There are quite some scenarios where you would want to install a local AI engine. Privacy, for one, but also customization and performance. Some references:
- Mastering Local AI Models Your Guide to Seamless Implementation
www.cognativ.com/blogs/post/mastering-local-ai-models-your-guide-to-seamless-implementation/266 - How to Run AI Models Locally (2026) : Tools, Setup & Tips
www.clarifai.com/blog/how-to-run-ai-models-locally-2025-tools-setup-tips - Why You Should Use Local Models. When building Gen AI applications, it’s… | by Rod Johnson | Medium
medium.com/@springrod/why-you-should-use-local-models-a3fce1124c94 - I switched everything to local AI and stopped sending my documents to the cloud
www.makeuseof.com/switched-everything-to-local-ai-stopped-sending-documents-to-cloud/ - I don’t need Perplexity anymore because my local LLM does it better
www.makeuseof.com/dont-need-perplexity-local-llm-does-better/- My local LLM setup and why I built it. The stack that replaced Perplexity on my machine
- Where local LLMs absolutely crush Perplexity. Privacy, control, and zero rate limits
- Performance isn’t magic. The good, the bad, and the GPU-hungry
- Where Perplexity still has a clear edge. Live web search is what you’ll miss the most
- There are trade-offs you can’t ignore. Cost vs convenience vs capability
- So, should you ditch Perplexity for a local LLM? If you’ve got the computational power, local AI is a serious contender
There are quite some AIs you can install. Some lists:
- 4 free tools to run powerful AI on your PC without a subscription
www.makeuseof.com/free-tools-run-powerful-ai-on-pc-without-subscription/ - Top 6 Local AI Models for Privacy, Speed, and Offline Performance | Software Mansion
blog.swmansion.com/top-6-local-ai-models-for-maximum-privacy-and-offline-capabilities-888160243a94 - Local AI Models: Why Developers Run AI Locally & What Tools Deliver Value
www.coherentsolutions.com/insights/local-ai-models-value - Top 8 Local AI Models in 2025: Privacy & Performance – MultitaskAI
multitaskai.com/blog/local-ai-models/ - Local AI Models: Why Developers Run AI Locally & What Tools Deliver Value
www.coherentsolutions.com/insights/local-ai-models-value
The mentioned AI engines include:
- Mistral
- Ollama
- GPT4All
- Qwen
- Whisper Tiny
- DeepSeek
- LLaMa
- LMStudio
- Phi Mini
(I don’t include version numbers, since that would very rapidly break the references.)
And besides, there is:
- LocalAI – «The free, OpenAI, Anthropic alternative. Your All-in-One Complete AI Stack»
localai.io/ - LM Studio – Local AI on your computer – «Run local LLMs like gpt-oss, Qwen3, Gemma3, DeepSeek and many more on your computer, privately and for free.»
lmstudio.ai/ - Locally AI – Run AI models locally on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac. – «Run Llama, Gemma, Qwen, DeepSeek, and more locally on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Offline. Private. No login. Optimized for Apple Silicon.»
locallyai.app/ - Ollama – «Start building with open models»
ollama.com/ - Alibaba acaba de robarle la cartera a todas las Big Tech: lo ha hecho con prometedores modelos de IA de bolsillo
Ejecutar modelos de IA en local realmente decentes en tu móvil está ya al alcance (casi) de cualquiera
www.xataka.com/robotica-e-ia/alibaba-acaba-robarle-cartera-a-todas-big-tech-ha-hecho-prometedores-modelos-ia-bolsillo