Best local LLM tools you can run at home
These tools run AI models on your own hardware, so your prompts stay on your machine. Open-source status and update activity come from each project's GitHub repository.
Scores come from public evidence (pricing, free tier, docs, platforms, open source, update activity), not hands-on testing yet. How scoring works.
1. Jan
Open-source desktop ChatGPT alternative that runs models offline.
- Pricing: Free, open source
- Free plan: Yes
- Open source: Yes
- Platforms (from official site): Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, API
- Evidence score: 100/100
2. Stable Diffusion (ComfyUI)
Node-based local UI for Stable Diffusion/Flux models.
- Pricing: Free, open source (runs on your GPU)
- Free plan: Yes
- Open source: Yes
- Platforms (from official site): Windows, macOS, Linux, API
- Evidence score: 100/100
3. llama.cpp
C/C++ LLM inference engine behind many local tools.
- Pricing: Free, open source
- Free plan: Yes
- Open source: Yes
- Platforms (from official site): Android, API
- Evidence score: 95/100
4. Whisper
OpenAI's open speech-to-text model, runs locally.
- Pricing: Free, open source
- Free plan: Yes
- Open source: Yes
- Platforms (from official site): Windows, macOS, Linux
- Evidence score: 93/100
5. Ollama
Run open LLMs locally with one command.
- Pricing: Free, open source
- Free plan: Yes
- Open source: Yes
- Platforms (from official site): not verified
- Evidence score: 85/100
6. Open WebUI
Self-hosted ChatGPT-style UI for Ollama and APIs.
- Pricing: Free, open source
- Free plan: Yes
- Open source: Yes
- Platforms (from official site): not verified
- Evidence score: 85/100
7. LM Studio
Desktop app to discover, download and run local LLMs.
- Pricing: Free
- Free plan: Yes
- Open source: No
- Platforms (from official site): not verified
- Evidence score: 70/100
Head-to-head comparisons
See the full ranking: Best Local & open-source LLMs tools.