MLXHub vs Visual Code Editor
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
MLXHub
Run powerful AI language models privately on your iPhone or iPad. Your data stays on your device, with options for distributed inference across multiple devices and a local LAN server for API access.
- Run AI models locally on device
- Distributed inference across devices (experimental)
- Chat with LLMs and VLMs
- Customizable AI personality and system instructions
- Browse and install models from catalog or HuggingFace
- Local LAN server for API access
- Optimized for Apple Silicon
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Your local AI assistant for iPhone and iPad. Chat offline with downloaded models, use native tools and keep useful facts for future conversations. You choose the model and control its permissions. An assistant that can help you act Ask about your calendar, reminders, Health data, photos or music library using supported tools. Choose which tools to authorize. With MLXHub Plus, create events and reminders, write supported Health data and save reusable instructions as Skills. Tool support and results depend on the model you choose. Memory you control Keep useful facts for future chats. Review, pin or delete stored memories in Settings. With Plus, compatible models can save or remove facts through the memory tool. Changes apply from your next conversation. More room for capable models Explore and download language and vision models for your device. Supported MoE models can load experts from storage as needed, making larger models accessible without keeping every expert in memory. On supported vision models, text-only chats use less memory by loading vision components only when needed. Model capacity and performance depend on your device, model and context. Text, photos and documents Write, attach a photo or add a document and ask a compatible model to help you understand it. Set the assistant's personality or customize instructions for a conversation. Apple's on-device model is also available on supported devices with Apple Intelligence enabled. Your devices, working together Connect compatible devices on your local network to run supported models together. Joining a mesh is free; hosting requires MLXHub Plus. A local server for your apps Use your iPhone or iPad to serve chat and embeddings to applications and scripts on your local network. The server supports standard routes including /v1/chat/completions and /v1/embeddings, with authentication and local discovery. The optional LAN server is part of MLXHub Plus and runs while the app is in the foreground. All yours, unmetered No token limits, no message caps, no monthly quota, and no AI company keeping an eye on what you write. Inference happens inside your device, and your conversations are not uploaded to any cloud AI service: an assistant and a server you can use without limits, under your control. And if you would rather not subscribe, there is the one-time Lifetime purchase: unlimited inference for life and every feature that lands later, at no extra cost. Because this keeps getting better — with every update we ship, every week as new open AI models appear, and every year with each new device and iOS release Apple introduces. Privacy and connections Local inference does not require uploading your conversations to a cloud AI service. Downloaded models can work offline. Features you enable, such as web tools, the LAN server and mesh, communicate with their respective services or devices. No ads or required MLXHub account. Anonymous product analytics and diagnostics can be disabled in Settings. See our Privacy Policy for details. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Visual Code Editor
This mobile application provides a full-featured code editor and development environment for various programming languages. It allows users to write, run, and preview code directly on their devices, supporting offline use and Git integration.
- Supports 10 programming languages
- Live website preview with hot reload
- Syntax highlighting and code suggestions
- Multi-file project management
- Built-in Git and GitHub client
- Offline functionality
- Command palette for quick navigation
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The power of a desktop code editor, in your pocket. vCode is a visual code editor and complete coding studio for iPhone and iPad — write code, run it instantly, and see the output. Fully offline. No account. No subscription required to start coding. TEN LANGUAGES, READY TO RUN • Python 3.13 — full standard library, interactive input, pip packages • JavaScript and Node.js 18 — from quick scripts to real Express servers • HTML, CSS & JS — live website preview with hot reload • C and C++ — compiled on device with clear compiler errors and fix-it hints • Ruby, PHP 8.4, Lua 5.4 and SQL — with a persistent on-device database A SERIOUS CODE EDITOR • Syntax highlighting with beautiful themes, light and dark • Fast offline code suggestions as you type • Multi-file projects, tabs, find & replace, project-wide search • Open and edit any text file — configs, JSON, Markdown, Dockerfiles BUILD AND PREVIEW WEBSITES Serve any folder with one tap and watch your site live, in split view or fullscreen. Install npm packages straight from the registry, run Node servers, and let vCode open the preview automatically. Missing a package? Install and re-run in one tap. GIT AND GITHUB BUILT IN Clone public or private repositories you work on VS Code, view diffs, stage, commit, and push — a full git client on your phone. Your access token stays secure on your device. MADE FOR iPAD Side-by-side editor and console, hardware keyboard shortcuts, and a command palette (⌘P) that jumps you anywhere fast. LEARN TO CODE, ANYWHERE New to programming? Start from the built-in samples and the Get Started guide, and go from your first print() to a running web server — all offline, on a plane, on the subway, anywhere. vCode is the IDE for students learning Python or JavaScript, and for developers who want to test an idea away from the desk. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Your code never leaves your device unless you push it to your own GitHub. A real programming environment shouldn't need a desktop. Write it, run it, ship it — vCode. Terms of Service(EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://sealdownloader.site/vcode/privacy-policy.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Visual Code Editor at 5.0 against MLXHub's 4.3. Visual Code Editor also leads on monetization model (free vs freemium) and chart position (#97 vs unranked). MLXHub's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 3 weeks). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and ads 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Visual Code Editor holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 7 and 9 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.
MLXHub ships an update weekly, Visual Code Editor every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 5, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | MLXHub | Visual Code Editor |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.3 (7 ratings) | 5.0 (9 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 7 | 9 — better |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | — | #97 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 70 MB | 229 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Juan Colilla | Devang Samirbhai Shah |
Customer experience
MLXHub
Visual Code Editor
In-app purchases
MLXHub
No in-app purchases
Visual Code Editor
No in-app purchases









