LLMster vs Sencha
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
LLMster
Connect to local AI models for fast, private conversations on your iPhone or iPad. Manage your models, organize chats, and utilize features like vision and hands-free voice interaction. Your data stays on your device and server.
- Connect to local AI models
- Private by design, no cloud relay
- Organize chats by title, model, or folder
- Vision support for image-based conversations
- Hands-free voice chat with on-device speech recognition
- Stream reasoning and rich Markdown responses
- Background processing with Live Activities
Read full descriptionHide full description
Local AI, in your pocket. LLMster is a fast, private iPhone and iPad client for models running on your LM Studio server. Stream replies, reasoning, tool activity, and image-based conversations from the models you host—in an app designed to feel at home on iOS. Private by design LLMster connects directly to the server you choose. There’s no LLMster account, telemetry, hosted chat service, or cloud relay in the middle. Your conversation library stays on your device, while model context stays with your configured server. External integrations run only when you choose to enable them. Your models, wherever you run them Keep your models on the machine built for them: a workstation, home server, or always-on computer. Run the LM Studio desktop app or LM Studio’s headless daemon, point LLMster at the host, and start chatting. No companion desktop client is required. Choose the right model without leaving the conversation: • Search or sort by name, size, or format, then pin favorites • See which models support vision, reasoning, or tool calls • Change models without starting a new chat Organized from the start Search chats by title, model, or folder. Browse recent conversations across every folder, then organize, rename, pin, or duplicate important threads. Move and protect your chats Share individual conversations as .llmster files and import them on another device while preserving messages, images, reasoning, tool history, and chat settings. Back up and restore your entire local chat library—including folders, pins, drafts, and attachments—with optional password protection. Backups do not include server addresses, authentication keys, or app-wide settings. LLMster also verifies transferred response context against your configured LM Studio server before continuing a chat. Vision, direct to your server Attach up to four screenshots, photos, or scanned pages to a message and send them to a compatible vision model. LLMster resizes and compresses images on your device before sending them, so the originals remain with you. Open any attachment and pinch to zoom when you need to inspect the details. Hands-free voice chat Talk naturally using on-device speech recognition and text-to-speech. Audio stays on your device; only the resulting text is sent to your configured server. Natural turn-taking and subtle haptics keep the conversation moving without touching the screen. Control each conversation Every chat can have its own: • Integrations already configured in LM Studio • Custom system prompt • Tool-call visibility • Live reasoning preference Stream reasoning as Markdown while the model works, or keep the interface quiet with a compact Thinking indicator and open the completed reasoning when you want it. Control response auto-scrolling, and choose System, Light, or Dark appearance with your preferred accent color. Rich responses, as they arrive LLMster renders streaming Markdown smoothly, including syntax-highlighted code with copy controls, inline and block math, tables, links, lists, and more. Export or share transcripts with their original Markdown intact. Keep going while you move on LLMster asks iOS to continue eligible responses after you leave the app. When the system starts continued processing, progress appears as a Live Activity on the Lock Screen and, on supported iPhones, in the Dynamic Island. When a background response completes, LLMster can notify you locally—without routing your conversation through a push server. Tap a notification or Live Activity to return to the correct conversation. Setup instructions are available at https://llmster.app/support
Sencha
Read full descriptionHide full description
A native LLM client for on-device inference, LLM APIs, and self-hosted servers, built around a minimal, responsive interface. Download a supported model and chat offline without an API key or account. Or connect OpenRouter, direct providers, and compatible endpoints using your own credentials. On-Device Models • Download models from the built-in catalog, including Gemma 4, Qwen 3.5, Bonsai, and LFM 2.5 • Choose model sizes and quantization options to suit your device • Configure context window, reply length, and image detail where supported • Use streaming, thinking traces, image attachments, and web tools with compatible models • Reduce reprocessing of earlier messages with on-disk prompt caching Model capabilities and performance depend on the selected model and available device memory. Connections and Models • Connect OpenRouter, OpenCode, and direct providers • Add OpenAI- or Anthropic-compatible endpoints, including self-hosted runtimes such as Ollama and LM Studio • Use Chat Completions, Responses API, or Messages API • Choose an on-device or connected model per chat • Browse model catalogs and inspect context size, output limits, pricing, and capabilities where available • Configure reasoning effort, prompt caching, routing, and model tools where supported Web Search and Fetch • Use the included free web search via Markdown.new • Or configure Brave Search, Tavily, Exa, Serper, SerpApi, Parallel, or Keenable • Choose search-depth presets for Exa and Tavily • Fetch pages on device or through Markdown.new or Firecrawl • Configure fetch providers and fallbacks independently Files and Output • Attach photos, documents, and PDFs • Send PDFs natively, extract embedded text, run on-device OCR, or render pages as images • Read responses with formatted Markdown, code, mathematical formulas, and tables • Copy generated tables as a table, Markdown, or a complete image Voice Input • Use Apple Speech for on-device dictation • Download local transcription models • Connect API-based transcription providers The app is free, with no ads or app subscription. On-device models require no provider account or API key. Connected services are subject to their own pricing, limits, and data policies.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Sencha at 18.0 against LLMster's 26.0. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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.
LLMster ships an update every 11 days, Sencha every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 5, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | LLMster | Sencha |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better | — |
| Number of ratings | 2 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 11 days | Every 6 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 18.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 10 MB | 88 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Dave Sebek | Max Helvetia |
In-app purchases
LLMster
No in-app purchases
Sencha
No in-app purchases









