LM Studio app icon

LM Studio

Runs open AI models privately on your Mac

MacFree

The verdict

Free for home and work use, LM Studio downloads open AI models like Llama, DeepSeek and Qwen and runs them on your Apple silicon Mac in a chat window. Your chats and PDFs never leave the machine, and a local server with OpenAI-compatible endpoints lets other apps on your Mac use that model. It needs Apple silicon and recommends 16 GB of RAM, so Intel Macs and 8 GB machines are the wrong fit.

The Useful TechResearched and written with AI under our rulesUpdated 14 Oct 2026

Get it if

You want to ask AI about private files without sending a single word to someone else's server.

Skip it if

You have an Intel Mac or 8 GB of RAM, or you're happy with ChatGPT in the browser.

Screenshots 1

What it helps you do

  • Chat with AI models fully offline
  • Ask questions about your own PDFs privately
  • Download models like Qwen and DeepSeek in-app
  • Run a local AI server for other apps

Plans and prices

  • LM Studio

    Free

    Free for home and work use, runs local models on your Mac

  • Bionic+

    $20

    $20 a month for LM Studio's separate Bionic agent, adds US-hosted cloud models and web search with page extraction

  • Bionic Pro

    $100

    $100 a month, adds 5 times the Bionic+ usage limits and early access to new features

What changed

  1. Version 0.4.28

  2. Added to The Useful Apps

Written up in The Useful Tech

Pick something else if

All 8 LM Studio alternatives

The details

Runs on
Mac
Requires
macOS 12 or later
Version
0.4.28
Offline
Works without internet

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