Comparison

Elio Chat vs Valdis

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

Head to head
About

Elio Chat

This AI assistant operates entirely on your device, ensuring all conversations remain private and never leave your iPhone. It offers powerful AI models, image recognition, and voice input, integrating seamlessly with your iOS features like calendar and reminders.

Highlights
  • 100% offline operation
  • On-device AI processing
  • Deep iOS integration (Calendar, Reminders, Photos)
  • Powerful AI models
  • Image recognition
  • Voice input
Features
Read full description

【A Truly Private AI Assistant】 Elio is a completely private AI assistant that runs entirely on your iPhone. All processing happens on-device, meaning your conversations are never sent to the cloud. ■ Why Choose Elio? • Fully Offline - Works in airplane mode • Privacy First - No data ever leaves your device • Works in corporate environments with AI restrictions • No subscription - Free forever after download ■ Deep iOS Integration • Calendar - Check and create events • Reminders - Manage your tasks • Photos - Analyze and search images • Contacts - Search your contacts • Weather - Check forecasts • Location - Get current location ■ Key Features • Powerful AI models (Qwen3, Llama 3.2, etc.) • Image recognition (Vision-capable models) • Voice input (Whisper built-in) • Multi-turn conversations • Search and export conversation history ■ Our Privacy Commitment Elio is your secret-keeping "second brain". Confidential information, personal concerns, work ideas... discuss anything with peace of mind. Download now and experience truly private AI.

About

Valdis

Read full description

Valdis is an AI companion that keeps one conversation going across your Mac and iPhone — at home, on a walk, and offline. Valdis is built natively for macOS and iOS — no Electron, no fake web UI. At home, chat in text or voice — with your Mac doing the heavy lifting (local Ollama by default, with LM Studio as a local-first alternative). You can also send images in chat — pick from Photos, the camera, files, or paste/drag-and-drop. Valdis passes images to supported multimodal models so you can ask about what you see. When you step outside, switch to Walk & Talk for hands-free voice. On a plane or without internet, use Apple’s on-device model (Foundation Models) on supported Apple Intelligence devices. Back online, switch back to your Mac — or to a cloud provider you choose — and keep going without resetting. WALK & TALK (HANDS-FREE VOICE) - Real-time voice chat with on-device speech-to-text (WhisperKit) - Spoken replies (hands-free) - A 3D avatar with lip-sync and animations (RealityKit) CONTINUITY THAT DOESN’T RESET Keep the same conversation going across iPhone and Mac, so you don’t have to repeat yourself. APPLE ON-DEVICE (FOUNDATION MODELS) When Apple Intelligence is available, Valdis can use Apple’s on-device model for fast, private replies — even offline. Requires Apple Intelligence to be enabled in Settings. MAC-POWERED INFERENCE Run bigger models on your Mac and talk to them from your iPhone: - macOS runs local Ollama by default (LM Studio is also supported!) - Vision models are supported (so you can send images) when the selected provider/model supports it - Your iPhone can use your Mac for inference while you’re out REAL-TIME iPHONE ↔ MAC SYNC Keep your conversation in sync between iPhone and Mac when your iPhone is using your Mac as the provider: - Your Mac app hosts the server your iPhone connects to - Works over local network, VPN, or Tailscale LOCAL FIRST - No Valdis cloud: Valdis doesn’t have its own servers — sync happens only between your devices when you use your Mac as the provider. - Your Mac app can act as your backend (and sync host) when your iPhone uses it as the provider. - Cloud providers are opt-in and used for inference only. - Zero telemetry: no analytics, no crash reporting.

Screenshots

Elio Chat4 screens
Valdis4 screens

Verdict

The call

Elio Chat and Valdis are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters — price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Elio Chat ships an update fortnightly, Valdis every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on August 31, 2026 and September 16, 2026 respectively.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Elio Chat versus Valdis: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterElio ChatValdis
PriceFreeFree
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 8 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS17.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size34 MB82 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperYuki HamadaAlexander Vlasov

In-app purchases

None

Elio Chat

No in-app purchases

None

Valdis

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Elio Chat free?
Elio Chat is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Valdis free?
Valdis is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Elio Chat or Valdis have ads?
Neither Elio Chat nor Valdis shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Elio Chat or Valdis?
Elio Chat ships an update fortnightly, and Valdis every 8 days. Most recently, Elio Chat was updated on August 31, 2026 and Valdis on September 16, 2026.

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