Local Runtimes
Tools to run LLMs locally on your machine. Essential for offline development and testing without API costs.
| Rank | Model | Price | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1
|
Open Source | The backend standard. v1.0 officially introduces 'Ollama Grid', allowing you to shard large models (like Llama 4 405B) across multiple networked machines (e.g., 2 MacBooks + 1 PC) with a single command. | |
|
2
|
Free | The pristine interface. Now features 'Knowledge Stacks', a local RAG system that instantly indexes entire folders of PDFs and codebases. Its 'Flash Attention' default makes it the fastest inference engine for Apple Silicon. | |
|
3
|
Open Source | The open alternative. A fully open-source rival to LM Studio. The latest update adds 'Browser Control' (MCP), allowing local models to safely browse the live web and interact with pages in a sandboxed headless environment. | |
|
4
|
Free | The enterprise workspace. It goes beyond chat to offer full 'Agent Workflows'. You can set up a local agent that has read/write access to your file system and Docker containers to perform actual work. | |
|
5
|
Open Source | The cluster engine. Specifically designed to pool consumer hardware. It turns a drawer full of old iPhones, gaming laptops, and Mac Minis into a single unified GPU cluster capable of running 70B+ models. | |
|
6
|
Open Source | The tinkerer's lab. Remains the only UI that supports *every* obscure loader (ExLlamaV3, AutoGPTQ, HQQ). The new 'Deep Reason' extension forces a Chain-of-Thought process on any model, improving logic scores by 20%. | |
|
7
|
Freemium | The memory palace. Focuses heavily on 'Knowledge Management'. Unlike other RAG tools, it builds a persistent semantic graph of your notes, making it the best tool for writers and researchers interacting with their own archives. | |
|
8
|
Open Source | The roleplayer's choice. A lightweight single-file executable. It features 'World Info' tracking for complex narratives and is the preferred backend for frontends like SillyTavern due to its 'Context Shifting' efficiency. | |
|
9
|
Free | The mobile native. The highest-rated iOS/Android local runtime. It keeps the screen awake for long-running background inference and supports 'Local API' mode, letting you use your phone as a server for your laptop. | |
|
10
|
Open Source | The absolute easiest. If you want to install and chat in 30 seconds, this is it. Its 'Local Docs' feature is now powered by Nomic Embed, offering enterprise-grade retrieval accuracy for free. |
Just the Highlights
Ollama v1.0
The backend standard. v1.0 officially introduces 'Ollama Grid', allowing you to shard large models (like Llama 4 405B) across multiple networked machines (e.g., 2 MacBooks + 1 PC) with a single command.
LM Studio 0.4
The pristine interface. Now features 'Knowledge Stacks', a local RAG system that instantly indexes entire folders of PDFs and codebases. Its 'Flash Attention' default makes it the fastest inference engine for Apple Silicon.
Jan v0.7.5
The open alternative. A fully open-source rival to LM Studio. The latest update adds 'Browser Control' (MCP), allowing local models to safely browse the live web and interact with pages in a sandboxed headless environment.
AnythingLLM Desktop
The enterprise workspace. It goes beyond chat to offer full 'Agent Workflows'. You can set up a local agent that has read/write access to your file system and Docker containers to perform actual work.
Exo
The cluster engine. Specifically designed to pool consumer hardware. It turns a drawer full of old iPhones, gaming laptops, and Mac Minis into a single unified GPU cluster capable of running 70B+ models.
Text-Generation-WebUI (Oobabooga)
The tinkerer's lab. Remains the only UI that supports *every* obscure loader (ExLlamaV3, AutoGPTQ, HQQ). The new 'Deep Reason' extension forces a Chain-of-Thought process on any model, improving logic scores by 20%.
Msty
The memory palace. Focuses heavily on 'Knowledge Management'. Unlike other RAG tools, it builds a persistent semantic graph of your notes, making it the best tool for writers and researchers interacting with their own archives.
KoboldCPP
The roleplayer's choice. A lightweight single-file executable. It features 'World Info' tracking for complex narratives and is the preferred backend for frontends like SillyTavern due to its 'Context Shifting' efficiency.
PocketPal AI
The mobile native. The highest-rated iOS/Android local runtime. It keeps the screen awake for long-running background inference and supports 'Local API' mode, letting you use your phone as a server for your laptop.
GPT4All v3.0
The absolute easiest. If you want to install and chat in 30 seconds, this is it. Its 'Local Docs' feature is now powered by Nomic Embed, offering enterprise-grade retrieval accuracy for free.