Comparison

Zettel vs Local AI Chat

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Read full description

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.

About

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.

Highlights
  • Offline AI chat
  • On-device language model
  • Text generation tasks
  • Developer code examples
  • Chat archiving
  • Privacy protection
Features
Read full description

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

Zettel4 screens
Local AI Chat3 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

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.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Zettel versus Local AI Chat: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterZettelLocal AI Chat
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating4.8 (6 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews88.9% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings6 — better2
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, MaciPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.026.0
Further details — not scored
Size7 MB7 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperAlexander Moritz WeichartRoy Schulz

Customer experience

Zettel

All ratings6 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews27 reviews
Positive88.9%
Neutral11.1%
Negative0.0%

Local AI Chat

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Zettel

No in-app purchases

5 purchases

Local AI Chat

One-time5
  • Unlock Archive$0.99
  • Archive + Tip$1.99
  • Archive + More Tip$3.99
Show 2 more
  • Archive + Major Tip$5.99
  • Archive + Premium Tip$9.99

Questions

Is Zettel free?
Zettel costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Local AI Chat free?
Local AI Chat is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Zettel or Local AI Chat?
Local AI Chat is rated higher. Zettel averages 4.8 out of 5 from 6 ratings, while Local AI Chat averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Zettel or Local AI Chat have ads?
Neither Zettel nor Local AI Chat shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Zettel or Local AI Chat?
Zettel ships an update monthly, and Local AI Chat every 2 months. Most recently, Zettel was updated on October 19, 2026 and Local AI Chat on October 13, 2026.

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