12 Free AI Tools That Run on Your Own Computer
You don't need a subscription, or to send your files to someone else's server, to use AI. These free apps run on your own laptop or phone. Every one was checked on October 23, 2026: actively updated, with a public source code page.
Chat with AI, privately
- Ollama: the engine behind local AI. Downloads and runs chat models on Windows, Mac, or Linux, and powers many of the apps below. MIT license, about 184,000 GitHub stars. Models tagged ":cloud" run on Ollama's servers instead, so skip those if privacy is the point. github.com/ollama/ollama
- Jan: an offline ChatGPT alternative. A friendly chat app that runs fully on your computer. Apache-2.0, about 45,000 stars, updated October 2026. Small local models make more mistakes than big cloud chatbots, so double-check facts. github.com/janhq/jan
- LM Studio: point-and-click local models. The easiest way to browse and try models without a terminal. Free to use, but not open source. Wants 16 GB of RAM; on Mac it needs Apple Silicon. lmstudio.ai
- PocketPal AI: offline AI on your phone. Chat with a small model on iPhone or Android, even in airplane mode. MIT license. Models take a few GB of storage and use a lot of battery. github.com/a-ghorbani/pocketpal-ai
Work with your own documents and web pages
- AnythingLLM: ask questions about your own PDFs. Drop in manuals, leases, or class notes and get answers with citations. MIT license, about 67,000 stars. If you connect it to a cloud model, your documents leave your computer. github.com/Mintplex-Labs/anything-llm
- Page Assist: an AI sidebar for your browser. Summarizes or answers questions about the page you're reading, using your local AI. Works in Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Brave. Install it only from the official store links on its page. github.com/n4ze3m/page-assist
Talk instead of type
- Handy: press a key, talk, and it types. Offline dictation into any app, which is great for long emails or if typing hurts. MIT license, about 34,000 stars. Runs fine on a normal CPU. github.com/cjpais/Handy
- Buzz: transcribe recordings offline. Turns lectures, interviews, and videos into text with OpenAI's Whisper model, on your own machine. MIT license. The Windows installer is unsigned, so download it only from the project page. github.com/chidiwilliams/buzz
- Meetily: meeting notes that stay on your laptop. Records, transcribes with speaker labels, and summarizes decisions and to-dos. MIT license, Mac and Windows. Always tell people you're recording; consent laws vary by state. github.com/Zackriya-Solutions/meetily
Photos and phones
- Upscayl: sharpen old or blurry photos. Enlarges and cleans up family photos for free. AGPL-3.0, about 51,000 stars. Heads-up: its last official release was December 2024, so it's still maintained but releases are slow. github.com/upscayl/upscayl
- Google AI Edge Gallery: AI that runs on your phone. Google's free sampler app for on-device chat, asking about photos, and transcription. Android 12+ and iOS 17+. Labeled beta. github.com/google-ai-edge/gallery
- Immich: your own Google Photos. A self-hosted photo library with phone backup and "search by description". Very popular (about 117,000 stars), but it needs a home server, so it's for tinkerers. Keep a separate backup. github.com/immich-app/immich
Before you install anything
Download only from the official project page or app store link. Check that your computer has enough memory: 8 GB runs small models and 16 GB is comfortable. And remember that "offline" only stays offline if you don't connect a cloud account.
Quick answer
The easiest free AI to run on your own computer is Jan or LM Studio for chat, Handy for dictation, and Buzz for transcription. All work offline, so your files and conversations stay on your device.