# LM Studio

> Desktop app for running open AI models on your own computer

LM Studio is a desktop app for downloading and running open large language models on your own computer, with a chat interface, document chat and a local server that exposes OpenAI-like endpoints. It is free for home and work use and can run offline once a model has been downloaded. In July 2026 the company added LM Studio Bionic, a separate agent app for coding and document work that can also use paid, US-hosted cloud models.

- **Category:** AI Assistants
- **Made by:** Element Labs, Inc. (since 2023)
- **Website:** https://lmstudio.ai
- **Runs on:** macOS, Windows, Linux
- **Facts last checked:** Oct 5, 2026

## Pricing

LM Studio has a free plan. Paid plans start at $20 per month (Bionic+, for cloud models).

- **Pricing model:** Free plan
- **Free plan:** LM Studio is free for home and work use. Bionic's Free plan covers the agent, local models, offline voice transcription, LM Link for up to 5 devices and limited web search.
- **Free trial:** None listed.

| Plan | Price | What you get |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Free | $0 | Local models through llama.cpp and MLX, the Bionic agent, offline voice transcription, LM Link for up to 5 devices and limited web search. |
| Bionic+ | $20 per month | Adds US-hosted open source cloud models such as Kimi K3 and DeepSeek V4 Flash, discounted bulk tokens, and web search with page extraction. |
| Pro | $100 per month | Everything in Bionic+ with 5x the usage limits, discounted bulk tokens and early access to new features. |

Read from https://lmstudio.ai/pricing on Oct 5, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with LM Studio before buying.

## Key features

- **Local model runner:** Downloads and runs open models such as gpt-oss, Qwen, Gemma and DeepSeek on your own hardware with llama.cpp, plus Apple's MLX on Apple Silicon Macs.
- **Offline chat with documents:** Chat and document chat (RAG) run on the device. The docs say nothing entered into a local chat or dropped into it as a document leaves the machine.
- **Local API server and SDKs:** Serves models on OpenAI-like endpoints on localhost or the local network, with Python and TypeScript SDKs, the lms command line tool and the headless llmster daemon for servers.
- **MCP client:** MCP servers can be installed in LM Studio so that local models can call the tools they provide.
- **LM Link:** Links your own machines over an end-to-end encrypted connection built on Tailscale, so a model on a remote device can be used as if local, including from an iPhone through the Locally app. In preview.
- **LM Studio Bionic agent:** A separate app that works on code and on documents, slides and spreadsheets inside projects, using local models, LM Link models or cloud models billed in credits.

## Good for

- Running open models privately on a Mac, Windows or Linux computer
- Developers who want a local OpenAI-like endpoint for their own tools
- Agent work on code and documents with open models, through Bionic

## Worth knowing

- LM Studio itself is desktop only; on iPhone and iPad its models are reached through the separate Locally app. Intel-based Macs are not supported.
- Local models need capable hardware: the docs recommend 16GB of RAM or more, and on Windows at least 4GB of dedicated VRAM.
- The paid plans cover cloud models in LM Studio Bionic, a separate app; cloud use needs an LM Studio account with available credits.
- LM Link is in preview and free for now; LM Studio says free and paid LM Link plans will follow at general availability.

## Works with

Hugging Face, Tailscale, Codex, Claude Code, OpenClaw, OpenCode

**Tags:** Chat assistant, Works offline, Local-first, AI agents, Public API, AI features

## Alternatives

- [Jan](https://toolgpa.com/tools/jan): Open-source desktop app for running local and cloud AI models. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/jan-vs-lm-studio)
- [Msty](https://toolgpa.com/tools/msty): Private AI workspace for local and online models. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/lm-studio-vs-msty)
- [AnythingLLM](https://toolgpa.com/tools/anythingllm): Open-source AI app for documents, agents and local models. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/anythingllm-vs-lm-studio)
- [Open WebUI](https://toolgpa.com/tools/open-webui): Self-hosted chat interface for local and cloud AI models. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/lm-studio-vs-open-webui)
- [Cherry Studio](https://toolgpa.com/tools/cherry-studio): Open-source desktop AI client for 50+ model providers. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/cherry-studio-vs-lm-studio)

## Sources

The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 5, 2026:

- https://lmstudio.ai/pricing
- https://lmstudio.ai/
- https://lmstudio.ai/download
- https://lmstudio.ai/developers
- https://lmstudio.ai/docs/app
- https://lmstudio.ai/docs/app/system-requirements
- https://lmstudio.ai/docs/app/offline
- https://lmstudio.ai/link
- https://lmstudio.ai/docs/bionic
- https://lmstudio.ai/docs/bionic/accounts-plans-and-billing
- https://lmstudio.ai/blog/introducing-lm-studio-bionic
- https://lmstudio.ai/blog/free-for-work
- https://lmstudio.ai/blog/locally-lm-link

Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/lm-studio
Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).