Private LLM alternatives for iPhone and Mac
Short answer: stay with Private LLM if you want the biggest catalog — 142 models, uncensored variants, 70B-class models on a Mac. If you want something free, Locally AI (now part of LM Studio) and privateSLM (ours) both use Apple's own on-device model, so there is nothing to download on a device with Apple Intelligence; privateSLM adds chat with PDF and Office files and voice. PocketPal AI is the open-source pick for running any GGUF from Hugging Face.
We make privateSLM, so read its column as the maker's. Every other cell comes from the app's own listing, site or FAQ, read on October 21, 2026; where an app says nothing about a feature, the table says so rather than guessing.
Side by side
| Private LLM | privateSLM | Locally AI | PocketPal AI | Enclave | Noema | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price (US) | $4.99 once | Free; expert packs $4.99 each or $9.99 for all, once | Free | Free; optional preset “Pals” $0.99–$2.99 | Free on-device; Pro $9.99/month for cloud models | Free |
| Subscription | No | No | No | No | Only for cloud models | No |
| Engine | Its own, based on mlc-llm | Apple Foundation Models + llama.cpp (GGUF) | Apple MLX + Apple Foundation Models | llama.cpp (any GGUF from Hugging Face) | GGUF models | llama.cpp, MLX, ExecuTorch, Core ML + Apple Foundation Models |
| Apple's on-device model | Not mentioned | Yes | Yes | Not mentioned | Not mentioned | Yes |
| Chat with documents | No (its FAQ) | PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Pages, text, scans | CSV, text and code files | Not advertised | PDF, text, images, code | PDF, EPUB |
| Siri & Shortcuts | Yes | Yes, on iOS and macOS 26 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Siri App Intents |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad (iOS 17), Mac (macOS 14, Intel too) | iPhone, iPad (iOS 17), Mac (macOS 14) | iPhone, iPad (iOS 18.1), Mac (macOS 26) | iPhone, iPad (iOS 15.1), Android | iPhone, iPad, Mac — iOS/macOS 27 only | iPhone, iPad (iOS 18), Mac (macOS 26) |
| Open source | No | No | Not stated | Yes (MIT) | Not stated | A community edition (Apache-2.0) |
| US rating | 4.1 (736 ratings) | 5.0 (1 rating) | 4.7 (1,804) | 4.1 (163) | 4.7 (1,101) | 4.6 (33) |
Why people look past Private LLM
Private LLM is the established name: on the App Store since 2023, about 740 US ratings, one $4.99 purchase for iPhone, iPad and Mac with Family Sharing. The reasons people ask for an alternative are narrower: it is paid up front, its FAQ says it cannot read documents or files, and it does not mention Apple's built-in model, so the first conversation waits for a model download. If none of those matter to you, there is no reason to switch.
The alternatives, one line each
- privateSLM — free; answers with Apple's model on iOS, iPadOS and macOS 26 with Apple Intelligence, or a free model from 0.7 to 2.5 GB elsewhere; reads PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Pages and scanned pages on the device; voice in and out; 22 curated models with the RAM each needs stated. Specialist models (code, law, finance, medicine) are one-time packs.
- Locally AI — free, by LM Studio; MLX models plus Apple's Foundation Models, Siri, a local voice mode. Needs iOS 18.1, and macOS 26 on a Mac.
- PocketPal AI — free and MIT-licensed; any GGUF from Hugging Face, also on Android. You choose quants and templates yourself.
- Enclave — free for on-device models, with documents and voice; its paid plan is for cloud models. Needs iOS 27.
- Noema — free; several engines including Apple's model, and documents. Newer, with few ratings so far.
For a deeper two-way look: Private LLM vs privateSLM and PocketPal AI vs privateSLM.
FAQ
What is the best free alternative to Private LLM?
Locally AI and privateSLM are free and both use Apple's on-device model, so on a device with Apple Intelligence there is nothing to download; privateSLM also reads PDF and Office documents. PocketPal AI is free and open source if you want to run any GGUF model from Hugging Face.
Is there a Private LLM alternative that reads PDFs?
Yes. privateSLM reads PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Pages, text files and scanned pages on the device; Enclave and Noema read PDFs too. Private LLM's FAQ says it does not read documents or files.
Do these alternatives work offline?
Yes. All of them run the model on the device, so once a model is downloaded — or with Apple's built-in model — they work in airplane mode. Enclave's paid plan is the exception: it is for cloud models.
Which one has the most models?
Private LLM, with 142, including 70B-class models on a Mac with enough memory. PocketPal AI can load any GGUF from Hugging Face. privateSLM lists 22, each checked before it is listed.