Free guides and tools for running AI locally
Run a local LLM on your own computer
A local language model answers on your Mac or PC. Enter your computer’s memory below to get a starting model size and an app to try.
Example result
16 GiB Apple silicon Mac
Estimated to fit, with about 3.1 GiB of unified memory remaining (4,096 tokens of context, one user, 20% safety allowance).
- Model size
- Qwen3 8B, Q4_K_M (4-bit)
- First app
- LM Studio
- Bottleneck
- Unified memory shared with macOS and other apps
Troubleshooting
What went wrong?
Hardware Fit Lab
Find a sensible first setup
Answer a few questions about the computer you plan to use. Choose Not sure for any RAM or graphics detail you do not know, and we will show you how to find it.
Choose the amount your computer shows. If it is not listed, choose Other amount and type it; do not pick a larger amount. If your computer shows a "usable" amount, enter that. This estimate treats the number as GiB (1 GiB is about 1.07 GB).
Example result
16 GiB Apple silicon Mac
- Use it for
- Chat
- First app
- LM Studio
- Memory
- FitsEstimated to fit, with about 3.1 GiB of unified memory remaining (4,096 tokens of context, one user, 20% safety allowance).
These estimates use your answers. They do not inspect your computer or measure speed.
Jump straight to a tool
Model comparison
Compare 2 to 4 models side by side
App comparison
Compare Ollama, LM Studio and 5 more
RAM and VRAM calculator
Will a chosen model fit your memory?
Cloud vs local cost calculator
Compare estimated monthly costs
Local setup recommender
Detailed setup form if you know your requirements
Start here
Five steps to a working setup
Start at step 2 if you already know what a local model is. At step 4, open the instructions for the app you picked.
What do you want to do?
Latest news
Explore the library
96 Models
Filter by task, memory and app
7 Apps
Ollama, LM Studio and more, by job
15 Hardware profiles
Example Macs and PCs with suggested models
42 Guides & articles
Setup, models, privacy and tasks
11 Troubleshooting guides
Start from the symptom
17 News updates
Releases and what they change locally