LM Mini vs Rclone GUI
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
LM Mini
Chat with your locally hosted language models directly from your iPhone. This companion app connects to your LM Studio server, offering features like conversation management, context visualization, and privacy-first data handling. It also supports image generation through Automatic1111 integration.
- Connect to LM Studio server
- Chat with local language models
- Manage multiple conversations
- Track context usage
- Dark mode support
- Image generation integration
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Chat with LM Studio, Ollama, and oMLX from your iPhone — or run on-device models offline. Private local AI on hardware you control. No cloud chat subscription required. THREE WAYS TO USE IT 1. On-device — download a model and chat with no internet 2. Connected — LM Studio, Ollama, Jan AI, or oMLX over Wi‑Fi or USB 3. Remote — LM Mini Connect from anywhere, encrypted with your key One app for phone-side models and your desktop local setup. WHAT TO EXPECT Phone models are not the same as huge hosted models in a data center. They are smaller, and that is expected. Performance will vary by hardware. What you gain is control: offline use, private chats on your device or your home machine, and freedom to run the open models you choose. BUILT FOR - People already running LM Studio, Ollama, oMLX or Jan AI who want that stack in their pocket - People who want on-device chat when they are offline or away from Wi-Fi - People who care about keeping conversations off third-party chat servers - Researchers, builders, and privacy-minded users experimenting with local AI INSIDE THE APP - Download and run on-device models on your phone - Connect to LM Studio, Ollama, Jan AI and oMLX - Remote access through LM Mini Connect with your encryption key - Manage and download models on LM Studio from your phone - Local conversation history, folders, and context usage tracking - Personas, plus group chat with up to 5 models in one conversation - Voice chat with Kokoro - Image generation with ComfyUI and Automatic1111 - Web search through SearXNG - Memory so your AI can remember details about you - On-device semantic search across your chats - Background generation, so you don't have to sit and stare at the screen - Themes, backgrounds, and avatars - Import chats from LM Studio - Optional encrypted cloud backups - Custom servers with custom headers - Optional APIs when you want them: OpenAI, OpenRouter, Mistral, DeepSeek, Google Gemini, and more - MCP tool calling - In-app support and feature requests - Dark mode and a chat UI meant for daily use PRIVACY For local use, chats stay on your phone, or between your phone and your own computer. We don't need your conversations to make that core local path work. If you choose optional cloud APIs, those requests go to the provider you pick. SETUP On-device: a compatible phone with enough free storage and memory for the model you pick. Connected mode: LM Studio, Ollama, or oMLX on your computer, plus local network or USB access, or LM Mini Connect for remote use. Install LM Mini and keep your local AI with you. Download LM Mini today and start chatting with your local AI models privately and securely! This app uses Apple Standard EULA license and its available at https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Rclone GUI
Manage your personal cloud storage with this open-source iOS client for rclone. Connect to over 70 services, including encrypted file transfers, direct streaming, and seamless integration with Apple's Files app. A premium subscription is required for full functionality.
- Connects to 70+ cloud services
- Encrypted file transfers
- Direct video and audio streaming
- iOS Files app integration
- Smart photo syncing
- Guided remote setup wizard
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Rclone GUI is a native, open-source iOS client for rclone — the reference tool for managing your personal cloud storage. Connect Amazon S3, Backblaze B2, Cloudflare R2, Storj, Wasabi, Dropbox, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, pCloud, Mega, Box, Filen, Internxt, Drime, SFTP, WebDAV, and 70+ other services straight from your iPhone, with no middleman. PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION REQUIRED All Rclone GUI features (remote management, transfers, Files app integration, PhotoSync, crypt decryption, streaming, etc.) require a Premium subscription. • Free 7-day trial, then €1.99/month or €19.99/year • Auto-renewing, cancel anytime in Settings → Apple ID → Subscriptions • No feature is usable without an active subscription (beyond onboarding) CRYPT-FIRST ENCRYPTION (Premium) The whole interface is built around rclone "crypt" encryption: encrypted remotes are tagged with a purple lock, filenames are decrypted on the fly so you see the real tree, and file content is decrypted during playback without ever transiting in clear through a third-party server. The cryptographic core uses NaCl secretbox (XSalsa20-Poly1305), executed locally by rclone. iOS FILES INTEGRATION (Premium) A File Provider extension exposes every remote inside Apple's Files app, encrypted ones included. Open a PDF straight from Files, drag and drop documents between apps, and stream video or audio without downloading the full asset. SMART PHOTO SYNC (Premium) Automatically sync new photos and videos to the cloud of your choice. Adaptive throttling while you're using the app, background execution, clean resume after a network drop. GUIDED ADD-REMOTE WIZARD (Premium) A step-by-step wizard covers every rclone backend: per-backend forms, tutorials for OAuth providers (Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox), instant validation. "Where to get your credentials" panels and a remote picker (for crypt vaults, alias, union…) make setup even simpler. Import an existing rclone.conf in one tap, with automatic secret migration to the iOS Keychain. PRIVACY BY DESIGN - No analytics, no tracker, no third-party SDK - No backend server: the app talks directly to your cloud services - Face ID / Touch ID to lock the configuration - Configuration encrypted at rest (ChaCha20-Poly1305 + iOS Keychain) - OAuth tokens in the iOS Keychain, never in UserDefaults - Strict ATS, no network exception FEATURES (all included in the Premium subscription) - 70+ rclone backends supported - Parallel transfers, pause, resume, queue - Adaptive bandwidth throttling (cellular / Wi-Fi) - Video and audio streaming with range requests - Built-in QuickLook preview - Search, sort, filter in folders - Detailed transfer stats - Exportable local logs for debugging SUBSCRIPTION TERMS The Rclone GUI Premium subscription auto-renews at the end of each period (€1.99/month or €19.99/year). Renewal is billed to your Apple ID within 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage your subscription and turn off auto-renewal at any time in Settings → Apple ID → Subscriptions. Terms of use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy policy: https://vitalysrdt.github.io/rclone-gui-ios/privacy.html OPEN SOURCE Rclone GUI is fully open source: https://github.com/VitalysRDT/rclone-gui-ios This app is not affiliated with Apple, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Dropbox or any other cloud provider. "rclone" is a trademark of Nick Craig-Wood (rclone author).
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: LM Mini at free with in-app purchases against Rclone GUI's subscription. LM Mini also leads on ratings volume (149 vs 2) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 26.4). Rclone GUI's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.5) and review sentiment (100% vs 65%). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. LM Mini sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Rclone GUI sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Rclone GUI holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: LM Mini has 149 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 65% of LM Mini's written reviews are positive against 100% of Rclone GUI's.
LM Mini ships an update every 3 days, Rclone GUI every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | LM Mini | Rclone GUI |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (149 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 65.3% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 149 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 days — better | Every 4 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Subscription |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPad, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 26.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 171 MB | 134 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Sultan Haider | Vitalys ROUGETET--DE TROYANE |
Customer experience
LM Mini
Rclone GUI
In-app purchases
LM Mini
- Monthly Subscription$4.991 Month
- Yearly Subscription$29.991 Year
- Lifetime Premium$119.99
Rclone GUI
- Monthly$2.991 Month
- Yearly$11.991 Year
- Lifetime$29.99









