Open source & local AI / Best open-source and local AI chat apps
Best open-source and local AI chat apps
7 tools for private chat on your own computer. Your data stays on your machine, and most work offline once the model is downloaded.
| Tool | Open source / local | Price | Notes | Checked | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ollama Running open models like Llama, Qwen, Gemma, DeepSeek and gpt-oss on your own computer | Open source: MIT | Free locally (cloud Pro $20/mo) ✓ checked | Command-line and desktop runner for open models; local use is unlimited | source 2026-10-23 | Get Ollama → |
| LM Studio Easiest desktop app to download and chat with local models privately | Runs locally (Proprietary app, free for personal and internal business use) | Free for home and work ✓ checked | Not open source, but everything runs on your device | source 2026-10-23 | Get LM Studio → |
| Jan Open-source, offline ChatGPT-style desktop app | Open source: Apache 2.0 | Free (open source) ✓ checked | Fully offline desktop chat app | source 2026-10-23 | Get Jan → |
| Open WebUI Self-hosted ChatGPT-style interface for a team, on local or cloud models | Open source: Open WebUI License (BSD-3 plus branding clause; not OSI-approved) | Free to self-host ✓ checked | Self-hosted web interface; pairs with Ollama | source 2026-10-23 | Get Open WebUI → |
| DeepSeek Free reasoning and math chat | Open weights: MIT (DeepSeek-R1) | See vendor pricing | Chat app is cloud; distilled R1 models run locally via Ollama | source 2026-10-23 | Get DeepSeek → |
| Qwen Chat Free chat with Alibaba's open-weight Qwen models | Open weights: Apache 2.0 for most Qwen3 models (some use the Qwen Community License) | Free (API is pay-per-use) ✓ checked | Chat app is cloud; weights run locally via Ollama or LM Studio | source 2026-10-23 | Get Qwen Chat → |
| Mistral Vibe (Le Chat) European AI chat and coding agent from a maker of open-weight models | Open weights: Apache 2.0 for models such as Mistral Small 3.2 | Pro $14.99/mo ✓ checked | Vibe app is cloud; open models run locally via Ollama or LM Studio | source 2026-10-23 | Get Mistral Vibe (Le Chat) → |
Tell us your project and we will pick open-source and local tools for it.
Find local tools for my project“Open source” means the code is published under the license shown; “open weights” means the model files can be downloaded and run on your own hardware (the maker's chat app may still be a cloud service). LM Studio is free and runs models locally but is not open source. Running models locally needs a reasonably modern computer; larger models need a GPU or lots of memory. Licenses were read on the source linked on the check date; check the model's own license before commercial use. Some links are affiliate links (disclosure); they never change what we list.