5 Free Ways to Run AI Locally on Your Computer

Today, artificial intelligence is available to everyone — and not necessarily for a price. If you have a modern PC or laptop, you can run powerful neural networks right at home — for free, with no restrictions or subscriptions.

Here are five proven programs that let you generate images, videos, audio, and even run large language models like ChatGPT — all on your local machine.

1️⃣ ComfyUI — Generate Images, Video, and Audio

🎯 For: tech-savvy users, creators, and control freaks

🖥️ Platforms: Windows (NVIDIA only), macOS (Apple Silicon)
🔗 Website: comfy.org

📌 Overview:
ComfyUI is a powerful node-based visual editor that lets you build flexible generation pipelines. It supports image, video, and audio generation, upscaling, inpainting, style transfer, and more. A library of ready-made templates helps you get started without coding.

✅ Pros:
✔ Highly customizable and powerful
✔ Multimedia support (image, video, audio)
✔ Large community, tons of templates and plugins

❌ Cons:
✘ Requires a powerful GPU and lots of RAM
✘ Interface may be overwhelming for beginners

2️⃣ Easy Diffusion — One-Click Image Generation

🎯 For: beginners and anyone who wants quick results

🖥️ Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux
🔗 Website: easydiffusion.github.io

📌 Overview:
Easy Diffusion is a simple-to-install and easy-to-use graphical frontend for Stable Diffusion. Enter your prompt, pick a model, adjust settings, and hit generate. It supports custom models and basic prompt enhancements.

✅ Pros:
✔ Very user-friendly interface
✔ Quick setup
✔ Compatible with external models (Civitai, Hugging Face)

❌ Cons:
✘ Image generation only
✘ Less flexible than ComfyUI

3️⃣ Ollama — Local LLMs Without the Cloud

🎯 For: developers and advanced users

🖥️ Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux
🔗 Website: ollama.com

📌 Overview:
Ollama lets you run large language models locally — no internet, no cloud. You can load models like LLaMA 3, Mistral, Phi‑4, DeepSeek‑R, and more. Use it via the terminal or connect it to Open WebUI for a graphical experience.

✅ Pros:
✔ Fully offline
✔ Simple model management
✔ Compatible with WebUI frontends

❌ Cons:
✘ Needs 8GB+ VRAM and strong CPU
✘ Command-line interface may deter beginners

4️⃣ LM Studio — GUI for Local Language Models

🎯 For: users who prefer a visual interface over the terminal

🖥️ Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux
🔗 Website: lmstudio.ai

📌 Overview:
LM Studio gives you a GUI to run and chat with language models. Download models from Hugging Face, set generation parameters, and talk to your LLM in either chat or instruction mode.

✅ Pros:
✔ Full graphical interface
✔ Fast model downloads
✔ Easy switching between modes and models

❌ Cons:
✘ Interface is English-only for now
✘ Requires similar hardware as Ollama

5️⃣ GPT4All — Lightweight Offline Chatbot

🎯 For: users who want a ChatGPT-like experience offline

🖥️ Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux
🔗 Website: gpt4all.io

📌 Overview:
GPT4All is a minimalist desktop chatbot that lets you run LLMs locally with ease. One-click install, built-in model manager, and everything you need to get started fast.

✅ Pros:
✔ Easy setup and simple UI
✔ Runs on low-end machines
✔ Fully offline

❌ Cons:
✘ Text only, no multimedia
✘ Limited customization and extensibility

✅ Conclusion

Modern AI tools no longer require cloud subscriptions — you can run them right on your computer, free and offline. From image and video generation to local chatbots, each tool here serves a different purpose and suits different users.

Choose the one that fits your goals and hardware, and start using the power of neural networks today.