ShellX vs Thoughts AI
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side ā with what reviewers say about each.
ShellX
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The missing link between your phone and your automation workflows. ShellX is a thin client that connects your mobile device directly to n8n, Make, Zapier, Home Assistant, or any webhook endpoint. Voice, text, photos, documents, barcodes, GPS ā everything goes straight to YOUR infrastructure. We never see your data. HOW IT WORKS 1. Configure your webhook URL 2. Send input (voice, text, photo, scan) 3. Your automation processes it 4. See the response (text, voice, or image) That's it. ShellX doesn't process anything ā your workflow does. USE CASES - Chat with your AI agent connected to your company data - Field workers submitting reports via voice - Inventory management with barcode scanning - Home automation voice control - Client-facing interface for your automation agency KEY FEATURES - Works with ANY webhook (n8n, Make, Zapier, ESP32, custom APIs) - Voice input transcribed and sent to your workflow - Responses can be text, audio, or images - Labels to switch between multiple workflows instantly - Quick Mode for one-off commands, Chat Mode for conversations - QR and barcode scanner built-in - Photo and document uploads - Push notifications when your workflow responds - GPS location sharing PRIVACY BY DESIGN Your data never touches our servers. ShellX connects directly to your endpoint. Conversation history stays on your device. No accounts required for personal use. All features included. No ads. No data mining.
Thoughts AI
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Think out loud. Thoughts AI turns what you say or type into clear notes, gives each one a title, and files it in the right project, with the AI running on your iPhone. Ideas show up half-finished and at the wrong moment. Thoughts lets you get them down in seconds, then does the tidying and the filing for you, so every idea ends up somewhere you will actually look. Speak or type ⢠Tap Speak and talk: live transcription keeps up on your iPhone ⢠Or tap Type and write ⢠Every capture saves instantly, even before the AI has finished ⢠Teach it the names and words it mishears with your own dictionary Clean up in one tap ⢠Turn a rambling transcript into a clear note with one tap ⢠Undo brings back your original words ⢠Titles write themselves once a thought has enough to go on It files itself ⢠Thoughts suggests the right project while you type and files the thought when the match is clear ⢠Anything it isn't sure about waits in Unfiled ⢠A project or Unfiled choice you make is always kept Projects that stay tidy ⢠Give every project its own colour and summary ⢠See thoughts as a grid of cards or a compact list ⢠Pin the projects you use most to Home Private by default ⢠Clean-up, titles and filing run on your iPhone. Apple Intelligence is used where available; an optional on-device model can be downloaded for clean-up and titles when needed ⢠Your voice recordings never leave your device ⢠No account needed: capture, clean-up, filing and search all work on your iPhone alone ⢠Lock individual thoughts behind Face ID Sync and share only what you choose ⢠Turn on sync one project at a time ⢠Invite people by email as editors and see what they add ⢠Sign in with Apple, Google or an email code And more ⢠Checklists, bullet and numbered lists, and bold text ⢠Photos, PDFs and documents inside your notes ⢠Smart links for the pages you paste ⢠Search across projects, notes and transcripts ⢠Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets to Speak or Write in one tap ⢠Export a project as Markdown, plain text or JSON ⢠Dark mode ⢠Connect AI assistants that support MCP to your synced projects, only after you approve them Thoughts AI is free, with no subscription, no ads and no tracking.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: ShellX at every 3 days against Thoughts AI's fortnightly. ShellX also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 26.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
ShellX ships an update every 3 days, Thoughts AI fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ShellX | Thoughts AI |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 3 days ā better | Fortnightly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod ā better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 ā better | 26.0 |
| Further details ā not scored | ||
| Size | 37 MB | 176 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Laurens van Leer B.V. | Areeb Qamar |
In-app purchases
ShellX
No in-app purchases
Thoughts AI
No in-app purchases









