LM Studio
by LM Studio
At a glance
Desktop application for discovering, downloading, and running open large language models locally.
local-llm desktop-app inference
- Licence
- Not recorded
- Category
- Platforms & Infrastructure
- Business model
- Freemium
- Availability
- Not recorded
- Launched
- 2023
Overview
LM Studio runs local language models on macOS, Windows and Linux through llama.cpp and MLX, and exposes local REST and OpenAI-compatible APIs. Bionic combines local features with optional cloud inference. Local model use remains free; the current paid tiers are Bionic+ at USD 20/month and Pro at USD 100/month. Downloaded local models and document chats can work offline. The US-hosting statement applies only to Bionic cloud inference, not where users may run local models. The interface has community translations.
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Key features
- Model catalog with one-click local downloads
- Chat UI with local documents (RAG)
- OpenAI-compatible local API server
- GGUF and Apple MLX runtime support
Use cases
- Running chat models fully offline for privacy
- Local development against an OpenAI-style endpoint
- Benchmarking open models on personal hardware
Pricing
Checked 2026-11-02: Free covers local models and Bionic Agent. Bionic+ is USD 20/month and Pro USD 100/month for optional cloud usage allowances; cloud credits cover use beyond the included allowance. These paid individual tiers are available now; the page separately says team subscription plans are coming soon.
Record details
Provenance, dates and links are kept here so the main sections stay about the product itself.
Links, dates and provenance
- Record updated
- 2026-11-02
- Pricing
- lmstudio.ai ↗
- Documentation
- lmstudio.ai ↗
- Founded
- 2023
- Headquarters
- US
- Canonical URL
- https://globalaiproductindex.com/products/lm-studio/
Selection profile
Every field says where its value comes from. "Unknown" means we have not confirmed it — it does not mean the product lacks the feature.
Selection profile11 fields2 unknown
- Tasks it fits
- Running models yourself
Derived from the record: category "platforms".
Suggest a correction - How you use it
- Desktop app
Derived from record tag matching /^(desktop|desktop-app)$/.
Suggest a correction - Runs on
- Windows macOS Linux
The official app documentation explicitly lists macOS, Windows and Linux.
Suggest a correction - Where it runs
- Local machine Vendor cloud
The official docs describe local models and local APIs; the pricing page separately offers optional Bionic cloud inference.
Suggest a correction - Works offline
- Yes
Downloaded local models and document chats can operate offline; optional cloud and web features require a network.
Suggest a correction - Official service region
- Not recorded
The pricing page identifies US hosting for Bionic cloud inference, not eligible user locations. Service-region eligibility is not established; local models run on the user’s hardware.
Suggest a correction - Public API
- Yes
The app documentation describes local REST and OpenAI-compatible APIs for local models.
Suggest a correction - Licence
- proprietary
Commercial product; no source licence is published in the record.
Suggest a correction - Commercial use
- Not recorded
Commercial product; the terms reviewed here do not state a non-commercial restriction, but that was not verified.
Suggest a correction - Interface languages
- en zh es fr ja de pt-BR pt-PT ko ru no tr pl vi cs uk
The official UI-localization page names the recorded languages; this list is not exhaustive and is separate from model language ability.
Suggest a correction - Billing
- Free Subscription Usage-based USD 20/month Free allowance: Yes Subscription required: No
Prices are the vendor’s advertised entry price and exclude taxes; always confirm on the vendor’s own page.
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Where each value comes from
- Tasks it fits
- Our inference
- How you use it
- Our inference
- Runs on
- Verified 2026-11-02 lmstudio.ai ↗
- Where it runs
- Verified 2026-11-02 lmstudio.ai ↗
- Works offline
- Verified 2026-11-02 lmstudio.ai ↗
- Official service region
- Unknown
- Public API
- Verified 2026-11-02 lmstudio.ai ↗
- Licence
- Our inference
- Commercial use
- Our inference
- Interface languages
- Verified 2026-11-02 lmstudio.ai ↗
Key facts and their evidence
Each fact lists the conditions it holds under, the page it was read from and the day it was checked.
-
Platform support: windows, macos, linux Verified 2026-11-02 lmstudio.ai ↗
Suggest a correction -
API: Public API documented Verified 2026-11-02 lmstudio.ai ↗
Suggest a correction -
Offline capability: Offline operation documented Verified 2026-11-02 lmstudio.ai ↗
Suggest a correction -
Pricing: Free plan runs local models on your own machine, including offline voice transcription and LM Link for up to 5 devices Verified 2026-11-02 lmstudio.ai ↗
Applies to: Desktop app, local inference
Suggest a correction -
Pricing: 20 USD/month Verified 2026-11-02 lmstudio.ai ↗
Applies to: Bionic+ plan for hosted open-source models
Suggest a correction -
regions: us Verified 2026-11-02 lmstudio.ai ↗
Applies to: Cloud (Bionic) inference only; local inference is not hosted anywhere
The page states Bionic cloud inference is US-hosted with zero data retention.
Suggest a correction -
Pricing: 100 USD/month Verified 2026-11-02 lmstudio.ai ↗
Applies to: Pro individual plan for optional cloud inference, billed monthly
Suggest a correction
Frequently asked questions
Is LM Studio free?
The free tier covers local model use and on-device features; cloud model usage is billed separately.
Which model formats does LM Studio run?
It runs GGUF models via llama.cpp and MLX models on Apple Silicon.
Can apps connect to LM Studio?
Yes, it exposes an OpenAI-compatible local server that apps and code can call.
Who should not choose LM Studio?
Users wanting on-device inference without suitable hardware need another service. Optional Bionic cloud inference is US-hosted; that hosting location does not mean local models can only run in the US.
Similar products
- Ollama — Open-source tool for running open large language models locally on your own machine with a simple command-line interface.
- Jan — Open-source desktop app for running open language models locally as an offline ChatGPT alternative.
- Open WebUI — Extensible, self-hosted AI interface that runs offline and connects to local or remote models such as Ollama and OpenAI-compatible APIs.
- vLLM — Open-source inference and serving engine for large language models, known for high-throughput PagedAttention.
- Baseten — Platform for deploying and serving machine-learning models as scalable APIs.
- Cerebras — AI compute company whose inference cloud serves open language models on wafer-scale hardware.
All LM Studio alternatives → · All Platforms & Infrastructure products →
Related comparisons
Related guides
Sources
- Official website ↗
- Documentation ↗
- Welcome to LM Studio Docs! | LM Studio ↗
- Official pricing ↗
- LM Studio interface languages ↗
This record was last reviewed on 2026-11-02.
Machine-readable record: /api/products/lm-studio.json · Spot an error? Suggest a correction