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| LM Studio | llama.cpp | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | ai | ai |
| Subcategory | Local Runtime | Local Runtime |
| Grade | B | A |
| Editor's Pick | — | — |
| Tagline | Desktop GUI for local LLMs. Drag-drop GGUF models, OpenAI-compatible local API, no cloud. | C++ runtime for running LLMs locally on CPU + GPU. The backbone of every privacy-LLM stack. |
| Fees | Free for personal · MacOS/Win/Linux · localhost API | Free · MIT · C++ · CPU/CUDA/ROCm/Metal |
| KYC posture | anonymous_signup | anonymous_signup |
| Highlight tags | LOCALGUIOPENAI-COMPAT | LOCALOPEN-SOURCEREFERENCE |
| Feature tags | non_custodialself_hostedapi_available | non_custodialopen_sourceself_hostedcli_supported |
| Web | https://lmstudio.ai | https://github.com/ggml-org/llama.cpp |
| Tor | — | — |
| Last verified | 2026-05-13 | 2026-05-13 |