MLX Studio vs PocketLLM's
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
MLX Studio
Experience private AI chat on your Apple devices with this app. It runs entirely on-device, offering 100% privacy and offline functionality. Choose from pre-configured models or import your own, with smart memory and RAM management for efficient conversations.
- 100% Private On-Device Processing
- Supports 15+ Pre-configured MLX Models
- Import Custom Models from HuggingFace
- Vision Understanding (Mac)
- Image Generation (Mac)
- Smart Memory and RAM Management
- Offline Functionality
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MLX Studio brings powerful AI chat to your Apple devices, running entirely on-device for complete privacy. No data ever leaves your device. Choose from 15+ pre-configured MLX models or import any compatible model from HuggingFace. Store models on external drives to save space. APPLE INTELLIGENCE (iOS 26+ / macOS 26+) Powered by Apple Foundation Models - Apple's on-device AI framework. - Built-in AI: Use Apple Intelligence with no download required - Instant access: Start chatting immediately without waiting for model downloads - Seamless switching: Easily switch between Apple Intelligence and custom MLX models - 4K context support for quick conversations KEY FEATURES - 100% Private: All AI processing happens locally on your device - Multiple AI Models: Choose from curated state-of-the-art language models optimized for Apple Silicon - Vision Understanding (Mac): Analyze images with Vision Language Models - Image Generation (Mac): Create images using Stable Diffusion and FLUX models - Smart Memory: AI remembers important conversation details - Smart RAM Management: Models automatically unload when idle - Works Offline: Use anywhere without internet once downloaded - Native Experience: Built with SwiftUI for iOS, iPadOS, and macOS SUPPORTED DEVICES & MODELS INCLUDED iPhone, iPad, Mac (16GB+ RAM recommended for Mac). Includes Qwen3, Llama 3.2, Gemma 2, vision models, and FLUX/Stable Diffusion. No subscriptions, accounts, or cloud required.
PocketLLM's
This app provides private AI chat capabilities directly on your device, eliminating the need for internet or cloud servers. Access powerful language models, chat with documents, and customize AI personas with advanced privacy features.
- On-device AI inference
- Multiple model support
- Voice input & text-to-speech
- Document chat with RAG
- Custom AI personas
- Export conversations
- Face ID lock
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Every model is free. Every conversation stays on your iPhone. PocketLLM runs large language models entirely on-device using Apple Silicon. No cloud. No servers. No account. No internet needed once a model is downloaded. 36 MODELS, ALL FREE Download any model in the catalogue at no cost — from a 290 MB model that runs on older iPhones to an 8 GB model for iPad Pro and Mac. Qwen, Llama, Gemma, Phi, Mistral, DeepSeek, SmolLM, Granite and Liquid, plus Apple's built-in on-device model on supported devices. Six of them can see images. Unlimited messages. No daily cap. No paywall on any model, ever. BRING YOUR OWN MODEL Paste any HuggingFace repo and PocketLLM checks it against the on-device runtime before downloading a single byte — so you know it will actually run first. PRIVATE BY DESIGN No analytics. No tracking. No telemetry. Conversations are stored only on your device. Turn on airplane-mode-enforced for a hard offline guarantee, and lock the app behind Face ID. FREE, WITH NO LIMITS • All 36 models, unlimited chats • Vision — ask questions about photos, screenshots and receipts • Offline translator across 24 languages • Custom AI personas and a prompt library • Memory that carries facts across conversations • Compare two personas side by side • Export as PDF, Markdown or text • Widget, Lock Screen controls and a Share extension • Benchmarks to measure model speed on your device • Face ID lock • iPad and Mac Catalyst POCKETLLM PRO Pro doesn't sell you models — open weights are free everywhere, and they're free here. Pro pays for the app itself: • Personal Data — index your files, photos and calendar on-device, then ask questions about them. Photos are read with on-device OCR. Nothing is uploaded. No cloud assistant can do this. • Document chat — ask questions across your PDFs and notes with cited sources • Hands-free voice mode — speak your prompts and hear replies read aloud Weekly $0.99 · Monthly $4.99 · Yearly $44.99 Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Payment is charged to your Apple ID on confirmation. Manage or cancel any time in your Apple ID settings. Privacy Policy: https://ghassanjaa.github.io/pocketLLM-sLandingPage/privacy.html Terms of Use: https://ghassanjaa.github.io/pocketLLM-sLandingPage/terms.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: MLX Studio at 3.0 against PocketLLM's's 2.5. MLX Studio also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 3) and review sentiment (33% vs 0%). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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. PocketLLM's sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 7 days. MLX Studio asks for nothing beyond the download.
MLX Studio holds the better App Store score, 3.0 against 2.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 2 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 33% of MLX Studio's written reviews are positive against 0% of PocketLLM's's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | MLX Studio | PocketLLM's |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.0 (3 ratings) — better | 2.5 (2 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 33.3% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 3 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 23 MB | 36 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Melih Gurgah | Ghassan Jaam |
Customer experience
MLX Studio
PocketLLM's
In-app purchases
MLX Studio
No in-app purchases
PocketLLM's
- Pro-Weekly$0.997 Days
- Pro-Monthly$4.991 Month
- Pro-Yearly$44.991 Year









