# Chatbox

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

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.

- **Category:** AI Assistants
- **Made by:** Mediocre, LLC
- **Website:** https://chatboxai.app
- **Runs on:** Web, macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android
- **Facts last checked:** Oct 6, 2026

## Pricing

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

- **Pricing model:** Free plan
- **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.

| Plan | Price | What you get |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Free | $0 | Hosted service for light use: 10,000 compute points reset daily, standard models, web search, 5 generated images and a trial of Work Mode. |
| Lite | $3.50 per 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 | $16.70 per 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+ | $33.33 per 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 https://chatboxai.app/en/pricing on Oct 6, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Chatbox before buying.

## Ways to pay less

- **Lower monthly rate with annual billing** (Annual discount): 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%. Source: https://chatboxai.app/en/pricing

## 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.

## 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.

## What people say

- **App Store rating of the iPhone and iPad app:** 4.6 out of 5 from 643 ratings in the United States, read Oct 6, 2026. This is the store's rating of the app, not a score from ToolGPA. Source: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id6471368056

## Works with

OpenAI, Claude, Google Gemini, DeepSeek, OpenRouter, Azure OpenAI, Ollama, LM Studio

**Tags:** Chat assistant, Open source, Local-first, AI agents, AI search, AI features

## Alternatives

- [Cherry Studio](https://toolgpa.com/tools/cherry-studio): Open-source desktop AI client for 50+ model providers. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/chatbox-vs-cherry-studio)
- [TypingMind](https://toolgpa.com/tools/typingmind): Chat interface for AI models that runs on your own API keys. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/chatbox-vs-typingmind)
- [BoltAI](https://toolgpa.com/tools/boltai): Native Mac AI client that runs on your own API keys. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/boltai-vs-chatbox)
- [Msty](https://toolgpa.com/tools/msty): Private AI workspace for local and online models. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/chatbox-vs-msty)
- [Jan](https://toolgpa.com/tools/jan): Open-source desktop app for running local and cloud AI models. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/chatbox-vs-jan)

## Sources

The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 6, 2026:

- https://chatboxai.app/en/pricing
- https://chatboxai.app/en
- https://chatboxai.app/en/download
- https://chatboxai.app/en/guide/chatbox-ai/plans
- https://chatboxai.app/en/guide/chatbox-ai/quota
- https://chatboxai.app/en/guide/chatbox-ai/billing
- https://chatboxai.app/en/guide/getting-started/choose-provider
- https://chatboxai.app/en/guide/work-mode/overview
- https://chatboxai.app/en/help-center/chatbox-ai-service-faqs
- https://github.com/chatboxai/chatbox

Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/chatbox
Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).