Comparison

Conduit vs bighelp

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

Head to head
About

Conduit

This app allows you to connect to your self-hosted AI models via Open WebUI. It offers real-time streaming chat, multimodal prompts, and rich rendering of various content types. Built for privacy and security, it requires your own Open WebUI server.

Highlights
  • Real-time streaming chat
  • Model selection
  • Multimodal prompts (file, image, audio upload)
  • Voice input and call mode
  • Rich Markdown and code rendering
  • Secure sign-in options
Features
Read full description

Conduit is a native mobile client for Open WebUI, direct model endpoints, and self-hosted agents. Your chats live on your device first. Nothing routes through a backend the maintainer operates. Three ways to connect - Open WebUI — your self-hosted server with chats, folders, notes, channels, workspace, tools, web search, and image generation - Direct — OpenAI-compatible APIs, Ollama, OpenRouter, and local endpoints. No Open WebUI account required - Hermes — your self-hosted agent with live tools, approvals for sensitive steps, and scheduled work Built for mobile - Real-time streaming chat with model selection, temporary chats, search, and folders - File, image, audio, and clipboard uploads for multimodal prompts - Voice input, voice-call mode, share sheet, quick actions, home screen widgets, and Shortcuts - Rich rendering for Markdown, code, LaTeX, Mermaid, Chart.js, citations, reasoning, and tool calls - Notes, saved prompts, channels, terminal, and other features when your server supports them Built for real deployments - Sign in with username/password, LDAP, JWT, OAuth/SSO, reverse-proxy flows, and custom HTTP headers - Credentials stored securely in Keychain - No ads, no analytics SDKs, and no developer-operated relay server Important - Conduit does not host models or provide an AI service. You connect to servers and providers you control. - Available features depend on what you connect to. - Conduit is open source and is not officially affiliated with Open WebUI or Hermes.

About

bighelp

Features
Read full description

bighelp is a streamlined way to work with the AI agents you run with Hermes. Whether you want a simple chat interface, or a full fleet command center, bighelp has it covered. CHATS THAT FEEL LIKE TEXTING • Message any of your agents one on one • Watch replies arrive as they're written • Type, talk, or share photos and files • Pick up any conversation right where you left off GROUP CHATS • Pull several agents into one thread • Mention who should take what, and they split the work A FACE FOR EVERY AGENT • Give each agent a name, a face and a job • Live avatars show when an agent is thinking, working or waiting on you WORKFLOWS Build and manage custom node-style workflows for repeatable processes across your agents! YOU STAY IN CHARGE • Approvals let an agent ask before it acts • Agents can reply with cards and forms, so choosing is one tap TASKS ON A SCHEDULE • Set up a morning brief, a weekly budget check-in or a fare watch • Pause or change a task anytime VOICE • Talk it through, turn by turn or live • Turn-based voice is transcribed on your device EVERYWHERE YOU ARE • Notifications, Live Activities, widgets and Shortcuts • An Apple Watch app for quick replies and approvals • Works on iPhone and iPad • Light and dark themes NERD MODE Everyday controls stay simple. Turn on Nerd Mode in Settings to reveal host tools like files, plugins and logs. OPTIONAL DEVICE TOOLS With your permission, agents can add to your Calendar and Reminders and see where you are. Each is off until you turn it on under Permissions. HOW BIGHELP CONNECTS bighelp connects directly to a Hermes host you run, such as your own Mac, over your home network, Tailscale or HTTPS. Sign in with that host's own login. No separate bighelp account is needed. The free bighelp plugin for Hermes adds notifications, live voice, cards and the Feed. Your Hermes host remains the agent engine. AI, voice, storage and infrastructure providers configured on that host may process data under their own terms and may require separate accounts or subscriptions.

Screenshots

Conduit4 screens
bighelp4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: bighelp at Free against Conduit's $3.99. bighelp also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.2) and update cadence (daily vs every 5 days). Conduit's advantage is ratings volume (90 vs 3) and chart position (#11 vs unranked). On ads, in-app purchases 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

bighelp is free to download; Conduit costs $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

bighelp holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Conduit has 90 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Conduit ships an update every 5 days, bighelp daily. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Conduit versus bighelp: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterConduitbighelp
Price$3.99Free — better
Rating4.2 (90 ratings)5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews71.6% of reviews—
Number of ratings90 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 5 daysDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
Best chart rank#11 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Vision Pro — better
Requires iOS16.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size109 MB82 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTunap PaulColton Coan

Customer experience

Conduit

All ratings88 ratings
Positive83.0%
Neutral4.5%
Negative12.5%
Written reviews81 reviews
Positive71.6%
Neutral9.9%
Negative18.5%

bighelp

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Conduit

No in-app purchases

None

bighelp

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Conduit free?
Conduit costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is bighelp free?
bighelp is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Conduit or bighelp?
bighelp is rated higher. Conduit averages 4.2 out of 5 from 90 ratings, while bighelp averages 5.0 from 3 ratings.
Do Conduit or bighelp have ads?
Neither Conduit nor bighelp shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Conduit or bighelp?
Conduit ships an update every 5 days, and bighelp daily. Most recently, Conduit was updated on October 25, 2026 and bighelp on October 24, 2026.

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