--- title: "Is there an ai that can be used offline?" url: https://isthereathing.com/an-ai-that-can-be-used-offline/ answer: "yes" summary: "Yes. Free apps such as LM Studio, Jan, Ollama and GPT4All run open AI models on your own computer, and Google's AI Edge Gallery does it on Android phones and iPhones. You need internet once to download a model." category: "Writing & AI text" published: 2026-10-04 updated: 2026-10-04 author: "Jack Stovell" publisher: "Adapt Progress Evolve Limited" language: en-GB --- # Is there an ai that can be used offline? **Answer: yes.** Yes. Free apps such as LM Studio, Jan, Ollama and GPT4All run open AI models on your own computer, and Google's AI Edge Gallery does it on Android phones and iPhones. You need internet once to download a model. (Source: [LM Studio docs: offline operation](https://lmstudio.ai/docs/app/offline)) Yes. Free apps such as LM Studio, Jan, Ollama and GPT4All run open AI models on your own computer, and Google's AI Edge Gallery does the same on an Android phone or iPhone. You need the internet once, to download a model, and after that the local model runs without a connection. ## The shortlist ### LM Studio A desktop app (now LM Studio Bionic) that downloads open models and runs them on your computer. - Link: https://lmstudio.ai/ - Free tier: yes. Free plan at $0 runs local models, per LM Studio's pricing page. - Paid from: $20 USD per month (Bionic+) (checked 2026-10-02; paid plans add cloud models; Pro is $100 USD per month) - Best at: Its docs say chats, document chat and the local server need no internet once a model is downloaded. - The catch: Macs need Apple Silicon and macOS 14 or newer; 16GB of RAM is recommended. Finding and downloading models needs internet. - Platforms: mac, windows, linux - Source: [LM Studio pricing](https://lmstudio.ai/pricing) ### Jan An open-source chat app its makers call a replacement for ChatGPT and Claude, running on your own hardware. - Link: https://www.jan.ai/ - Free tier: yes. Described as free and open source on Jan's homepage. - Paid from: not checked (free) - Best at: Free, open source (Apache 2.0) desktop apps with full offline support and no account needed. - The catch: It can also plug in online models such as ChatGPT and Claude, and those are not offline; its memory feature is marked coming soon. - Platforms: mac, windows, linux - Source: [Jan](https://www.jan.ai/) ### Ollama A tool for downloading and running open models on your computer; it also sells paid cloud models. - Link: https://ollama.com/ - Free tier: yes. Ollama's homepage says local models are always free, its $0 plan includes running models locally, and its pricing FAQ says running models on your own hardware is always unlimited. - Paid from: $20 per month (Pro) (checked 2026-10-02; built around usage credits for cloud models; $200 per year billed annually) - Best at: Free local models, which plug into coding agents. - The catch: Its homepage leads with paid cloud models, which are not offline; the Mac app needs macOS 14 or later. - Platforms: mac, windows, linux - Source: [Ollama pricing](https://ollama.com/pricing) ### GPT4All Nomic's local AI chatbot for desktops and laptops, with LocalDocs for chatting with your files. - Link: https://www.nomic.ai/gpt4all - Free tier: not verified. Downloads are offered with no price shown on Nomic's GPT4All page. - Paid from: not checked (not stated on Nomic's GPT4All page) - Best at: Modest computers: its README says no GPU is required. - The catch: Latest GitHub release is v3.10.0 from 25 February 2025; Nomic's site now centres on its business platform. - Platforms: mac, windows, linux - Source: [GPT4All (Nomic)](https://www.nomic.ai/gpt4all) ### Google AI Edge Gallery A Google app that runs open models such as Gemma 4 on an Android phone or iPhone. - Link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.ai.edge.gallery&hl=en_GB&gl=GB - Free tier: yes. The UK Google Play listing shows Install with no price and no in-app purchases; the UK App Store lists it as free. - Paid from: not checked (free) - Best at: Offline AI on a phone: the listing says all inference happens on the device and no internet is required. - The catch: In active development; performance depends on your phone's hardware. - Platforms: android, ios - Source: [Google AI Edge Gallery on Google Play (UK)](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.ai.edge.gallery&hl=en_GB&gl=GB) ## How they compare ### If you want a clear offline promise LM Studio, now called LM Studio Bionic, downloads open models and runs them on your computer. Its docs say chatting with models, chatting with documents and running a local server all work without the internet, and that nothing you enter leaves your device. The cost is the hardware: LM Studio recommends at least 16GB of RAM and, on Windows, at least 4GB of dedicated graphics memory. On a Mac it needs Apple Silicon and macOS 14 or newer. Its free plan at $0 runs local models, according to its pricing page, and it runs on Mac, Windows and Linux. ### If you want open source with no account Jan is an open-source chat app its makers call a replacement for ChatGPT and Claude, running on your own hardware. It is Apache 2.0 licensed, says its desktop apps have full offline support, and its quickstart needs no account. Jan's homepage describes it as free and open source. The catch is that Jan can also plug in online models such as ChatGPT and Claude, and those are not offline, so you need to keep track of which model you are talking to. Its memory feature is marked coming soon, so do not count on that yet. ### If you want to plug local models into coding tools Ollama is a tool for downloading and running open models on your computer. It says local models are always free, and that it can launch Claude Code, Codex and other agents with one command. What you give up is focus: its homepage leads with paid cloud models, which are not offline, so the free local side is easy to miss. The Mac app needs macOS 14 or later, and there are versions for Windows and Linux too. ### If your computer is older or has no graphics card GPT4All is Nomic's local AI chatbot for desktops and laptops. Its README says no API calls or GPUs are required, and the Windows and Linux builds run on an Intel Core i3 2nd Gen or AMD Bulldozer or better. It also has LocalDocs, for chatting with your own files. Nomic's GPT4All page offers downloads with no price shown. What you give up is certainty about the future. The latest GitHub release, v3.10.0, is from 25 February 2025, and Nomic's site now centres on its business platform, so check it is still maintained before you rely on it. ### If you want it on your phone Google AI Edge Gallery is the phone option here. It runs open models such as Gemma 4 on an Android phone or iPhone, and the listings say all model inference happens on the device and no internet is required, with chat, image questions and audio transcription. The UK Google Play listing shows Install with no price and no in-app purchases, and the UK App Store lists it as free. How well it runs depends on your phone's processor and graphics hardware. ### When paying is worth it Never, for offline use. Ollama and LM Studio both sell cloud plans now: Pro at Ollama is $20 per month, or $200 per year billed annually, and Bionic+ at LM Studio is $20 USD per month, with Pro at $100 USD per month. Those cloud models run on their servers, so they need the internet. Ollama's paid plans are built around usage credits for its cloud models, and its $0 plan includes running models locally. LM Studio's $0 plan runs local models too. If your goal is offline use, the paid tiers solve a different problem. ## What to watch for The first point is that you need the internet before you can go offline. LM Studio's docs say searching for and downloading models, downloading runtimes and checking for updates all need a connection. Download the models you want while you are online. Mixed apps can send some requests online. Jan can plug in online models such as ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini, and only its local models stay on your machine. The same applies to the cloud plans at Ollama and LM Studio. Ollama says nothing you run locally ever leaves your machine, and LM Studio says the same for chats with downloaded models, but cloud features in the same apps are a different matter. If privacy is the reason you want offline AI, check which model is selected. Apple Intelligence is not fully offline either: Apple says it can draw on larger server-based models through Private Cloud Compute. And Google says AI Edge Gallery is in active development, with performance that depends on your phone's hardware, so expect it to change. ## How we checked On 2026-10-02 we read Ollama's homepage, pricing and download pages, LM Studio's pricing page and offline and system requirements docs, Jan's homepage and docs, Nomic's GPT4All page, the GPT4All README and releases on GitHub, Google AI Edge Gallery's UK Google Play and App Store listings and Apple's UK Apple Intelligence page. Nothing was tested hands-on, so this is what those pages say. ## If none of these fit If your computer is short on memory, GPT4All says it needs no GPU, and Google AI Edge Gallery runs on Android phones and iPhones. On Apple devices, Apple Intelligence uses on-device processing but can draw on server-based models through Private Cloud Compute, so not every feature is offline. ## Also typed as - is there an ai that is private - is there an ai i can run locally - is there an ai that works offline - is there an ai that i can download - is there an ai that i can use offline - is there an ai that you can use offline - is there an ai that doesn't use internet - is there an ai that works without internet ## Related questions - [Is there an ai that can write in my voice?](https://isthereathing.com/an-ai-that-can-write-in-my-voice/) - [Is there an app that can transcribe audio to text?](https://isthereathing.com/an-app-that-can-transcribe-audio-to-text/) ## Sources - [Ollama](https://ollama.com/) (checked 2026-10-02) - [Ollama pricing](https://ollama.com/pricing) (checked 2026-10-02) - [Ollama download](https://ollama.com/download) (checked 2026-10-02) - [LM Studio pricing](https://lmstudio.ai/pricing) (checked 2026-10-02) - [LM Studio docs: offline operation](https://lmstudio.ai/docs/app/offline) (checked 2026-10-02) - [LM Studio docs: system requirements](https://lmstudio.ai/docs/app/system-requirements) (checked 2026-10-02) - [Jan](https://www.jan.ai/) (checked 2026-10-02) - [Jan docs: overview](https://www.jan.ai/docs/desktop) (checked 2026-10-02) - [GPT4All (Nomic)](https://www.nomic.ai/gpt4all) (checked 2026-10-02) - [GPT4All README on GitHub](https://github.com/nomic-ai/gpt4all) (checked 2026-10-02) - [GPT4All releases on GitHub](https://github.com/nomic-ai/gpt4all/releases) (checked 2026-10-02) - [Google AI Edge Gallery on Google Play (UK)](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.ai.edge.gallery&hl=en_GB&gl=GB) (checked 2026-10-02) - [Apple Intelligence (Apple UK)](https://www.apple.com/uk/apple-intelligence/) (checked 2026-10-02) - [Google AI Edge Gallery on the UK App Store](https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/google-ai-edge-gallery/id6749645337) (checked 2026-10-02) ## Questions people ask ### Is there an AI that works without internet? Yes, once a model is downloaded. LM Studio's docs say chatting with a downloaded model needs no internet and nothing you enter leaves your device. Jan, Ollama and GPT4All also run models on your own computer. ### Is there an AI I can run locally for free? Yes. Jan is free and open source, LM Studio's $0 plan runs local models, and Ollama says local models are always free. ### Do I need a powerful computer? It helps. LM Studio recommends 16GB of RAM or more, while GPT4All says no GPU is required and supports processors from an Intel Core i3 2nd Gen or AMD Bulldozer up. ### Is there an offline AI for my phone? Yes. Google AI Edge Gallery runs open models such as Gemma 4 on the device with no internet required, according to its Google Play listing, and the UK App Store lists an iPhone version too. ### Is offline AI more private? Local models keep your data on your device: Ollama says nothing you run locally ever leaves your machine, and LM Studio says the same for chats with downloaded models. Cloud features in the same apps are a different matter.