# Arbiter vs Control

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Control at none against Arbiter's 4. Control also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs fortnightly). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Arbiter sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Control asks for nothing beyond the download.

Arbiter ships an update fortnightly, Control every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Arbiter | Control |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.9 (16 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/arbiter-local-ai-chat/id6747954532/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **16** | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | **Every 5 days** |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Size | 40 MB | 9 MB |
| Requires iOS | **18.4** | 18.5 |
| Devices | iPhone, Mac | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Jordan Stone](https://appshunter.io/developer/1823554814) | [Carlos Tarrats](https://appshunter.io/developer/1838355154) |

## What reviewers say

### Arbiter

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/arbiter-local-ai-chat/id6747954532)

This privacy-focused AI assistant operates entirely on your device, offering offline functionality. Choose from various open-source models to suit your needs, with all conversations securely stored locally. It's ideal for brainstorming, proofreading, and exploring AI capabilities without data collection.

**Highlights:** On-device AI processing, Offline model execution, Document summarization, Privacy-focused design, Multiple AI model selection, Local data storage

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Small Tip | $1.99 | one-time |
| Medium Tip | $4.99 | one-time |
| Large Tip | $9.99 | one-time |
| Extra Large Tip | $19.99 | one-time |


### Control

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/control-llm-interface/id6752229004)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Arbiter free?

Arbiter is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Control free?

Control is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do Arbiter or Control have ads?

Neither Arbiter nor Control shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Arbiter or Control?

Arbiter ships an update fortnightly, and Control every 5 days. Most recently, Arbiter was updated on October 8, 2026 and Control on September 29, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*