Comparison

Loci vs Subnotes

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

Head to head
About

Loci

This AI assistant runs entirely on your device, offering powerful on-device capabilities like calculations, reminders, and calendar integration. It supports various open-source models and features voice conversation and image understanding, all while prioritizing user privacy and environmental impact.

Highlights
  • On-device AI models
  • Calculator and unit conversions
  • iOS Reminders and Calendar integration
  • Voice conversation mode
  • Image understanding (OCR, classification)
  • Apple Shortcuts integration
  • Focus modes
Features
Read full description

Loci is a private AI chat app for your iPhone. No account and no subscription. Download a model once and chat anywhere, even in airplane mode. If you want a ChatGPT alternative that keeps your conversations on your phone, this is it. NO SETUP, NO JARGON Loci checks your iPhone and picks a model that runs well on it. You never think about RAM, file sizes, or quantization. Open the app, download once and then start chatting. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Your chats, photos, and voice input are processed on your devices. Diagnostic sharing is optional and can be turned off in Settings. Downloaded models work in airplane mode. REAL MODELS, RUNNING LOCALLY Chat with well-known open models like Google's Gemma 4, Qwen 3.5, and Llama. Browse more anytime. Loci only offers models your phone can actually run. LINK TO YOUR MAC OR PC Run Loci on your Mac or PC too? Pair the two, and your iPhone can use the much larger models your computer runs. The power of a desktop, in your pocket, still on hardware you own. PHOTOS AND DOCUMENTS Attach a photo and ask what's in it. Add a PDF, Word file, or EPUB and ask questions about it. Reading happens on device. TOOLS THAT DO REAL WORK A calculator that computes instead of guessing. Unit conversions. Reminders and Calendar. Web search when you ask for it. A memory that carries your preferences from chat to chat. TALK INSTEAD OF TYPING Tap the waveform and speak. Loci answers out loud and keeps listening. Speech stays on your phone. MADE FOR THE TASK AT HAND Focus modes for coding, writing, studying, and brainstorming. Apple Shortcuts for automations. Available in English and Spanish. EASY ON THE PLANET Every cloud AI answer runs in a data center. Loci runs on the phone already in your pocket. Free. Offline. Yours.

About

Subnotes

Read full description

Subnotes is a plain-text notes and to-do list app for iPhone, iPad & Mac. Any line you write can become a task. • Thoughts and tasks, side by side — jot things down like a paper notebook, then switch views to see everything organized by priority, automatically. • Editing a task is just editing text • Recurring tasks and due dates • Link notes together to connect related thinking • Templates for weekly reviews, meeting notes, habit tracking, trip planning, and more. Note-taking and task planning are deeply personal — so Subnotes stores everything as plain text, not a proprietary format. Copy, paste, or export anytime. It also syncs privately over your own iCloud account: no signup, no account creation, no servers but Apple's. For iPhone, iPad, and Mac

Screenshots

Loci4 screens
Subnotes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Loci at every 2 days against Subnotes's weekly. Loci also leads on iOS requirement (18.0 vs 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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Loci ships an update every 2 days, Subnotes weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Loci versus Subnotes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLociSubnotes
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (126 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings126 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS18.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size73 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMichael WaldmanMartin Ramsin

In-app purchases

None

Loci

No in-app purchases

None

Subnotes

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Loci free?
Loci is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Subnotes free?
Subnotes is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Loci or Subnotes have ads?
Neither Loci nor Subnotes shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Loci or Subnotes?
Loci ships an update every 2 days, and Subnotes weekly. Most recently, Loci was updated on October 17, 2026 and Subnotes on October 9, 2026.

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