Ollama

Ollama is an AI platform to run open language models locally or in the cloud without storing prompt data.

Ollama is an AI platform designed to run and build with open language models. Users can run models locally on their own hardware or host them in Ollama's cloud environment. The service guarantees privacy by not storing user prompts or training on them. It provides access to major open models on the day they ship, using native weights as released by providers. The platform supports tool calling for agent workflows on compatible models, catering to individual developers, power users running multiple agents, and teams scaling open model deployments.

Ollama at a glance

Best for: Software engineer, Researcher, Student
Runs on: API, Slack
Pricing: Free plan with starter credits; Pro, Max, and Enterprise plans available; Team starts at $500/month with $1,000 of credits.
Released: June 2023
Category: AI chat assistant
Website: ollama.com

Key features

Run models locally on personal hardware with unlimited usage
Run models in the cloud with pay-as-you-go usage credits
Support for tool calling in agent workflows
Concurrent model execution and concurrent requests
Zero prompt storage or training on user prompts
Team administration with centralized billing and access controls
Cost budget settings for users and API keys

Use it for

Running open language models locally for complete data privacy
Executing multi-agent workflows with tool calling
Deploying cloud models concurrently for day-to-day tasks
Managing team-wide open model access with shared credit balances

Companions

Tools that articles about Ollama recommend using with it, each with its job.

Open WebUI — Self-hosted, multi-user chat with document uploads on top of Ollama.
AnythingLLM — Turnkey document Q&A that connects to your Ollama server.
LangChain — Framework for custom agents with memory and tools on local models.
Chroma — Local vector database for embeddings and semantic search.
Cline — Coding agent with native Ollama support.
OpenHands — Autonomous dev agent that can run on an Ollama backend.

Companion to

Tools whose articles name Ollama as a companion, each with its job for them.

Aider — Ollama: Local models
Browser Use — Ollama: Local models
CrewAI — Ollama: Local models
DeepSeek — Ollama: Local models
Dify — Ollama: Local models
Kilo Code — Ollama: Local models
n8n — Ollama: Local models
OpenCode — Ollama: Local models
Superwhisper — Ollama: Private agents

Alternatives to Ollama

LM Studio — Runs open source language models locally with real-time voice transcription.
Ollaya — Run decision models locally with typed, calibrated answers in milliseconds.
OpenSquilla — Maximizes AI intelligence density while minimizing token costs through smart routing.
Olares — Hosts local AI agents and large language models on your own hardware.
AirLLM — Runs massive 70B+ parameter models on small 4GB consumer GPUs.
LiteLLM — One OpenAI-format API for 100+ LLM providers
OpenLLM — It simplifies infrastructure management and optimizes inference speed and cost.
Maid — Run models locally on-device or connect to remote providers securely.
llmspy.org — Self-host access to 530+ AI models across 24 providers with built-in tools.
GPT4All — Runs open-source language models locally on your device for complete data privacy.
WebLLM — Runs high-performance language models directly inside web browsers.
llama-swap — It runs multiple local AI models with zero external dependencies.

All Ollama alternatives