LocalAI vs Ollama: which one to choose in 2026?
Both are open source alternatives to OpenAI API. We compare license, tech stack and features to help you decide which fits your team best.
| LocalAI | Ollama | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Artificial Intelligence | Artificial Intelligence |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | ~26k | ~99k |
| Tech stack | Go, C++ | Go, Llama.cpp |
| Replaces | OpenAI API | OpenAI API |
Ollama has more GitHub stars, which usually indicates a larger community (not necessarily that it's the best option for your use case).
LocalAI
OpenAI-compatible API running local models, no per-token cost.
ℹ️ The base image itself is small, but the models you download (GGUF/GGML) can add tens of GB on top — not included in this estimate. Runs on CPU; auto-detects and uses NVIDIA/AMD/Intel GPUs when available.
Pros
- Near-direct migration from code already using the OpenAI API
Things to consider
- Needs decent hardware (ideally a GPU) for large models
Ollama
Run open source LLMs locally, an alternative to the OpenAI API.
ℹ️ CPU-only is viable for models ≤7B (needs ~8GB of free RAM). For 13B+ models or fast inference, a dedicated GPU with at least 8-12GB VRAM is recommended.
Pros
- Your data never leaves your server
Things to consider
- Quality depends on the model and hardware available
Key features
LocalAI
- API compatible with the OpenAI SDK
- Chat, images, embeddings and audio
- Runs GGUF, GGML and more model formats
Ollama
- Download models with a single command
- API compatible with multiple clients
- GPU and CPU support
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