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How to Run AI Locally for Free

By Toolwright Editorial · Published · Updated · 3 min read

How to Run AI Locally for Free

Running AI on your own computer is free, private and works offline. You need a reasonably modern computer (8–16 GB RAM is a good start).

Quick picks

Step 1: Install Ollama or LM Studio

Download Ollama or LM Studio for Windows, macOS or Linux.

Step 2: Download a model

In Ollama, open a terminal and run ollama run llama3.2. In LM Studio, search for a model such as Gemma or Qwen and click Download.

Step 3: Chat offline

Once downloaded, the model runs fully on your machine — nothing is sent to the cloud.

Step 4: Explore more models

Browse thousands of open models on Hugging Face.

1. Ollama

Run open AI models like Llama, Gemma and DeepSeek on your own computer.

Free plan: Yes — 100% free, runs locally. Best for: Private, offline AI.

Visit Ollama ↗ Read review

2. LM Studio

Desktop app to discover, download and chat with local AI models.

Free plan: Yes — free for personal and work use. Best for: Beginners running local AI.

Visit LM Studio ↗ Read review

3. Hugging Face

The home of open-source AI: thousands of models and free demo apps.

Free plan: Yes — free models, datasets and Spaces. Best for: Exploring open models.

Visit Hugging Face ↗ Read review

4. DeepSeek

A free, open-weight AI model family with strong reasoning and coding skills.

Free plan: Yes — fully free chat app. Best for: Free reasoning and coding help.

Visit DeepSeek ↗ Read review

FAQ

Are these AI tools really free?

Yes, each tool listed has a free plan or free tier. Free plans usually have usage limits; paid plans remove them.

Are the links official?

Yes. Every Visit button links to the tool's official website.

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