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Local AI apps for Mac, compared.

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Seven apps that run an AI model on your own Mac, side by side: what each does on its own, what it needs from you, and what it sends.

Checked on against LM Studio 0.4.26, Ollama 0.40.3, Jan 0.8.6, GPT4All 3.10.0, AnythingLLM 1.17.0, Private LLM 1.9.16 and Loci 0.1.9 for Mac. Every cell comes from the app's own documentation, release notes or privacy policy, linked below. Yes means the app does it on its own, without an account, a key or a second app. Partly means with a condition. No means it does not.

Seven apps that run an AI model on your Mac
What mattersLociLM StudioOllamaJanGPT4AllAnythingLLMPrivate LLM
Where it runsYesMac, Windows, iPhone, iPad and Android.YesMac (Apple silicon), Windows and Linux; iPhone and iPad through its Locally app.PartlyMac, Windows and Linux. No phone app.PartlyMac (Apple silicon), Windows and Linux. No phone app.PartlyMac (Apple silicon), Windows and Linux. No phone app.PartlyMac, Windows, Linux and Android. iPhone is planned.PartlyiPhone, iPad, Mac and Vision Pro; Android as an early beta. No Windows.
Free, with no subscription or message capYesFree. No ads either.YesFree for home and work. Optional Bionic cloud plans start at $20 a month.YesFree locally. Cloud plans from $20 a month.YesFree.YesFree.YesFree. A Pro add-on and cloud plans are optional.No$4.99 once. No subscription, no ads.
Works without an accountYesNothing to sign in to.YesNone for local models. Cloud models need one.PartlyNone for local models. Cloud models and web search need one.YesNone.YesNone.YesNone.YesNone.
Picks a model that fits your Mac at first launchYesSets up a model that fits the Mac at first launch; the library offers more by memory.NoYou pick from a catalog. It warns when a model will not fit.NoYou choose a model. Nothing tells you what fits your Mac.YesDownloads a default model at first launch; the Hub labels what fits.NoYou pick from a list; each card shows the memory it needs.PartlyRecommends a model for your hardware; you choose and download it.PartlyA small built-in model is ready; others are picked from a list filtered by memory.
Chat works with no internetYesAfter the one-time model download.YesAfter the model download.YesAfter the model download.YesAfter the model download.YesAfter the model download.PartlyNot stated for the desktop app. The phone app works with no signal.YesAfter the model download.
Web search without an account or API keyYesOne switch. Queries go straight from the Mac to the search providers.PartlyThrough community plugins or MCP. Some need no API key. Bionic separately includes limited web search for free.PartlyThrough Ollama's servers, with a free Ollama account and an API key.YesOn by default, through Exa, with no key.NoNot available.YesAs an agent skill; You.com by default, no key, with a daily cap.NoNot available.
Dictation and spoken answers on the deviceYesOn-device dictation, a natural voice, and a hands-free conversation mode.PartlyLocal voice transcription is in the separate Bionic app, including its Free plan.NoNot available.NoNot available.NoNot available.PartlyNo dictation in the chat box; Magic Echo dictates system-wide on the device. Spoken answers through the system voice.NoNot available.
Understands picturesYesAttach a picture; models with vision are in the library.YesAttach a JPEG, PNG or WebP to a vision model.YesImages to models that support them.YesWith a vision model such as Jan-v2-VL.NoText attachments only.YesWith a multimodal model.NoText only.
Chat with your filesYesAttach a document and ask about it.YesPDF, Word and text files, processed locally.YesDrag a text or PDF file into the app.YesPDF, Office files and code; project files are indexed.YesLocalDocs indexes folders of text, PDF and Markdown files.YesDrag into a chat, or embed into a workspace.NoNot available.
Remembers across conversations, on the deviceYesSaves what you tell it to remember, on the Mac.NoA chat does not carry into the next one.NoNone documented.NoListed as coming soon.NoNot available.YesOff by default; up to 5 global and 20 per workspace.NoNot available.
Your phone can use the models on your MacYesLoci Link pairs your iPhone or Android phone with your Mac or PC, with no account.YesLM Link to the Locally app on iPhone and iPad. Needs an LM Studio account.NoNo phone app. Third-party apps can reach a server you expose.NoNo phone app. Its API server can be opened to the network.NoNo phone app.YesThe Android app pairs with the desktop by QR code, with no account.NoNo link between the iPhone and the Mac.
Imports any GGUF model from Hugging FaceYesHand a model page to Loci; it checks the fit before downloading.YesSearch, or paste a Hugging Face link.Yesollama run hf.co/user/model.YesPaste a Hugging Face model ID into the Hub.YesSearch Hugging Face in the app, or drop a file in the model folder.YesImport a GGUF file, or pull by Hugging Face name.NoModels are quantized in-house.
Updates itselfYesChecks every four hours and installs on restart.YesChecks at launch on Mac and Windows.YesDownloads updates itself on Mac and Windows.YesChecks for updates itself.PartlyTells you a version is out; you run the installer.NoDownload and reinstall each version.YesApp Store.
Nothing runs when the app is closedYesOne app, no server, no menu bar process.YesOnly while open, unless you turn on the server at login.NoA menu bar server starts at login.YesOnly while the app runs.YesOnly while open.PartlyClosing the window keeps it in the system tray; quit from the tray.YesA sandboxed App Store app.
No usage data leaves by defaultNoContent-free counts and timings leave by default. One switch in Settings stops them.YesNone. Update checks and anonymized model searches are the only traffic.NoApp version, request counts and download metadata. No switch in the app.YesNothing until you allow it.YesNothing unless you opt in.NoAnonymous telemetry, on by default; a switch in Settings turns it off.YesNothing. No analytics SDK at all.
Open sourceNoThe app is closed. The models and engines it runs are open.NoThe app is proprietary. The CLI, the SDKs and the MLX engine are MIT.YesMIT, the app and the runtime.YesApache 2.0.YesMIT. Last release February 2025.YesMIT for the desktop app; the phone app is GPL.NoProprietary engine.

Which one is for you?

  • Loci if you want an assistant that is ready at first launch, works the same offline, on your phone, and by voice, with nothing to sign in to.
  • LM Studio if you want to browse every model and quantization, tune settings, and run a local API for other software.
  • Ollama if you are a developer who wants a model server on localhost, or you use Linux.
  • Jan if open source is the requirement and you want an app that also sets itself up.
  • AnythingLLM if your work is mostly documents, workspaces and agents.
  • GPT4All if you want the simplest open-source document chat and do not mind a release from early 2025.
  • Private LLM if you want a paid iPhone-first app that sends nothing at all and never will.

Read the head-to-head pages

Questions people ask

How can I compare answer quality across these apps?

Use the same prompt and, where supported, the same model, quantization, and generation settings. Judge the output against facts you already know. A feature table describes the app; it does not establish which model will answer your particular question best.

Which local AI apps have an iPhone app?

Loci (iPhone, iPad and Android), LM Studio through its Locally app (iPhone and iPad, with an LM Studio account), and Private LLM (iPhone and iPad, paid). AnythingLLM has an Android app. Ollama, Jan and GPT4All run on computers only.

Which local AI app is easiest to set up?

Loci and Jan both download a model that fits the Mac at first launch, so the first answer is minutes away. LM Studio, Ollama, GPT4All and AnythingLLM ask you to pick a model first; LM Studio and GPT4All at least tell you whether it will fit.

Do these apps send my conversations anywhere?

No. Every app in the table runs the model on your Mac, so the conversation stays there. What differs is the usage data: Jan, GPT4All, LM Studio and Private LLM send none by default; Loci, Ollama and AnythingLLM send content-free usage data by default, and Loci and AnythingLLM have a switch to turn it off.

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