Desktop local-AI workspace with model discovery, chat, document retrieval, agents, and compatible local APIs.
Official sources reviewed Oct 4, 2026 · Some details not confirmed
What runs locally
Free local models, Bionic Agent, offline transcription, limited web search, and LM Link for five devices.
Plan type
Free local software
Free allowance
Free local models, Bionic Agent, offline transcription, limited web search, and LM Link for five devices.
Download on free
Not applicable
Watermark on free
Not applicable
Commercial use on free
Not confirmed
Credit card required
No
Paid plan
Optional Bionic+ cloud plan: $20 monthly for hosted open-model access, bulk-token discounts, and fuller web tools.
READ THIS BEFORE YOU START
The limitation that matters
Local model speed and quality depend on compatible hardware; output rights depend on each model's license.
Downloaded models run without cloud inference credits. Local performance, storage, and electricity depend on your hardware. LM Studio recommends 16 GB or more of RAM, while some smaller models can run on supported 8 GB Macs.
Plan details can change. A source check confirms published information; it is not a hands-on quality review or a guarantee that the plan fits every project.
Check the original sources
These are the provider pages used for this record. An unconfirmed field means we could not establish a clear answer from the reviewed information.
The software is free to run on your own computer. Free local models, Bionic Agent, offline transcription, limited web search, and LM Link for five devices.
How much does LM Studio cost?
Optional Bionic+ cloud plan: $20 monthly for hosted open-model access, bulk-token discounts, and fuller web tools.
Do I need a credit card to start using LM Studio?
No. The reviewed official sources say no credit card is required to start.
What is the main limit of LM Studio's free plan?
Local model speed and quality depend on compatible hardware; output rights depend on each model's license.
Local desktop and self-hosted AI workspace for document chat, retrieval, agents, and connections to local or hosted models.
Free local software
Free desktop and self-hosted software; local models avoid provider token quotas while using your own compute.
↳Building a private assistant over your own documents
Keep in mindMIT-licensed application code does not grant universal rights to connected models or outputs. Desktop is local; hosted multi-user service and external APIs have separate costs.
Desktop app and Python library for running downloaded language models and chatting with local documents.
Free local software
Free local model inference on your hardware, with no hosted prompt-credit quota.
↳Private document chat on a personal computer
Keep in mindThe app's permissive software license does not license every model or its outputs. Check each model's commercial terms and hardware requirements.
Open-source desktop assistant for downloading local models, building assistants, connecting tools, and serving a local API.
Free local software
Free local inference after downloading a model; no cloud account or per-prompt usage fee is required.
↳Local AI chat with optional cloud providers and tool connections
Keep in mindJan's Apache 2.0 code license is separate from downloaded model licenses. Output-use rights and hardware requirements vary by model; connected online tools require network access.