OpenChat Connect vs Rowtr

OpenChat Connect is a free native iOS app with two ways to chat. Download a model and talk to it on your iPhone. Or bring your own API key and use OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, OpenRouter, or any custom endpoint. No OpenChat account. No lock-in. On this device Version 1.2.0 adds curated MLX downloads from Meta, Qwen, and Phi. Pick Fast, Balanced, or Strongest, then choose the On This Device provider. That chat runs on the iPhone. You do not need an API key for it. Your key, any model Paste a key and use OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, OpenRouter, or a custom OpenAI-compatible endpoint, including Ollama, LM Studio, or vLLM. The same key setup also covers Mistral, DeepSeek, cloud Qwen, Moonshot, Z.ai, and 01.AI. Pick the model that fits the task. Switch later. The app does not lock you to one provider. One app either way Chats, rules, memory, and skills are stored on the device. You can set global rules and per-chat rules, edit memory, and run a skill with / in the composer. Web search is optional and uses your own search key (Tavily, Exa, Brave, Serper, or SerpAPI). The app can render streaming Markdown and code, send a photo to a vision-capable model, and finish a cloud reply in the background with a local notification. Private by design OpenChat has no backend, no account, and no analytics. On-device model chats are not sent to a cloud model provider. When you choose a cloud model, that message goes from your iPhone straight to the provider you picked. OpenChat does not sit in the middle. API keys and search keys stay in the iOS Keychain. The app is free. Cloud usage is billed by the provider on your key, not by OpenChat. On-device chats do not use a provider key. App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/openchat-connect/id6798106079 Source (MIT): https://github.com/robert-garay/openchat Support: robert@genion.ai

Rowtr is a native iPhone and iPad client for OpenRouter. Bring your own OpenRouter API key and use hundreds of AI models from one app, paying only for what you use, directly to OpenRouter. BROWSE EVERY MODEL • The full OpenRouter catalog: text, image, video, speech, transcription, embedding and rerank models • Search, filter by provider, capability, free models and favorites, and sort by price, context length or release date • See prices before you send, per million tokens or per image • Favorite the models you use most; the catalog works offline too CHAT WITH ANY MODEL • Streaming replies with Markdown and code blocks • Attach images and PDFs to models that support them • Optional web search with sources • Adjust temperature, system prompt and other parameters • Chats are saved on your device so you can pick up where you left off CREATE, NOT JUST CHAT • Generate images and save them to Photos • Dictate notes with speech-to-text models • Turn text into speech and keep your sounds in one place KNOW WHAT YOU SPEND • Cost of every reply and a running total per chat • A spending dashboard and your key's usage and limits PRIVATE BY DESIGN • Your API key stays in the iOS Keychain on your device • No accounts, no analytics, no ads, no tracking • Content goes from your device straight to OpenRouter, only after you allow it PRICING Browsing models and prices is always free. Chat, image generation, dictation, read aloud and the spending dashboard are free for 7 days, then unlock forever with Rowtr Lifetime, a one-time purchase. No subscription. Model usage is billed separately by OpenRouter to your own account. Rowtr is an independent app and is not affiliated with OpenRouter. An OpenRouter account and API key are required to use AI models.