Zettel vs Local AI Chat
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Zettel
This app offers a minimalist note-taking experience, focusing on a single, full-screen note at a time. It features a unique swipe-to-clear gesture with haptic feedback and simple tag functionality for easy organization. Notes are saved as plain Markdown files for versatile use.
- Single full-screen note interface
- Swipe-to-clear gesture with haptic feedback
- Simple hashtag tagging system
- Plain Markdown file export
- Works with Files app
- Dark mode support
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Zettel - Quick Notes for iOS. Write. Swipe to tear. Done. Zettel brings the satisfying feeling of ripping paper to your iPhone. What makes it different: - One note at a time: Full screen. No tabs, no folders, no mess. Just you and your thoughts. - Tear to clear: Swipe from the edge and drag across the screen. Your note tears away with haptic feedback that actually feels real. - Tags that work: Type #anything and it becomes a tag. Find notes instantly without setting up complicated systems. - Your files, anywhere: Notes are plain Markdown files. Edit them in other apps, sync however you want, or just keep them local. Perfect for: - Quick thoughts - Meeting notes - Daily journaling - Project ideas Simple by design: - iPhone only (as it should be) - Works with Files app - Dark mode included - No account required - Zero tracking Built by someone who got tired of overcomplicated note apps. Sometimes the best tools are the simplest ones.
Local AI Chat
This app offers a private, offline AI chatbot experience using on-device language models. It supports various text generation tasks and provides code examples for developers. Chats can be archived after a one-time purchase.
- Offline AI chat
- On-device language model
- Text generation tasks
- Developer code examples
- Chat archiving
- Privacy protection
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SmartFruit provides a chat interface to test Apple Intelligence's local language model on the device. It works offline, thereby protecting your privacy. The on-device model is supports a wide range of text generation tasks, like summarization, entity extraction, text understanding, refinement, dialog for games, generating creative content, and more. World knowledge to a lesser extent. The quality of responses in this area is naturally not on par with large cloud-based models, but that’s beyond my control. Especially developers can try out all generation options of Apple's Foundation Models framework and get a corresponding code example.. Furthermore, chats can be archived for later review after a one-time in-app purchase. Important: This app requires iOS 26 and Apple Intelligence. Please ensure your device is compatible before purchasing.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Local AI Chat at Free against Zettel's $2.99. Local AI Chat also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.8) and review sentiment (100% vs 89%). Zettel's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 5) and ratings volume (6 vs 2). On update cadence, ads, 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
Local AI Chat is free to download; Zettel costs $2.99 up front. Local AI Chat sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. Zettel asks for nothing beyond the download.
Local AI Chat holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 6 and 2 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 89% of Zettel's written reviews are positive against 100% of Local AI Chat's.
Zettel ships an update monthly, Local AI Chat every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Zettel | Local AI Chat |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.8 (6 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 88.9% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 6 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Monthly — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, Mac | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 7 MB | 7 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Alexander Moritz Weichart | Roy Schulz |
Customer experience
Zettel
Local AI Chat
In-app purchases
Zettel
No in-app purchases
Local AI Chat
- Unlock Archive$0.99
- Archive + Tip$1.99
- Archive + More Tip$3.99
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- Archive + Major Tip$5.99
- Archive + Premium Tip$9.99









