Skip to content
ToolGPA

Chatbox

AI chat client for your own API keys or a hosted model plan

Free plan · from $3.50/moAI AssistantsChecked Oct 6, 20264.6 on the App Store
Visit chatboxai.app
Chatbox, as pictured on chatboxai.app
How Chatbox presents itself. Image from chatboxai.app.

What is Chatbox?

Chatbox is an AI chat client for desktop, mobile and the web. It works with your own API keys for OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, DeepSeek and other providers, with local models through Ollama and LM Studio, or with the hosted Chatbox AI subscription. It covers file and image chat, web search, image generation and a local knowledge base, and its desktop Work Mode lets an agent run code, read and write files and call MCP tools. The Community Edition of the app is open source under GPLv3.

Chatbox has a free plan. Paid plans start at $3.50 per month, billed annually ($3.99 billed monthly). See every plan

Good for

  • People who want the same chat app on desktop, phone and browser
  • Users with their own API keys who prefer to pay providers per use
  • Trying hosted GPT, Claude and Gemini models on a low-priced plan

Worth knowing

  • Work Mode and the knowledge base are desktop only; the web and mobile apps offer regular chat.
  • On the hosted service, advanced models, the knowledge base and MCP services need Pro or Pro+. Lite and Free are limited to standard models.
  • Hosted usage is metered in compute points that reset monthly (daily on Free). Extra points are sold as add-on packs valid for 3 months.
  • A license works on up to 5 devices at the same time, and switching plans means buying the new plan from the pricing page.

Key features

Your own keys or hosted models
Add API keys for OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, DeepSeek, OpenRouter and other providers, run local models through Ollama or LM Studio, or subscribe to Chatbox AI for hosted models on one bill.
Work Mode
On desktop, an agent works in a loop of thinking and tool calls: it runs code, reads and writes files, calls MCP servers and queries knowledge bases until the task is done.
File and image chat
Attach PDFs, Word documents, images and code to a conversation so the model can summarize them and answer questions about their content.
Real-time web search
Chat can search the internet for current information. It is toggled from the toolbar in Chat Mode and managed from the control panel in Work Mode.
Local knowledge base
The desktop app stores documents in a local knowledge base the AI can search. Each file must be under 50 MB, in formats such as PDF, DOCX, PPTX, XLSX, CSV and EPUB.
Image generation and rich output
Generates images from a text description and renders Markdown, LaTeX formulas, Mermaid diagrams and code with a live preview.

Chatbox pricing

Starts at
$3.50 per month, billed annually ($3.99 billed monthly)
Free plan
The app is free with your own API keys or local models. The hosted Chatbox AI Free plan gives 10,000 compute points a day on standard models, 5 images and a trial of Work Mode.
Free trial
None listed
Free$0Hosted service for light use: 10,000 compute points reset daily, standard models, web search, 5 generated images and a trial of Work Mode.
Lite$3.50per month, billed annually ($3.99 billed monthly)2,000,000 compute points a month on standard models, 25 generated images, web search and Work Mode. No advanced models, knowledge base or MCP services.
Pro$16.70per month, billed annually ($19.99 billed monthly)12,000,000 compute points a month, advanced GPT, Claude, Gemini and Grok models, 100 generated images, the knowledge base and MCP services.
Pro+$33.33per month, billed annually ($39.99 billed monthly)30,000,000 compute points a month and 200 generated images, with the same models and features as Pro.

Read from chatboxai.app on Oct 6, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Chatbox before you buy.

Pricing in detail

Ways to pay less

  • Annual discountLower monthly rate with annual billing

    Billed annually, Lite is $3.50 a month instead of $3.99, Pro $16.70 instead of $19.99 and Pro+ $33.33 instead of $39.99, a saving of about 12% to 17%.

    Stated on chatboxai.app

How people rate the Chatbox app

4.6

out of 5 for the iPhone and iPad app

  1. 5 stars84%
  2. 4 stars7%
  3. 3 stars3%
  4. 2 stars2%
  5. 1 star5%

643 ratings on the App Store in the United States, read Oct 6, 2026. It rates the app, not everything the product does. See the listing

Chatbox reviews, and where to read more

Works with

Chatbox alternatives

All Chatbox alternatives comparedAll AI assistants

Common questions

Is Chatbox free?

Chatbox has a free plan. The app is free with your own API keys or local models. The hosted Chatbox AI Free plan gives 10,000 compute points a day on standard models, 5 images and a trial of Work Mode. Paid plans start at $3.50 per month, billed annually ($3.99 billed monthly).

How much does Chatbox cost?

Chatbox lists 4 plans. Free: $0. Lite: $3.50 per month, billed annually ($3.99 billed monthly). Pro: $16.70 per month, billed annually ($19.99 billed monthly). Pro+: $33.33 per month, billed annually ($39.99 billed monthly). Prices were read from chatboxai.app on Oct 6, 2026.

What platforms does Chatbox work on?

Chatbox is available on Web, macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android.

Does Chatbox offer any discounts?

Chatbox publicly lists the following: Lower monthly rate with annual billing.

How is Chatbox rated?

Chatbox's iPhone and iPad app averages 4.6 out of 5 from 643 ratings on the App Store in the United States, as read on Oct 6, 2026. That is the store's rating of the app, not a score from us.

Is Chatbox open source?

Yes. Chatbox is open source, according to its own site.

What does Chatbox integrate with?

Chatbox's listing names OpenAI, Claude, Google Gemini, DeepSeek, OpenRouter, Azure OpenAI, Ollama and LM Studio. A listing names up to eight integrations, so it may connect to more.

Who makes Chatbox?

Chatbox is made by Mediocre, LLC.

What are the alternatives to Chatbox?

The closest alternatives to Chatbox in our directory are Cherry Studio, TypingMind, BoltAI, Msty and Jan. Each one has a side-by-side comparison with Chatbox.

Sources for this page

The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 6, 2026. What people say is linked where it appears.