Comparison

MLX Studio vs MLX

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Read full description

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.

About

MLX

This AI studio runs entirely on your device, processing conversations, voice recordings, and generated images locally. It offers hands-free calling, voice cloning, and image generation without any account creation, subscriptions, or tracking.

Highlights
  • On-device AI processing
  • Hands-free voice calls
  • Personalized voice cloning
  • Text-to-image generation
  • Offline model functionality
  • No account or tracking
Features
Read full description

MLX-Serve is a private AI studio that runs entirely on your iPhone. Every conversation, voice recording, and generated image is processed on-device by open-weight models — nothing you type, say, or create ever leaves your phone. There is no account to create, no subscription, and no tracking of any kind. MUSIC Generate songs locally using your device ! You can also play it back in the background and use MLX-Serve as a player for your generated music on the go. CHAT Talk with capable open language models (Google Gemma 4) right on your device. Ask questions, brainstorm, draft messages, get things explained. Some models can even understand photos you attach. CALL Tap Call inside any conversation to talk to the AI hands-free, like a phone call. Your speech is transcribed on-device and the reply is read back aloud. Speaker and handset modes are both supported, and the transcript is saved to your chat. VOICE CLONE Record about eight seconds of your voice and have the AI speak text in your own voice, using an on-device text-to-speech model. Great for narration and fun. IMAGES Generate images from a text prompt with an on-device diffusion model (FLUX.2). Tap a result to zoom in, save it to your photo library, or share it. FULLY PRIVATE, FULLY OFFLINE - Runs 100% on-device using Apple MLX and the Metal GPU. - No account, no analytics, no ads, no tracking. - The network is used only to download the AI models you choose from Hugging Face. After a model is downloaded, that feature works offline. REQUIREMENTS Models are multi-gigabyte downloads and on-device AI is demanding, so MLX Chat requires a recent, high-performance iPhone. Download over Wi-Fi is recommended. You pick which models to download and can delete them anytime to reclaim space. Open models are provided under their respective licenses (Gemma, Apache 2.0). MLX Chat is an independent app and is not affiliated with Google or Apple.

Screenshots

MLX Studio4 screens
MLX4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: MLX at 100% against MLX Studio's 33%. MLX also leads on rating (4.6 vs 3.0) and ratings volume (10 vs 3). MLX Studio's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.2). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. MLX sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. MLX Studio asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

MLX holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 10 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 33% of MLX Studio's written reviews are positive against 100% of MLX's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
MLX Studio versus MLX: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMLX StudioMLX
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.0 (3 ratings)4.6 (10 ratings) — better
Positive reviews33.3% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings310 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.2
Further details — not scored
Size23 MB211 MB
Age rating9+12+
DeveloperMelih GurgahDavid Dalcu

Customer experience

MLX Studio

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral33.3%
Negative33.3%

MLX

All ratings9 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

MLX Studio

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

MLX

One-time1
  • Music Generation$4.99

Questions

Is MLX Studio free?
MLX Studio is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is MLX free?
MLX is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, MLX Studio or MLX?
MLX is rated higher. MLX Studio averages 3.0 out of 5 from 3 ratings, while MLX averages 4.6 from 10 ratings.
Do MLX Studio or MLX have ads?
Neither MLX Studio nor MLX shows ads.
Which is updated more often, MLX Studio or MLX?
MLX Studio ships an update every 3 weeks, and MLX every 3 weeks. Most recently, MLX Studio was updated on October 31, 2026 and MLX on October 31, 2026.

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