The LocalAI Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about LocalAI in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.
LocalAI
The Insider’s Guide
Open-source runtime for running AI models on your own hardware
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among AI assistants, read from LocalAI’s own pages.
Made by Ettore Di Giacinto and the LocalAI team · checked Nov 13, 2026 · toolgpa.com
Contents
- 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
- 02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
- 03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
- 04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
- 05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
- 06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
- 07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
ToolGPA put this guide together from LocalAI’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on LocalAI’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Nov 13, 2026.
Part 01 · Overview
Welcome
What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
2.8
GPA, above 56 of the 87 other AI assistants we grade
LocalAI is an open-source (MIT) runtime that runs language, voice, vision, image and video models on your own machines, with no GPU required. It exposes an OpenAI-compatible API, and also speaks the Anthropic, Ollama and ElevenLabs APIs, so existing clients can point at it. It also ships a web interface, a command-line chat agent and a gallery of installable models.
To get you started, here are 8 things to know about LocalAI, taken from its own pages and our grades.
You install and operate it yourself, through containers, a macOS app, Linux binaries or Kubernetes.
- 1
Best for running models on your own machine, OpenAI-style API
But you install and run it yourself, choose and download the models, and Windows is not listed on its install page.
- 2
It is free
LocalAI has no paid plan at all.
- 3
It runs on 3 platforms
Web, macOS and Linux.
- 4
Drop-in API compatibility
One binary serves an OpenAI-compatible API and also speaks the Anthropic, Ollama and ElevenLabs APIs, so most clients need only a new URL.
- 5
Swappable engines
A model can run on llama.cpp, vLLM, SGLang or MLX behind the same endpoint, and each engine is pulled in as a backend only when a model asks for it.
- 6
Text, voice, vision and media
Covers language models with tool calling, transcription, speech synthesis and voice cloning, vision and detection, plus image, video and music generation.
- 7
A 2.8 GPA, above 56 of 87
That is against the other AI assistants we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
- 8
Keep it
LocalAI is free, so making your own would save you nothing.
LocalAI at a glance
- Pricing
- Free
- Free plan
- It is free
- Free trial
- None stated
- Runs on
- Web, macOS, Linux
- Made by
- Ettore Di Giacinto and the LocalAI team
- Category
- AI Assistants
- Our grade
- 2.8 GPA, good
The report card
Best for running models on your own machine, OpenAI-style API
LocalAI is a free, MIT-licensed runtime that runs language, voice, vision and image models on your own machines and speaks the OpenAI API, so existing clients can point at it. But you install and run it yourself, choose and download the models, and Windows is not listed on its install page.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | A | Free under the MIT licence and anyone can download and run it, on a CPU or a GPU. The site invites businesses to get in touch, but no paid plan is described. |
| Free plan and trial | A | Free outright, with no cap from the project. Your own hardware and electricity are the cost. |
| Features | B | An OpenAI-compatible API, swappable engines, text, voice, vision and media, agents and MCP. No gap shows in the job, and the gallery lists 1,255 models, though bigger ones need more memory. |
| Ease of use | D | You install and operate it yourself, through containers, a macOS app, Linux binaries or Kubernetes. |
| Platforms and integrations | C | Mac, Linux and a web interface, with no phone app, and Windows is not listed. It links to llama.cpp, vLLM, MLX, whisper.cpp, Docker and Kubernetes. |
An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.
Who LocalAI is for
- Fits if you want models running on your own hardware, with no data leaving it
- Works for developers who want a drop-in replacement for the OpenAI API
Who it is not for
- Skip it if you do not want to run software yourself, as it is a runtime to install and operate
- Too light for non-technical use, as you pick and download the models
- Not for you if you use Windows, as it is not listed on the install page
- Watch out: bigger models need more memory or a GPU for good speed
- Watch out: documentation pages have moved between addresses
Good to know
Good for
- Developers who want a local, OpenAI-compatible endpoint for existing tools
- People who need data to stay on their own hardware
- Teams running models on a mix of CPU-only machines and GPUs
Worth knowing
- It is a runtime to install and operate yourself, through containers, a macOS app, Linux binaries or Kubernetes. Windows is not listed on the install page.
- You choose and download the models. The gallery lists 1,255 models, and larger ones need more memory or a GPU for good speed.
- No paid plan or hosted service is described on the pages read. The homepage offers a business contact link.
- Documentation pages have moved between addresses, for example from /installation/ to /docs/installation/.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
Free
No paid plan at all
LocalAI is free to use.
Free under the MIT licence and anyone can download and run it, on a CPU or a GPU.
Open source
$0
MIT-licensed software you run yourself, on a CPU or on a GPU. The site also invites businesses to get in touch.
Read from localai.io on Nov 13, 2026.
Part 03 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
3
Places it runs: Web, macOS and Linux
Open-source runtime for running AI models on your own hardware. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: open source, self-hostable, local-first, public API, chat assistant, AI agents, text to speech.
An OpenAI-compatible API, swappable engines, text, voice, vision and media, agents and MCP.
- Drop-in API compatibility
- One binary serves an OpenAI-compatible API and also speaks the Anthropic, Ollama and ElevenLabs APIs, so most clients need only a new URL.
- Swappable engines
- A model can run on llama.cpp, vLLM, SGLang or MLX behind the same endpoint, and each engine is pulled in as a backend only when a model asks for it.
- Text, voice, vision and media
- Covers language models with tool calling, transcription, speech synthesis and voice cloning, vision and detection, plus image, video and music generation.
- Agents and MCP
- The local-ai chat command starts an agent that can run shell commands behind an approval gate, delegate to sub-agents and load MCP servers, plugins and skills.
- CPU-first and distributed
- The site says every feature ships a CPU path, with GPU support for CUDA, ROCm, SYCL, Metal and Vulkan, and routing across several machines.
Where it runs
- Web
- macOS
- Linux
What it works with
- llama.cpp
- vLLM
- MLX
- whisper.cpp
- Docker
- Kubernetes
LocalAI is made by Ettore Di Giacinto and the LocalAI team.
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
56/87
Other AI assistants it is graded above
LocalAI's GPA of 2.8 is higher than 56 of the 87 other AI assistants we grade, and level with 11.
It stands best on free plan and trial (A, above 68 of 87) and worst on ease of use (D, above 0).
LocalAI has no paid plan.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.0 out of 4. Nothing scores higher for less, though at least one tool matches that score at a lower price.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 88 AI assistants we grade, cut by the letter each got. LocalAI’s own letter is outlined.
- AValue for moneyAbove 63 of 87
- AFree plan and trialAbove 68 of 87
- BFeaturesAbove 51 of 87
- DEase of useAbove 0 of 87
- CPlatforms and integrationsAbove 2 of 87
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 65 AI assistants. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. LocalAI is the marked dot.
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
Keep it, or make your own?
Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.
Keep it
LocalAI is free, so making your own would save you nothing.
And it is not the kind of software a weekend replaces.
What you could not
- An AI model, which you can rent by the request but not make.
- An AI agent, with the models and the safeguards behind it.
- A voice model, which you can rent by the minute but not make.
- A real app for macOS and Linux. Something home-made would be a web page.
- It plugs into other products, llama.cpp, vLLM and MLX among them, and has an API.
- The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. LocalAI’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
Part 05 · Alternatives
The alternatives
The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
Ollama, LM Studio, Jan, Open WebUI and AnythingLLM
The 5 tools LocalAI is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 2.6GPA
Ollama
Free plan · from $20/mo
Run open AI models on your computer or in Ollama's cloud.
- Only LocalAI lists a web app.
- Only Ollama lists a Windows app.
- LocalAI is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- 3.0GPA
LM Studio
Free plan · from $20/mo
Desktop app for running open AI models on your own computer.
- Only LocalAI lists a web app.
- Only LM Studio lists a Windows app.
- LocalAI is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- 3.0GPA
Jan
Free
Open-source desktop app for running local and cloud AI models.
- Only LocalAI lists a web app.
- Only Jan lists a Windows app.
- LocalAI is self-hostable, according to its own site.
- 3.2GPA
Open WebUI
Free plan
Self-hosted chat interface for local and cloud AI models.
- Only Open WebUI lists a Windows app.
- LocalAI is open source, according to its own site.
- LocalAI also covers text to speech.
- 3.2GPA
AnythingLLM
Free plan · from $50/mo
Open-source AI app for documents, agents and local models.
- Only AnythingLLM lists Windows and Android apps.
- LocalAI also covers text to speech.
- AnythingLLM also covers meeting notes.
Part 06 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
13
Questions, each answered in a line or two
The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.
Is LocalAI free?
Yes. LocalAI is free to use.
How much does LocalAI cost?
LocalAI lists one plan. Open source: $0.
What platforms does LocalAI work on?
LocalAI is available on Web, macOS and Linux.
Does LocalAI have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. LocalAI is listed for Web, macOS and Linux.
Does LocalAI have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. LocalAI is listed for Web, macOS and Linux.
Is LocalAI open source?
Yes. LocalAI is open source, according to its own site.
Does LocalAI have an API?
Yes. LocalAI offers a public API, according to its own site.
What does LocalAI integrate with?
LocalAI's listing names llama.cpp, vLLM, MLX, whisper.cpp, Docker and Kubernetes.
Who makes LocalAI?
LocalAI is made by Ettore Di Giacinto and the LocalAI team.
What are the alternatives to LocalAI?
The closest alternatives to LocalAI in our directory are Ollama, LM Studio, Jan, Open WebUI and AnythingLLM.
How does LocalAI compare with other AI assistants?
LocalAI's GPA of 2.8 is higher than 56 of the 87 other AI assistants we grade, and level with 11.
Is LocalAI good value for money?
ToolGPA grades LocalAI A for value for money. LocalAI has no paid plan.
Could I make my own version of LocalAI?
LocalAI is free, so making your own would save you nothing. And it is not the kind of software a weekend replaces.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from LocalAI’s own pages on Nov 13, 2026, and the grades were given on Nov 13, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from LocalAI's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews.
Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by Ettore Di Giacinto and the LocalAI team. Prices change, so check localai.io before you buy.
Part 07 · About
About ToolGPA
Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
7,721
Tools graded, in 95 categories
ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.
Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.
7,721
tools graded
95
categories
739
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries
What else is on toolgpa.com
- LocalAI, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/localai
- How grades are givenThe rules behind every letter and every GPAtoolgpa.com/grades
- Value chartsWhat each tool costs against what it scores, for every categorytoolgpa.com/charts
- CompareAny two tools side by side, plan by plantoolgpa.com/compare
- Price changesEvery price rise and cut on record, each with its sourcetoolgpa.com/price-changes
- Prices by countryWhat apps cost on the App Store in 12 countriestoolgpa.com/prices-by-country
- Pay lessEvery public discount: yearly billing, students, nonprofitstoolgpa.com/save
- Keep or makeWhich tools are worth paying for, and which you could build yourselftoolgpa.com/keep-or-make
Scan for the live page
Prices and grades as they are today
Quoting this guide?
Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:
ToolGPA, "LocalAI: The Insider's Guide", checked Nov 13, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/localai
Know someone choosing between AI assistants?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/localai/guide
ToolGPA elsewhere: youtube.com/@toolgpa
See our other guides
The best-graded AI assistants after LocalAI, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.
- AI Assistants Insider's GuideEvery one of the 88 AI assistants we grade, compared
- Gemini Insider's GuideGoogle's AI assistant, tied into Gmail, Docs and other Google apps3.8 GPA
- Chatbox Insider's GuideAI chat client for your own API keys or a hosted model plan3.4 GPA
- ChatGPT Insider's GuideOpenAI's general-purpose AI assistant for chat, images and voice3.4 GPA
Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.
Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what LocalAI’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. LocalAI is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Ettore Di Giacinto and the LocalAI team. Prices and plans change: check localai.io before you buy.