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6 apps · Ranking
PocketPal AI alternatives for iPhone
PocketPal AI runs open AI models on your iPhone with no internet, and you pick any GGUF file from Hugging Face. It is free and collects no data, but it is in English only, rated 4.0 from 167 ratings, and you must choose a model size your phone can handle. For the same freedom to load your own files, Secret AI. For a free app that just works, Locally AI. For the most models from a menu, on iOS 27, Enclave. For an app that only shows models your iPhone can run, Pinku. To pay once, Private LLM.
All six work offline after the model download. Phone-sized models are much weaker than ChatGPT or Claude; see apps that run open-source AI models on iPhone for what each model family is good at.
At a glance
| App | Price (US) | Models, per listing | Load your own model files | Min iOS | App Store privacy label | Version (date) | Rating (US) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Secret AI: Local AI Chat | Free; Plus $4.99, Pro $9.99; lifetime $59.99 or $119.99 | Qwen3.5 VL, Gemma 4, LFM2.5 VL, gpt-oss, Llama 4, Phi 4, Mistral and more | Yes: GGUF, MLX and MNN from Hugging Face | 17.0 | Data Not Collected | 1.12.0 (16 Sep 2026) | 4.5 (86 ratings) |
| Locally AI by LM Studio | Free (no in-app purchases) | Llama 3.2, Gemma 2 and 3, Qwen 3, DeepSeek and more | No, a curated list | 18.1 | Data Not Collected | 1.66.0 (15 Oct 2026) | 4.7 (1,903 ratings) |
| Enclave - Local AI Assistant | Free; Pro $9.99 | "Hundreds": Llama, DeepSeek, Gemma, Qwen, Phi, Mistral, SmolLM | Yes, from a large catalog | 27.0 | Data Not Linked to You | 1.77.0 (1 Oct 2026) | 4.7 (1,116 ratings) |
| Private Offline AI Chat: Pinku | Free with Llama 3.2 1B; Pinku Pro yearly ($16.99) or one-time | 11 models: Qwen3, Llama 3.2, Gemma 3, 3n and 4, SmolLM3, LFM2.5 | No, a curated list | 18.6 | Data Linked to You | 1.4 (31 Oct 2026) | 4.7 (12 ratings) |
| Private LLM - Local AI Chat | $4.99 once | Llama 3.1 and 3.2, Gemma 2 and 3, Phi-3, Mistral 7B, Qwen 2.5 and 3 and more | No, a curated list | 17.0 | Data Not Collected | 1.9.18 (28 Oct 2026) | 4.2 (741 ratings) |
| Liquid Apollo | Free (no in-app purchases) | Liquid AI's LFM models on the device; any model through OpenRouter or your own server | Your own server (LM Studio, Ollama), not files | 18.0 | Data Not Collected | 2.3.0 (2 Nov 2026) | 4.5 (667 ratings) |
Prices are the US App Store on 3 November 2026; all except Private LLM are free to download. For comparison, PocketPal AI v1.22.0 (1 November 2026): free, PocketPal Plus listed from $3.99 to $44.99 and character packs from $0.99, any GGUF model from Hugging Face, iOS 15.1, Data Not Collected, rated 4.0 from 167 ratings.
Secret AI: Local AI Chat
Best for: the closest to PocketPal: your own model files from Hugging Face, plus characters, tools and MCP.
- Its listing says it downloads models straight from Hugging Face and runs GGUF (llama.cpp), MLX and MNN files.
- Custom characters, tool calling, MCP servers and Skills; can also connect to your own Ollama or LLM server.
- No account, and its privacy label says Data Not Collected; 18 languages.
Limits: few ratings (86), and the listing does not say which features need Plus or Pro.
Locally AI by LM Studio
Best for: a free, polished app from the LM Studio team that just works.
- Its listing says it runs on iPhone and iPad with Apple MLX, with no login and no data collection.
- Reads images as well as text; the most ratings here, about 1,900.
Limits: you cannot load your own model files as in PocketPal, and the listed families are not the newest.
Enclave - Local AI Assistant
Best for: the most models from a menu, with voice chat and optional cloud models.
- Its listing says you can try hundreds of open-source models and chat offline, with no account.
- Voice chat; Pro adds cloud models from Anthropic, OpenAI, Google and xAI without API keys.
Limits: needs iOS 27, and cloud chats (Pro) leave the phone.
Private Offline AI Chat: Pinku
Best for: not having to choose a model file: it only lists models your iPhone can run.
- Its listing says it lists only the models your device has enough memory for and checks memory before loading one, so the app does not crash.
- Since 1.4 it reads PDFs (even scanned), text and Markdown files, and with Gemma 4 E2B it can see photos, all on the device.
- No account; interface in 33 languages; also on Mac.
Limits: 11 models only (0.4 to 4.7 GB), all but Llama 3.2 1B need Pinku Pro, and its privacy label lists purchase data linked to you (for Pro), not chats.
Private LLM - Local AI Chat
Best for: paying once, with Siri and Shortcuts.
- Its listing says models use its own OmniQuant quantization, and it is a one-time purchase with no subscription.
- Also on iPad and Mac.
Limits: paid upfront, English only, and the listed families are older than Gemma 4 or Qwen3.5.
Liquid Apollo
Best for: Liquid AI's small LFM3 models on the phone, and your own home server when you need a bigger one.
- Its listing says it runs smaller models on the device with LEAP and LFM3 since 2.3 (2 November 2026).
- Connects to OpenRouter with your own key, or to LM Studio or Ollama on your computer.
Limits: on-device models are only Liquid AI's own; OpenRouter chats leave the phone; English only.
Who should use what
- Your own model files, like PocketPal: Secret AI.
- Free and simple: Locally AI.
- The biggest menu of models, on iOS 27: Enclave.
- No model sizes to work out, and PDFs and photos on the device: Pinku.
- Pay once, use Siri: Private LLM.
- Small models on the phone and a bigger one at home: Liquid Apollo.
Use cases
- Chat on a plane or with no signal: all six, after you download a model on Wi-Fi.
- Ask about a private PDF without uploading it: Pinku and Enclave read documents on the device, per their listings.
- Try a model released this week: Secret AI (Hugging Face files) or PocketPal itself; the curated apps add new models later.
How we checked
On 3 November 2026 we read each app's US App Store page and Apple's lookup data. An app is here only if its listing says it runs models on the device without internet and it was updated in the last 60 days. Model lists are copied from the descriptions; we did not test speed or quality.
Order: first the apps closest to PocketPal (your own model files), then the curated ones. See also Private LLM alternatives and AI chat apps with no account.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best alternative to PocketPal AI?
To keep loading your own GGUF files from Hugging Face, Secret AI. For a free app with a curated list, Locally AI. For an app that hides models your iPhone cannot run, Pinku.
Is PocketPal AI free?
Yes, it is free to download and run models; its US page also lists a PocketPal Plus purchase from $3.99 to $44.99 and character packs from $0.99 on 3 November 2026.
Which offline AI apps collect no data?
Secret AI, Locally AI, Private LLM and Liquid Apollo show Data Not Collected on their App Store privacy labels, like PocketPal. Enclave shows Data Not Linked to You; Pinku shows Data Linked to You, for purchases.
Which ones work on an older iPhone?
PocketPal needs iOS 15.1. Of the six, Secret AI and Private LLM need iOS 17; Enclave needs iOS 27. Small models (under 1 GB) are the realistic choice on older phones.
Related rankings
- Best AI chat apps for iPhone without an account in 2026
- Best apps to run open-source AI models on iPhone in 2026
- Best ChatGPT apps (plugins) in 2026
- ChatGPT video generator plugins compared
Sources
- Secret AI: Local AI Chat (App Store): https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id6744668980 (3 November 2026)
- Locally AI by LM Studio (App Store): https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id6741426692 (3 November 2026)
- Enclave - Local AI Assistant (App Store): https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id6476614556 (3 November 2026)
- Private Offline AI Chat: Pinku (App Store): https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id6754878073 (3 November 2026)
- Private LLM - Local AI Chat (App Store): https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id6448106860 (3 November 2026)
- Liquid Apollo (App Store): https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id6448019325 (3 November 2026)
- PocketPal AI (App Store): https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id6502579498 (3 November 2026)