Comparison

LocalEngine vs Boreal PDF

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

Head to head
About

LocalEngine

Features
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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 โ€ข 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. โ€ข 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. โ€ข 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. โ€ข Tune generation โ€” Adjust the response length (max tokens) and the temperature to shape how the model replies. โ€ข 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: โ€ข Qwen3.5 โ€” 0.8B and 2B free, with 4B available through Pro โ€ข 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 โ€ข 100% on-device inference โ€” no cloud, no telemetry, no analytics. โ€ข No account and no sign-in required. โ€ข Runs fully offline once a model is downloaded. โ€ข Built to App Store privacy and security standards. REQUIREMENTS โ€ข iOS / iPadOS 17.0 or later โ€ข A recent iPhone or iPad is recommended, especially for the larger models โ€ข 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.

About

Boreal PDF

Features
Read full description

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

LocalEngine4 screens
Boreal PDF3 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

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.

Scorecard1 real difference ยท 5 level
LocalEngine versus Boreal PDF: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLocalEngineBoreal PDF
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 4 daysEvery 2 days โ€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac โ€” betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size43 MB7 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperGUOYU WANGBorealbit Technology Limited

In-app purchases

3 purchases

LocalEngine

One-time3
  • Local Engine Pro$2.99
  • LocalEngine Pro$4.99
  • Professional$9.99
3 purchases

Boreal PDF

Subscriptions2
  • Boreal PDF Pro Monthly$6.991 Month
  • Boreal PDF Pro Yearly$39.991 Year
One-time1
  • Boreal PDF 24-hour Pro Pass$2.99

Questions

Is LocalEngine free?
LocalEngine is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Boreal PDF free?
Boreal PDF is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do LocalEngine or Boreal PDF have ads?
Neither LocalEngine nor Boreal PDF shows ads.
Which is updated more often, LocalEngine or Boreal PDF?
LocalEngine ships an update every 4 days, and Boreal PDF every 2 days. Most recently, LocalEngine was updated on October 25, 2026 and Boreal PDF on October 21, 2026.

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