4 free AI chat assistant apps to use instead of ChatGPT by OpenAI
The best free alternative to ChatGPT is LM Studio. A chat interface that suggests models that fit your hardware.
Other great options: Ollama, Jan and Open WebUI.
Quick pick: To run AI on your own computer so data never leaves it: LM Studio (easiest) or Ollama. For an in-house "company ChatGPT": Open WebUI with Ollama.
Reviewed November 2026 against each vendor's official website.
Free plans and trial lengths are set by the vendor and can change. Check the official website before signing up.
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A chat interface that suggests models that fit your hardware.
Desktop app for finding, downloading and chatting with open AI models on your own computer. Easier than Ollama if you avoid the command line, and free for work use too.
Platforms: Windows · Mac · Linux
Download and run Llama, Qwen, Gemma or DeepSeek with a single command.
Runs open AI models (Llama, Qwen, Gemma, DeepSeek and more) on your own computer. No data leaves the machine and there are no per-use fees.
Platforms: Windows · Mac · Linux
Open source; runs models locally or connects to an API.
Open-source AI chat app that runs models locally and can also use vendor APIs when you need a stronger model.
Platforms: Windows · Mac · Linux
Multi-user internal chat that can answer questions from company documents.
Self-hosted ChatGPT-style interface for teams that connects to Ollama or vendor APIs. It supports multiple users, permissions and Q&A over internal documents.
Platforms: Self-hosted
| App | Type | Platforms | Ease of use | GitHub stars |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 LM Studio | Free | Windows, Mac, Linux | Easy to use | — |
 Ollama | Open source | Windows, Mac, Linux | Some learning curve | 186,318 |
 Jan | Open source | Windows, Mac, Linux | Easy to use | 45,578 |
 Open WebUI | Source available | Self-hosted | Technical setup | 158,070 |
Open source: anyone can use, study and modify it, including businesses. Free: no cost, but the code is closed. Freemium: a lasting free plan with paid tiers for extra features. Source available: code is public but the license adds conditions.
The most popular picks are LM Studio, Ollama, Jan and Open WebUI. To run AI on your own computer so data never leaves it: LM Studio (easiest) or Ollama. For an in-house "company ChatGPT": Open WebUI with Ollama.
Small models (3–8 billion parameters) run on a computer with 16 GB of RAM, and better with an 8 GB graphics card or an Apple Silicon Mac. Large models need a graphics card with 24 GB or more.
Recent open models such as Qwen, Gemma and Llama handle everyday writing, summarizing and coding help well, but the largest cloud models are still stronger on hard reasoning. Try a few models on your own machine, since speed and quality depend heavily on your hardware.
