LM Studio: Run AI Models Offline on Your Computer
LM Studio lets you run language models on your own computer - no account, no subscription, no internet required. Here's what you need and how to get started.
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LM Studio is a program for Windows, macOS and Linux that lets you run language models on your own computer: you download a model file from the built-in search, click and chat - no account, no subscription and no data sent anywhere. It’s the simplest path to offline AI for anyone who doesn’t want to touch the command line. Below: what you need, how to choose a model for your hardware, what works in non-English languages, and how it differs from Ollama.
What You Need
| Hardware | What You Can Run | What It’s Good For |
|---|---|---|
| Laptop 8 GB RAM, no graphics card | 3-4 billion parameter models in heavy compression | simple text editing, summaries; slow responses |
| 16 GB RAM or 8 GB VRAM card | 7-9 billion parameter models | daily text work, notes, code for simple tasks |
| 16-24 GB VRAM card | 12-32 billion parameter models | level close to free chat plans for typical tasks |
Rule of thumb: the model must fit in memory, and LM Studio shows estimated usage for each file. If the model doesn’t fit in your graphics card, the program will use system RAM, but responses will slow down several times.
How to Get Started, Step by Step
- Download the program from the developer’s site and install it like any application.
- In the model search tab, type the model family name and choose a variant marked as fitting your memory.
- Download the file; models weigh from two to several dozen gigabytes.
- Go to the chat tab, select the downloaded model and start typing.
- If you want to connect the model to other programs, enable server mode in LM Studio; it then mimics a popular API interface, so many tools will work without changes.
Which Model for Non-English Languages
For Polish and other heavily inflected languages, it’s worth starting with Bielik, because it was trained on Polish data and writes more naturally in short tasks than foreign models of the same size. Among international models, the Qwen and Llama families respond sensibly in Polish in variants from 7 billion parameters up. Below that size, Polish comes out clunky and calques from English appear. This is an assessment from use, not a test result on a dataset.
LM Studio or Ollama
LM Studio is a program window: you click, see a list of models, setting sliders and chat history. Better for people who just want to use it. Ollama is a command-line tool with a simple server; better when the model is part of automation, a script or a workflow in n8n. Both download models from the same repositories, so the choice doesn’t close any doors. Nothing stops you from having both.
Why Run a Local Model When Chats Are Free
Data that can’t leave the company. Contracts, medical documentation, customer data; a local model sends nothing outside. No limits. You can run a thousand documents overnight and won’t pay for tokens. Work without internet. In the field, traveling, on a machine cut off from the network. Stability. A model on disk won’t change overnight because the provider released a new version; this matters when you’ve built a process on it.
What you won’t get: the level of the largest models, access to current internet and the convenience of a mobile app. I’ve gathered a comparison of paid chat plans in the pricing hub.
Models on your own computer: Ollama from the command line, LM Studio in a window, Whisper for recordings and Bielik for Polish and other non-English languages.
See also: Local AI: text models, images and video on your own computer · test of 7 local models in Polish
Google · Your sourcesQuantslant higher in your Google - one clickAdd to preferred sources →Common Questions
Is LM Studio Free?
The program is free for individual users, and you download models under their own licenses, most of which allow personal and commercial use. It’s worth checking a specific model’s license if you’re using it in a company.
Do I Need a Graphics Card?
No, but without one responses will be slow. On newer processors with neural units and on Apple computers with shared memory, small models run surprisingly smoothly.
Can a Local Model Match ChatGPT?
For typical text tasks, a 12-32 billion parameter model can be comparable to free chat plans. For difficult reasoning, code and long documents, the largest cloud models are still clearly better.
Are Conversations Saved?
Only on your disk, in the program directory. Nothing is sent to the developer except downloading the models themselves.
As of September 18, 2026. Memory requirements given above are practical rules of thumb for models in popular compression, not manufacturer data. Quality assessments of Polish are my opinion.
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