An AI that lives at your home, not in a cloud.
Every AI on this page installs on your own computer. Your conversations and documents are not sent to any server: it is the most private solution there is. It works with no subscription and even without internet, once the model has been downloaded.
Let’s be honest about the limits: you need a reasonably recent computer (16 GB of RAM is the real starting point), the free models you can run at home are less powerful than the best online models, and large models will be slow without a good graphics card. In exchange: nothing watches you, nothing is billed per question, and it works in a cabin with no network.
Not sure where to start? First read our guide Install an AI on Your Computer : it checks your machine, helps you choose your entry point, and walks you through the offline test in a few minutes.
Its strength: the built-in model catalog and familiar interface — download it, then chat. Free, even at work. (Apple Silicon Mac or a recent PC.) Full profile: “I want to chat with an AI without my text going out over the internet”
Its strength: free, open source, and designed “privacy first”; it runs on Windows, Mac (even Intel), and Linux, and the conversation continues even with Wi-Fi turned off. Full profile: “I want my own ChatGPT — free and open source — that works even without internet”
Its strength: lightweight models that run on the processor alone, with no graphics card — plus LocalDocs to chat with your files, with sources cited. Full profile: “My computer is not a powerhouse, but I still want my own private AI”
Its strength: workspaces where you drop in your documents (contracts, files, paperwork) and query them locally. No terminal, no account. Full profile: “I want to ask questions about my own documents without sending them to the cloud”
Its strength: Split Chats — the same question asked of several models, with the answers shown in parallel — in the most polished interface of the group. Full profile: “I want to try several local AIs and compare their answers side by side”
Its strength: it installs and launches for you the open-source AI applications (image, voice, video, chat) that normally require command lines. Full profile: “I’m interested in open-source AI, but command-line installs put me off”
Its strength: the reference tool for running open models, and the one many local interfaces and agents plug into. It is the most “technical” of the group: some basic know-how helps. Full profile: “I want agents that run at home, without sending my data to the cloud”
Its strength: an always-on personal assistant that lives in your messaging apps and runs under your control, on your devices. Full profile: “I want an always-on personal assistant in my messaging apps”
| Tool | Free | Systems | Difficulty | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LM Studio | Yes, $0 (even at work) | macOS Apple Silicon, Windows, Linux | Easy | Getting started without going wrong |
| Jan | Yes, $0 (open source) | Windows, macOS (Intel and Apple Silicon), Linux | Easy | Open source and 100% offline |
| GPT4All | Yes, $0 (open source) | Windows, macOS, Linux | Easy | Modest machines, processor only |
| AnythingLLM | Yes, $0 (optional Pro) | Windows, macOS, Linux | Easy | Querying your own documents |
| Msty | Yes, $0 (Aurum at US$149/year or a one-time US$349 for advanced features) | Windows, macOS, Linux | Easy | Comparing several models |
| Pinokio | Yes, $0 (open source) | Windows, macOS, Linux | Easy (the installation; what follows depends on the app) | Installing open-source AI apps in one click |
| Ollama | Yes, $0 (open source) | Windows, macOS, Linux | Advanced | Serving as an engine for local agents |
| OpenClaw | Yes, $0 (open source) | Depends on your devices | Advanced | An always-on personal assistant, at home |
Page updated on November 1, 2026 — see what’s new in the Directory.