# aira vs Beacon

The clearest difference is rating: Beacon at 5.0 against aira's 1.0. Beacon also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs every 2 weeks) and ratings volume (5 vs 1). aira's advantage is iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Beacon holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Beacon has 5 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

aira ships an update every 2 weeks, Beacon every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | aira | Beacon |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [1.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/aira-private-second-brain/id6760924946/reviews) | **[5.0 (5 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/beacon-local-ai-chat/id6786421295/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 1 | **5** |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | **Every 4 days** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 56 MB | 41 MB |
| Requires iOS | **17.0** | 26.0 |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [John Lim](https://appshunter.io/developer/1886852946) | [Armond Schneider](https://appshunter.io/developer/1725655170) |

## What reviewers say

### aira

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/aira-private-second-brain/id6760924946)

This app helps you take notes and record meetings. It transcribes audio, summarizes content with AI, and allows you to link notes and ask questions about your data. All information is stored locally and encrypted for privacy.

**Highlights:** Rich text notes, Tagging and note linking, Embedded meeting recordings, AI transcription and summaries, Offline search and Q&A, Encrypted local storage

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### Beacon

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/beacon-local-ai-chat/id6786421295)

This AI assistant operates entirely on your device, allowing you to chat, brainstorm, and write without sending data to the cloud. It offers various on-device models and can remember your preferences and ongoing projects for a personalized experience.

**Highlights:** On-device AI processing, Cloud-free conversations, Multiple AI models, Personalized memory features, Image analysis capability, Local data storage

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is aira free?

aira is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Beacon free?

Beacon is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, aira or Beacon?

Beacon is rated higher. aira averages 1.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Beacon averages 5.0 from 5 ratings.

### Do aira or Beacon have ads?

Neither aira nor Beacon shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, aira or Beacon?

aira ships an update every 2 weeks, and Beacon every 4 days. Most recently, aira was updated on November 5, 2026 and Beacon on October 31, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*