Two ways to run AI models locally — terminal power vs. desktop polish.
by Ollama
Ollama lets you download and run large language models like Llama 3, Mistral, Phi, and Gemma directly on your computer. No cloud, no API costs, full privacy. One command to install, one command to run. The REST API is OpenAI-compatible so any client just works.
by LM Studio
LM Studio gives you a polished desktop app for discovering, downloading, and running open-source LLMs locally. Unlike Ollama (terminal-first), LM Studio has a full chat UI and model browser built in. Download from Hugging Face, chat directly in the app, and expose a local OpenAI-compatible API for your tools.
| Feature | Ollama | LM Studio |
|---|---|---|
| Vendor | Ollama | LM Studio |
| Category | ML Platforms | ML Platforms |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Starting price | Free | Free |
| Strengths | Completely free forever, Full privacy — data never leaves your machine, 500+ model library via one-liner install | Clean GUI — no terminal commands needed, Built-in chat interface for testing models directly, Easy model discovery and download from Hugging Face |
| Weaknesses | Requires 8GB+ RAM for small models, 16GB+ for large, No built-in chat UI | Heavier app footprint than terminal-based Ollama, Some models require NVIDIA GPU for good performance |
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