Jan vs Ollama (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Jan if

• Fits if you want open models running on your own computer, with no account and no internet
• Works for developers who want a local OpenAI-compatible endpoint for their other tools

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you want it on your phone or in a browser, because it's desktop only
• Tight if your computer is short on memory: Jan's Mac guide suggests 16GB of RAM for 7B models and 32GB for 13B
• Not for you if you have an Intel-based Mac, which isn't supported
• Watch out: cloud models need your own key from each provider, and that provider sees the messages you send
• Too light for images or voice, and Cowork, Jan Agent and memory are previews or still to come

Pick Ollama if

• Fits if you are happy in a terminal and want models running on your own machine
• Works for developers who want an OpenAI-style API pointed at local models

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you want a ready chat window, as the pages we read describe none
• Tight if your computer has no capable GPU, because large models run slowly
• Watch out: cloud use past your plan's credits is billed per token at each model's rate
• Watch out: Team is marked early access, and some Pro and Team features are listed as coming soon

Jan

• Desktop only, on macOS, Windows and Linux. Intel-based Macs are not supported.
• Local models need memory: Jan's Mac guide suggests 8GB of RAM for 3B models, 16GB for 7B models and 32GB for 13B models.
• Cloud models need your own API key from each provider, and those providers see the messages you send them.
• Cowork and the standalone Jan Agent are previews on nightly builds, and the memory feature is marked as coming soon.

Ollama

• It is driven from a command line and API; the pages we read describe no built-in chat app.
• Local speed depends on your hardware; the vendor warns large models are slow without a strong GPU.
• Cloud usage beyond a plan's monthly credits is billed per token at the listed model rates.
• Team is marked early access, and some Pro and Team features are listed as coming soon.

Jan

Local models

Downloads and runs open models such as Llama, Gemma and Qwen from Hugging Face using llama.cpp or MLX. The Hub shows whether each model fits your hardware.

Cloud providers with your own key

Connects to OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, Mistral AI, Groq, OpenRouter and Azure OpenAI, or to any OpenAI- or Anthropic-compatible endpoint, using an API key you supply.

Built-in web search

Web search and page fetch tools are on by default for models that support tool use. They run through a keyless Exa endpoint, so no API key or MCP server is needed.

Projects and assistants

Projects group conversations under shared instructions and files, and custom assistants keep their own instructions for recurring kinds of work.

Local API server

A built-in OpenAI-compatible server at localhost:1337 lets other applications use the models running in Jan, and Claude Code can be set to use them as its backend.

MCP connectors and Cowork preview

MCP servers add tools such as code execution and databases. Cowork, which works through multi-step tasks on files and commands, ships only in nightly builds as a preview.

Ollama

Local models

Download an open model and run it on your own machine. Speed depends on your hardware, and large models are slow without a strong GPU.

Cloud models

Run larger open models on Ollama's servers with no download. Model names ending in :cloud select them, and the API is at ollama.com.

API compatibility

The docs describe OpenAI-compatible and Anthropic-compatible APIs, so apps written for those SDKs can point at Ollama.

Per-token model pricing

The pricing page lists input, cached input and output prices per million tokens for each cloud model, with lower off-peak rates on some.

Zero data retention

Ollama says prompts are never stored or trained on, and that partner providers must agree to no logging and no training.

Jan

• Free$0

  The full desktop app for macOS, Windows and Linux, with local models, cloud provider connections and the local API server.

Ollama

• Pay as you go$0

  Run models locally at no cost; cloud models are billed per token. 3 concurrent requests and no service fees.

• Pro$20

  per month, billed monthly ($16.67 billed annually)

  $60 of usage credits per month and access to larger pro models. Annual billing is $200 a year.

• Max$100

  per month

  Everything in Pro plus $300 of monthly usage credits, early model access and 10 concurrent requests.

• Team$500

  per month for unlimited users

  $1,000 of monthly credits shared by the team, central billing and administration, and priority support. Early access.

• EnterpriseCustom

  Adds model access controls, cost budgets for users and API keys, and a private Slack channel. Priced by volume.

Jan

No public discounts listed.

Ollama

• Annual discount

  Pro costs $200 a year billed annually

  Ollama's pricing page shows Pro at $20 a month, or $200 a year billed annually, which works out to $16.67 a month.