Comparison

BastionChat vs OnHand_AI

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

Head to head
About

BastionChat

Features
Read full description

Private AI that runs entirely on your iPhone, iPad and Mac. Chat with your documents, get instant summaries and ask out loud, with no internet, no account and no data collected. ASK YOUR DOCUMENTS Import a contract, a manual, a report or a scanned PDF. Ask in your own words and get a clear answer, with the source one tap away, so you can check it instead of trusting it. Small documents are read in full; large libraries are searched. INSTANT SUMMARIES Turn a long file into the key points: parties, dates, amounts, conditions. JUST ASK OUT LOUD Voice mode with on-device speech recognition. Nothing is uploaded. UNDERSTANDS IMAGES Ask about photos and screenshots with vision models. WORKS OFFLINE On a plane, at sea, underground: the AI model lives on your device, so it keeps working. In airplane mode, web tools are simply not offered. PRIVATE BY DESIGN No account. No tracking. Your documents and conversations never leave the device. Apple's privacy label: Data Not Collected. Lock the app with Face ID using iOS's built-in app protection. YOUR CHOICE OF MODEL A curated catalog of open models (Qwen, Gemma, Phi, LFM and more) sized for your device: fast ones on iPhone, larger ones on iPad and Mac. Or import any GGUF model from Hugging Face. FOR POWER USERS Adjustable thinking (Off, Short, Full), calculator, optional web search, MCP tools for agent workflows. ONE PURCHASE No subscription, no usage limits, Family Sharing. Download a model once, then everything runs locally. Requires iOS 18 or later. Larger models need more memory; the app recommends what fits your device.

About

OnHand_AI

This private AI assistant runs entirely on your device, offering offline functionality and complete data privacy. It requires no cloud connection, subscription, or account setup, making it simple to use for everyone. Pay once for full access without any hidden fees or tiers.

Highlights
  • Runs entirely on device
  • Works offline
  • Truly private conversations
  • No cloud, subscription, or account needed
  • Simple setup and use
  • Web search on request
Features
Read full description

OnHand AI is a private assistant that runs entirely on your phone. No cloud. No subscription. No account. Nothing you type ever leaves your device. SIMPLE FOR EVERYONE Open it and start talking. No setup, no jargon, no sign-up. If you can send a text message, you can use OnHand AI. WORKS OFFLINE The AI lives on your phone, not on a server. Use it on a plane, in the car, on a trail, or anywhere with no signal. TRULY PRIVATE Your conversations stay on your device. Nothing is uploaded, logged, or sold. Privacy by design — because there's no server to send anything to. ONE PRICE. NO TRICKS. Pay once and own it forever. No monthly fee, no "Pro" tier, nothing held back. LOOKS THINGS UP — ONLY WHEN YOU ASK Need current information? OnHand can search the web on request. You're always in control Requires a one time download of the model the first time you use the app. Approximately 2.6 GB. Requires iPhone 15 or newer.

Screenshots

BastionChat4 screens
OnHand_AI3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: OnHand_AI at daily against BastionChat's every 4 months. OnHand_AI also leads on price ($1.99 vs $4.99). On ads, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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

BastionChat costs $4.99 and OnHand_AI $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

BastionChat ships an update every 4 months, OnHand_AI daily. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
BastionChat versus OnHand_AI: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBastionChatOnHand_AI
Price$4.99$1.99 — better
Rating—5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—2 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Paid
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.018.0
Further details — not scored
Size79 MB42 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperFrederic Ayala HeinrichStillwater AI LLC

In-app purchases

None

BastionChat

No in-app purchases

None

OnHand_AI

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is BastionChat free?
BastionChat costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is OnHand_AI free?
OnHand_AI costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do BastionChat or OnHand_AI have ads?
Neither BastionChat nor OnHand_AI shows ads.
Which is updated more often, BastionChat or OnHand_AI?
BastionChat ships an update every 4 months, and OnHand_AI daily. Most recently, BastionChat was updated on October 23, 2026 and OnHand_AI on October 7, 2026.

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