configurations. - Switch Between Providers: Seamlessly toggle between multiple LLM providers (e.g., OpenAI, Mistral, DeepSeek, Claude, custom models) using secure, on-device saved settings. - Tailored to Your Level: Set your expertise level (beginner, intermediate, or expert) for each topic to receive summaries that match your understanding. - arXiv & SocArXiv Search Made Easy: Find papers instantly with full-text search across arXiv and SocArXiv. Filter by categories to discover what interests you. - Offline Access: Save your favorite papers to read without an internet connection. - Daily Updates: Never miss a breakthrough! Get automatic notifications for the latest arXiv and SocArXiv papers in your chosen fields. - Privacy First: Persimmon respects your privacy. There’s no data collection, tracking, or analytics. - Breezy Performance: Built entirely in SwiftUI with minimal dependencies, Persimmon is snappy, intuitive, and optimized for iOS. - AI-Optional: Prefer raw data? Use Persimmon as a no-frills preprint browser. How It Works: 1. Set Your Interests: Select arXiv/SocArXiv categories or topics that fascinate you. 2. Choose Your AI Model: Configure your preferred LLM and expertise level to personalize summaries. 3. Explore & Save: Dive into abstracts, search papers, or save key findings for offline access. 4. Stay Informed: Get daily notifications to keep up with the latest advancements in your field. Privacy & Control: We believe knowledge should be private and empowering. Persimmon stores all configurations and preferences securely on your device – accounts are absolutely not required. Optional cloud syncing of preferences is available via Persimmon Cloud. Your exploration stays yours. Persimmon is completely free to use, with a setup time under 30 seconds. At best, it becomes your go-to tool for staying ahead of the curve. At worst, you’ve got a sleek, private browser for preprints. Either way, we’re excited to help you unlock the world of research. Join the movement to make science accessible to all. Download Persimmon now and start exploring the future of knowledge – one paper at a time.

About

Q

Features
Read full description

See a stock's risk as one 0–100 score — and the five numbers behind it. See what you don't know. Most money apps sell confidence: one number, one arrow. Q-Alpha is a learning app that shows you what you don't know. RISK INDEX, SCORE BY SCORE The Risk tab opens with a result already on screen. See how five sub-scores — volatility, momentum, liquidity, trend strength and profitability — make up one 0–100 risk index. Use "Search a symbol" for the built-in assets, or "Paste my data" to get a risk index from your own daily prices and volumes. You get 3 Risk Index lookups a day before you create an account. Prices for the built-in assets come from a demo price path, not live quotes, and every result says so in its "Data source" row. If an asset isn't supported, Q-Alpha says so instead of showing a made-up score. YOUR HOLDINGS, EACH WITH A SCORE Tap "Save to portfolio" under a result, and the Portfolio tab lists each holding with its own risk score — up to 50 holdings on the Free plan, 500 with Pro. SCENARIO REVEAL Lock in your guess for an asset, then see 50 equally likely outcomes laid out as a distribution, with the 80% likely range spelled out. It is computed on your device from the price and volatility you choose, with no direction assumed — not a forecast, just the spread your own assumptions imply. Report what actually happened, and your calibration score shows whether your ranges ran too narrow: a quiet cure for overconfidence. A SIGNAL THAT SHOWS ITS RULE The risk signal applies one published rule to the risk index and writes out its reasoning, so you can see exactly why it says what it says. It is not a forecast and never a buy or sell call. COMPARE AND BALANCE Overlay two assets on the same five-axis radar to see where their risks differ, and run a classical mean-variance allocation on the holdings you track to see how the weights shift. Every result shows its method and data source — an exercise, not a recommendation. QUANTUM ENGINE — A LEARNING DEMO Curious how quantum algorithms work? Run a small QAOA portfolio-selection example, compared side by side with the exact answer and a random baseline, plus a quantum-circuit sampling demo. Both run on a classical simulator: not a quantum computer, not hardware randomness, and never a forecast. PRICED TO LEARN Start free with the Risk Index — on sample data or your own, with 3 lookups a day even before you create an account — and up to 50 portfolio holdings. Pro unlocks Scenario Reveal, the risk signal, the Quantum Engine demo, side-by-side comparison, portfolio optimization and market scan, with up to 500 holdings, for $9.99/month or $59.99/year. One purchase covers iPhone, iPad and Mac. App Store category: Education. Q-Alpha is not investment advice, recommends no product and guarantees no return. Every output is a learning scenario; every decision is yours. Terms: https://legal.swiftquantum.tech/en/terms/ Privacy: https://legal.swiftquantum.tech/en/privacy/ Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period.

Screenshots

Persimmon4 screens
Q4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Persimmon at none against Q's 3. Persimmon also leads on iOS requirement (18.1 vs 26.0). On price, update cadence, 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. Q sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Persimmon asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on November 5, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Persimmon versus Q: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPersimmonQ
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings2 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS18.1 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size23 MB8 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperMomenta Lab LLCEUNMIN PARK

In-app purchases

None

Persimmon

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Q

Subscriptions2
  • Q-Alpha Pro (Monthly)$9.991 Month
  • Q-Alpha Pro (Yearly)$59.991 Year
One-time1
  • Q-Alpha Learner Lifetime$49.99

Questions

Is Persimmon free?
Persimmon is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Q free?
Q is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Persimmon or Q have ads?
Neither Persimmon nor Q shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Persimmon or Q?
Persimmon ships an update every 3 weeks, and Q every 3 weeks. Most recently, Persimmon was updated on November 5, 2026 and Q on November 5, 2026.

Other comparisons