LocalEngine vs Boreal PDF
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side โ with what reviewers say about each.
LocalEngine
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LocalEngine runs open-source AI language models entirely on your iPhone and iPad. Everything happens on-device: your prompts, conversations, and images never leave your device and are never sent to any server. Built in pure Swift with SwiftUI, LocalEngine runs models through a Metal-accelerated llama.cpp engine, so you get fast, low-latency AI completely offline โ no account, no sign-in, no cloud. WHAT YOU CAN DO โข Chat โ Hold multi-turn conversations with a local model. Replies stream token-by-token in real time. Start a new chat or stop a response at any time. โข See images โ Turn on vision in Settings, attach photos to your message, and ask about them. Images are understood entirely on-device by a vision-capable model. โข Download models โ Browse a curated catalog of open models and download the one that fits your device. Downloads run as resumable background jobs with live progress, and the screen can stay awake while a large model downloads. โข Tune generation โ Adjust the response length (max tokens) and the temperature to shape how the model replies. โข Unlock larger models โ LocalEngine is free to use with starter models. A one-time Pro upgrade unlocks larger catalog downloads on iPhone and iPad. CURATED MODELS LocalEngine is ready to chat out of the box with a small, fast default model, and its catalog includes compact vision-language models you can grow into: โข Qwen3.5 โ 0.8B and 2B free, with 4B available through Pro โข Gemma 4 โ E2B free, with E4B available through Pro Smaller models are quick and light on storage; larger Pro models are more capable on newer devices. Each vision model pairs with a multimodal projector so it can understand images โ all on-device. PRIVATE BY DESIGN โข 100% on-device inference โ no cloud, no telemetry, no analytics. โข No account and no sign-in required. โข Runs fully offline once a model is downloaded. โข Built to App Store privacy and security standards. REQUIREMENTS โข iOS / iPadOS 17.0 or later โข A recent iPhone or iPad is recommended, especially for the larger models โข Free storage space for the models you choose to download LocalEngine puts the power of modern AI โ text and vision โ in your pocket, without giving up your privacy.
Boreal PDF
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Boreal PDF helps you turn paper forms, receipts, certificates, contracts, and application documents into cleaner PDFs from iPhone. Start with a camera scan, selected photos, or an imported PDF. Boreal PDF keeps the workflow focused on the practical steps before submission: straighten the page, improve text readability, fill in missing marks, reduce file size, and export a PDF you can review before sending. Key tools: - Scan paper documents or import photos and PDFs. - Auto-crop, rotate, retake, reorder, merge, or split pages. - Add dates, names, signatures, freehand ink, and stamp-style marks. - Compress PDFs toward common upload limits. - Run OCR for printed Japanese and English text. - Preview the final PDF, then save, share, or print it from iOS. Boreal PDF is local-first by design. The companion website does not provide cloud document storage, account sync, or server-side PDF processing. OCR works best on clear printed text; handwriting, glare, low light, and heavy skew can reduce accuracy, so always review important documents before submitting them. Boreal PDF is free to start with 5 documents per day. Within that allowance, form marks, compression, OCR, searchable PDF, and watermarked export stay in the workflow. Pro removes the daily document limit and unlocks watermark-free final export. A 24-hour Pro Pass is available for short-term access, alongside monthly and yearly Pro subscriptions. Current prices, trial availability, renewal terms, and regional availability are shown on the App Store. Privacy Policy: https://borealpdf.borealbit.com/privacy Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Terms of Service: https://borealpdf.borealbit.com/terms
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is device support: LocalEngine at 3 against Boreal PDF's 1. On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS
Both are free to download. LocalEngine sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and Boreal PDF sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
LocalEngine ships an update every 4 days, Boreal PDF every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | LocalEngine | Boreal PDF |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days | Every 2 days โ better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac โ better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Further details โ not scored | ||
| Size | 43 MB | 7 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | GUOYU WANG | Borealbit Technology Limited |
In-app purchases
LocalEngine
- Local Engine Pro$2.99
- LocalEngine Pro$4.99
- Professional$9.99
Boreal PDF
- Boreal PDF Pro Monthly$6.991 Month
- Boreal PDF Pro Yearly$39.991 Year
- Boreal PDF 24-hour Pro Pass$2.99
Questions
Is LocalEngine free?
Is Boreal PDF free?
Do LocalEngine or Boreal PDF have ads?
Which is updated more often, LocalEngine or Boreal PDF?
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