Ollama has become the de facto standard for running LLMs locally, reducing complex setup to a single command. The OpenAI-compatible API means existing code can switch from cloud to local by changing the base URL. Apple Silicon optimization is excellent. The zero-cost, zero-data-collection nature makes it ideal for sensitive work. Limited to open-source models, and throughput drops under concurrent load. Terminal-based interface will deter non-technical users.
Ollama is a free, open-source tool for running LLMs locally, supporting 100+ models including Llama, Mistral, and Gemma with optimized quantization for consumer hardware.