Atomic Chat
Download open-weight language models and chat with them locally, with an OpenAI-compatible server for other tools.GetApache-2.0
Free, open-source alternatives to LM Studio
A desktop app for downloading open-weight language models, running them locally and chatting with them, with a local API server.
LM Studio lets you find and download open-weight language models, run them on your own Mac and chat with them, and it can serve a loaded model to other apps through a local API. The models run locally, but the app itself is not open source.
The apps below cover the same ground with published source. Jan and GPT4All are the closest match: both download models, run them on your Mac and give you a chat window. Atomic Chat adds an OpenAI-compatible server for other tools, and Ollama runs models behind its own desktop app and local API. Llama, from the project behind llama.cpp, is a small menu bar app that downloads GGUF models and serves them, while Nativ is built around MLX models on Apple silicon.
Apps That Replace LM Studio
6 free, open-source alternatives
GPT4All
Run supported language models locally and work with documents through a desktop interface.GetMIT
Jan
A desktop workspace for chatting with local models and supported remote AI services.GetApache-2.0
Llama
A small menu bar app from the ggml project that downloads GGUF models and serves them through a local OpenAI-style API.GetMIT
Nativ
A Mac workspace for chatting with, serving and monitoring local MLX models on Apple silicon.GetMIT
Ollama
Run supported language models on your Mac with a desktop app and local API.GetMIT
