AI and dictation6 picks
The best AI apps for Mac and iPhone
ChatGPT is the AI app most Mac and iPhone users should start with, and its free plan covers everyday questions.
ChatGPTPick it if you want 1 assistant you can type to, talk to or show photos on every device.Free to startChatGPT is the easiest AI assistant to start with, since you can type, talk and show it photos on iPhone and Mac for free. Claude is the better fit for long writing and code, and Gemini makes sense if your life runs on Gmail and Google Drive. LM Studio runs open models offline for free, and Perplexity links a source for every answer.
How we chose
- 1Free plan limits before you pay
- 2Where your data is sent and stored
- 3Works on both Mac and iPhone
Compare at a glance
Tap a name to jump to its write-up.
| App | Price | How you pay | Mac | iPhone | iPad | App Store | Developer | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | Free to start | Free, with paid upgrades | 4.8 | |||||
 Claude | Free to start | Free, with paid upgrades | 4.7 | |||||
 Gemini | Free to start | Free, with paid upgrades | 4.7 | |||||
 Perplexity | Free to start | Free, with paid upgrades | 4.8 | |||||
 LM Studio | Free | Free | Too few ratings | |||||
 Littlebird | Free to start | Free, with paid upgrades | Too few ratings |
Swipe the table sideways to see more
The picks, in order
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Pick it if you want 1 assistant you can type to, talk to or show photos on every device.
Some questions are too messy for a Google search, like how to word a hard email or what a handwritten recipe says. ChatGPT takes them by text, live voice or a photo, makes images from a description and syncs your chats across iPhone, iPad and Mac. Plus costs $19.99 a month in the App Store, the same as Gemini Pro, and OpenAI says the cheaper $8 Go plan may include ads.
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Pick this if you write or code for a living and want an AI that reasons through problems with you.
If you write long drafts, work through dense PDFs or debug code, Claude is the assistant that explains the why behind each fix instead of just handing back an answer. The free plan already covers web search, file creation, memory and Artifacts Pro costs $20 a month for more usage, Research and Claude Code, while ChatGPT's $8 Go plan is the cheaper paid step if you only want more chats.
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Pick it if your email, files and calendar already sit in Gmail, Google Drive and Google Calendar.
Google's Mac app isn't in the Mac App Store; it's a free download that pops up over any window with Option-Space and can read what's on your screen. Next to ChatGPT and Claude, the reason to pick Gemini is that it searches your own Gmail, Calendar, Drive and Photos. The Mac app needs an Apple silicon Mac on macOS 15 or later, and Gemini inside Gmail and Docs takes the $19.99 Pro plan.
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Pick this if you want answers with a link to every source, and you ask from an iPhone or iPad.
Where ChatGPT and Claude are built for chatting and writing, Perplexity is built for looking things up, and every answer lists the web sources it came from so you can check them. Follow-up questions stay in one thread, you can ask by voice, and anything useful saves to a library. The free plan covers everyday questions; Pro at $20 a month adds Deep Research and newer models that most casual users never need.
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Pick it if you have an Apple silicon Mac with more than 8 GB of RAM and want AI that stays offline.
Free for home and work use, LM Studio downloads open AI models like Llama, DeepSeek and Qwen and runs them on your Apple silicon Mac in a chat window. Your chats and PDFs never leave the machine, and a local server with OpenAI-compatible endpoints lets other apps on your Mac use that model. It needs Apple silicon and recommends 16 GB of RAM, so Intel Macs and 8 GB machines are the wrong fit.
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Pick it if you want AI that already knows what you worked on today without you explaining it.
Ask what you worked on last week or have it draft an update, and it answers from a memory built from the window you have open, your meetings and the apps you connect. It takes meeting notes without a bot joining the call and skips passwords, payment cards and banking sites. Plus costs $204 a year, and if meeting notes are all you want, Granola does that without watching the rest of your screen.
Head to head
Stuck between 2 of these? Each comparison lines up price, devices and who should pick which.
- ChatGPT vs ClaudePick this if you write or code for a living and want an AI that reasons through problems with you.
- ChatGPT vs GeminiPick it if your email, files and calendar already sit in Gmail, Google Drive and Google Calendar.
- ChatGPT vs PerplexityPick this if you want answers with a link to every source, and you ask from an iPhone or iPad.
- Claude vs GeminiPick it if your email, files and calendar already sit in Gmail, Google Drive and Google Calendar.
