Open MobileUI vs BookStax
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Open MobileUI
Access your self-hosted AI assistant on mobile with a smooth, modern, and privacy-focused client. Enjoy native performance, smart synchronization, and a mobile-first interface for productivity on the go.
- Native performance
- Mobile-first interface
- Automatic synchronization
- Image uploads and file attachments
- System-aware dark mode
- Secure credential storage
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Open MobileUI is an open-source, native iPhone client for Open WebUI. Connect to your self-hosted server and chat with your AI models on the go: local Ollama models, OpenAI-compatible APIs, or any LLM your Open WebUI admin has set up. Your server, your data. The app connects directly to the Open WebUI server you choose. We do not run any backend that receives, stores or processes your chats, and there are no ads. CONNECT THE WAY YOU HOST • Home lab, VPS or company server • Private networks and Tailscale, including plain HTTP addresses for local setups • Custom domains behind a reverse proxy such as Nginx, Caddy or Traefik • Encrypted HTTPS and WSS connections • Sign in with email and password, LDAP, SSO (OpenID Connect), Google, Microsoft or GitHub CHAT • Real-time streaming responses • Edit and regenerate responses • Switch between AI models in one tap • Attach photos, camera shots, files, web pages and knowledge bases • Web search, image generation and code interpreter when your server enables them • Rich rendering: Markdown, code highlighting, math formulas and source citations • Voice mode: talk to your assistant hands-free and hear the answers read aloud • Voice dictation for your messages • Temporary chats that are not saved ORGANIZE • Folders, pinned chats, search and archive • Share chats and export them BUILT FOR IPHONE • Native performance, smooth animations and gestures • Light, dark and system themes • Smart keyboard handling • Graceful handling of network interruptions • Available in English, German, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese, Japanese and Romanian PERFECT FOR • Using your self-hosted AI assistant on the go • Privacy-conscious users who want full control over their data • Teams that need mobile access to their company AI assistant REQUIREMENTS Open MobileUI does not host models or provide an AI service. It connects to an Open WebUI server that you or your organization run. Available features depend on your server settings. OPEN SOURCE Open MobileUI is free and open source under the GPL-3.0 license. For support, issues and source code: https://github.com/RonasIT/open-webui-react-native Disclaimer: Open MobileUI is an independent, third-party application. It is not affiliated with the Open WebUI, Ollama or Tailscale projects.
BookStax
Access and manage your self-hosted BookStack knowledge base natively on iPhone. Edit pages with a Markdown editor, search your content, and access it offline. Prioritizes privacy with secure API token storage.
- BookStack hierarchy navigation
- Full-text search with filters
- Markdown editor with live preview
- Offline read access
- Secure API token connection
- Light/Dark/System mode
- Multi-language support
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BookStax brings your self-hosted BookStack wiki to iPhone and iPad as a native app. Read, write and search – directly on your own server. Read • Shelves, books, chapters and pages – the same structure as in BookStack • Images, callouts, tables and collapsible blocks look like they do on the web • Favorites and recently opened pages on the home screen Write • Markdown editor with preview, or the visual editor • Upload images, add tags, insert callouts • Quick Note: capture an idea – without a connection it is uploaded later Search • Full-text search with filters for content type and tag • Find downloaded pages in Spotlight, too Notifications (Pro) • Push notifications from your wiki: new and updated pages, comments, new chapters and books • For admins: keep an eye on new users, registrations, API tokens and changed settings • Choose the events per server – BookStax sets up the webhook in BookStack Offline and widgets • Download books and shelves and browse them without a connection, images included • Widgets for your favorites and an overview of your wiki AI helpers for your pages • Summarize, translate or proofread your own pages • With Apple Intelligence right on your device, or with an AI service you connect yourself Privacy • Your API token is stored in the iOS Keychain. If you like, Face ID or Touch ID locks the app. • BookStax connects to your BookStack server. AI requests go only to the service you set up yourself. • For notifications, BookStack sends events to the BookStax push service. It only forwards the ones you choose to Apple and stores no content. • Anonymous usage statistics (e.g. first launch, server connected) help improve the app – no server addresses, content or personal data. You can turn them off in Settings under "Security". Free and Pro Reading, writing, search, offline reading, widgets and AI are free. BookStax Pro, a one-time purchase, adds: • Notifications from BookStack: pages, comments, books and administration • Shortcuts & Siri: search, open and create pages, fetch content for your own automations • Sharing & export: share page links, export as PDF, Markdown, HTML or text, save text, links and photos from other apps to BookStack • Offline editing with automatic sync • Multiple server profiles • Three premium reader themes, a custom accent colour, one colour per server Requirements • Your own BookStack instance and an API token from your BookStack profile • No server yet? You can try BookStax with the BookStack demo server right in the app. Good to know — BookStax is an independent client and not an official product of the BookStack project. It requires your own self-hosted BookStack server and does not include a server of its own. About the project: https://www.bookstackapp.com / BookStax Pro is a one-time purchase – no subscription, no automatic renewal. Purchases can be restored in the app. / Terms of use (Apple's standard EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: BookStax at 5.0 against Open MobileUI's 3.4. Open MobileUI's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and ratings volume (25 vs 1). On price, update cadence, ads and monetization model 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. BookStax sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Open MobileUI asks for nothing beyond the download.
BookStax holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Open MobileUI has 25 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Open MobileUI ships an update weekly, BookStax every 9 days. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Open MobileUI | BookStax |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.4 (25 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 25 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Every 9 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 — better | 18.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 64 MB | 16 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Ronas IT OU | Sven Uwe Hanold |
Customer experience
Open MobileUI
BookStax
In-app purchases
Open MobileUI
No in-app purchases
BookStax
- Page$2.99
- Themes & more Servers$5.99
- Book$5.99
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- Encyclopaedia$12.99









