Tier 3Verified 3 May 2026
LM Studio
A desktop app for discovering and running local models.
Who it's for
People who want a GUI for local AI. Browse models, download them, and chat without typing terminal commands.
What you can do today in 60 seconds
- Download from https://lmstudio.ai and install.
- Browse the model catalog and download Llama 3.2.
- Open the chat tab and start typing. Your data stays on your machine.
How it actually works
LM Studio is a desktop wrapper around llama.cpp. It supports GGUF model files, GPU acceleration, and a local API server.
Pricing today
Free for personal use.