Comparison

Pocket AI vs Based LLM

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

Head to head
About

Pocket AI

A private AI assistant that runs entirely on your iPhone without an internet connection. It offers offline tools for summarization, translation, and grammar checking, with customizable personas and community-created instructions.

Highlights
  • 100% offline AI operation
  • No account or subscription required
  • AI Personas for tailored responses
  • Offline tools for summarization and translation
  • Customizable instructions via marketplace
  • iOS widgets for quick access
Features
Read full description

Your AI. Your phone. Your rules. Pocket AI runs real open-source AI models directly on your iPhone. Download a model once, then chat completely offline: on the train, on a plane, in a tunnel, or anywhere with no signal. Your prompts and replies are generated on-device and stay on your phone. CHAT THAT RUNS ON YOUR DEVICE • 34 open LLMs to choose from: Qwen, Llama, Gemma, SmolLM, Ministral, Granite, Phi, DeepSeek distills and more. • Real on-device inference powered by llama.cpp with Metal acceleration and live token streaming. • Pick a model to match your iPhone: lightweight models fly on iPhone 12/13, larger models shine on the newest Pro devices. • Once a model is downloaded, chat works with no internet, no account, and no sign-in. TALK TO IT: ON-DEVICE VOICE (PRO) • Speak instead of type. Voice input is transcribed locally with an on-device Whisper model, included in the one-time Pro unlock. • Your audio is processed on your phone and is not uploaded to any server. START EVERY DAY FOCUSED (PRO) • Daily Brief turns the Calendar events and Reminders you choose into a focused, readable plan. • Works with Apple Health: with your permission, Pocket AI uses HealthKit to read sleep, steps and workouts (read-only) and adds one line about your day to your brief. Health data stays on your device. • Connect and refresh read-only sources from the new Sources screen. Source content is processed locally and never uploaded. • Refresh whenever you want, or let Pocket AI prepare one brief per day on-device. If notifications are already allowed, Pocket AI can let you know when it is ready. • Clear progress, numbered same-day briefs, and grounded summaries help you see what matters without losing the source context. ONE-TAP WIDGETS • Start a New Chat or Continue your latest conversation from redesigned Home Screen widgets. • Quick actions also work across supported Lock Screen widget sizes. MAKE IT YOURS • 9 built-in personas, from ELI5 and Study Buddy to Code Helper, Writing Coach and Translator. • 8 on-device tools: summarize, fix grammar, translate and more, powered by your local model. • A 26-item marketplace of ready-made custom instructions, plus your own unlimited custom instructions. • Daily challenges and streaks to keep exploring what your local models can do. • Liquid-Glass design that feels right at home on iOS. PRIVACY YOU CAN REASON ABOUT • Your conversations, prompts and voice audio are processed on-device and never sent to an AI server. There is no cloud model answering you. • Calendar events, Reminders and Apple Health data used for Daily Brief stay on your device and can be disconnected or deleted from Pocket AI at any time. • Optional usage analytics sends content-free product interactions to PostHog and Firebase/Google Analytics to improve reliability. Disable it any time in Privacy settings. Chat text, prompts, voice audio, Calendar events, Reminders, Health data and Daily Brief content are never included. • RevenueCat manages the optional Pro purchase using an anonymous app identifier and purchase history. Internet is also used for the model and voice-pack downloads you choose. Everyday chatting works in airplane mode. FREE, WITH AN OPTIONAL ONE-TIME PRO UNLOCK • Free: 15 messages per day, 1 downloaded model, 3 personas and 3 tools. • Pro is a one-time lifetime purchase. No subscription. It unlocks unlimited daily messages, all 34 models, every persona and tool, Daily Brief, on-device voice input, the full marketplace, and a deeper generation queue. WHY POCKET AI • Built for real iPhones, including older ones, not just the latest flagship. • Open models, on your terms. • The AI that still works when everything else doesn't. Download a model and start chatting in under two minutes.

About

Based LLM

Features
Read full description

Dein persönlicher KI-Assistent — komplett lokal, komplett privat. Based bringt leistungsstarke KI direkt auf dein iPhone, iPad und deinen Mac. Kein Internet nötig, keine Cloud, keine Tracker. Alles bleibt auf deinem Gerät. Highlights: • Komplett offline nutzbar nach dem Modell-Download (Gemma 3 1B ist im App-Bundle enthalten) • Verschiedene KI-Modelle zur Auswahl — von schnell und kompakt bis leistungsstark • Websuche über DuckDuckGo — ohne persönliche Daten zu übermitteln • Bildanalyse direkt auf dem Gerät • Markdown-formatierte Antworten • Chat-Export und Suchfunktion • Komplett kostenlos, kein Abo, kein Account Deine Daten gehören dir. Nichts verlässt dein Gerät. Keine Cloud-Verarbeitung, kein Tracking, keine Überraschungen. Based nutzt Open-Source-Modelle, die direkt auf deiner Hardware laufen. Funktioniert überall. Im Flugzeug, im Ausland, im Keller — Based braucht nach dem Modell-Download kein Internet mehr.

Screenshots

Pocket AI4 screens
Based LLM3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Pocket AI at 17.0 against Based LLM's 26.0. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Pocket AI versus Based LLM: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPocket AIBased LLM
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.3 (4 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings4 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 days—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size21 MB777 MB
Age rating17+12+
DeveloperFaisal Ali SiddiquiMarcel Theiner

In-app purchases

None

Pocket AI

No in-app purchases

None

Based LLM

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Pocket AI free?
Pocket AI is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Based LLM free?
Based LLM is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Pocket AI or Based LLM have ads?
Neither Pocket AI nor Based LLM shows ads.

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