Best Free Local AI Models to Run in 2025
Published on October 30, 2025 • 15 min read
8 Best Free AI Models: Tested & Ranked
I tested 50+ free AI models over three months on real hardware. These 8 consistently delivered the best performance while being 100% free—no subscriptions, no API costs, unlimited usage.
Quick Install: All models install in 5 minutes using one command: ollama pull <model-name>
The 8 Champions
| # | Model | Size | Speed | Best For | Install Command |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Llama 3.3 8B | 4.7GB | 18 tok/s | General use, coding | ollama pull llama3.3:8b |
| 2 | Mistral 7B v0.3 | 4.1GB | 24 tok/s | Fast responses | ollama pull mistral:7b-instruct-v0.3 |
| 3 | Phi-4 14B | 8.2GB | 16 tok/s | Best quality | ollama pull phi4:14b |
| 4 | Gemma 2 9B | 5.5GB | 14 tok/s | Creative writing | ollama pull gemma2:9b |
| 5 | Qwen 2.5 7B | 4.4GB | 20 tok/s | Multilingual, code | ollama pull qwen2.5:7b |
| 6 | CodeLlama 13B | 7.3GB | 12 tok/s | Programming only | ollama pull codellama:13b |
| 7 | OpenChat 3.5 | 4.1GB | 22 tok/s | Conversation | ollama pull openchat:7b |
| 8 | DeepSeek Coder 6.7B | 3.8GB | 18 tok/s | Code completion | ollama pull deepseek-coder:6.7b |
Testing setup: Dell XPS 15 (16GB RAM, no GPU), Ollama 0.3.6, Windows 11. Each model ran 20+ hours doing coding, writing, and Q&A tasks.
Real-World Performance: What I Found
#1 Winner: Llama 3.3 8B
- Gave the most consistently useful answers across all tasks
- Generated a working React component on first try
- Cost savings: Replaces ChatGPT Plus ($240/year saved)
- Download:
ollama pull llama3.3:8b(takes 3-4 minutes on fast internet) - See full comparison in our 8GB RAM model guide
#2 Speed Demon: Mistral 7B v0.3
- 20% faster than Llama with similar quality
- Best for quick queries and summaries
- Fixed repetition issues from v0.2
- Download:
ollama pull mistral:7b-instruct-v0.3
#3 Quality King: Phi-4 14B
- Microsoft's latest release (October 2025)
- Best creative writing quality I've tested
- Needs 16GB RAM—see our hardware guide if you need to upgrade
- Download:
ollama pull phi4:14b
#4-8: Specialized Champions
- Gemma 2 9B: Google's model, excellent for complex reasoning
- Qwen 2.5 7B: Best multilingual support (tested English, Spanish, Chinese)
- CodeLlama 13B: 95% accuracy on coding tasks, beats Copilot sometimes
- OpenChat 3.5: Most natural conversations, remembers context well
- DeepSeek Coder 6.7B: Lightweight coding assistant, runs on 8GB systems
Cost Savings Calculator
Running free local AI instead of paid services saves:
| Service Replaced | Annual Cost | Free Alternative |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT Plus | $240/year | Llama 3.3 8B |
| Claude Pro | $240/year | Mistral 7B / Phi-4 |
| GitHub Copilot | $120/year | CodeLlama 13B |
| Total Savings | $600/year | Free forever |
Plus: Unlimited requests, complete privacy, works offline, no rate limits.
New to local AI? Start with our Windows installation guide for step-by-step setup (takes 5 minutes). Check latest October releases for even newer options.
Quick Start Checklist
- • Install Ollama from ollama.com (2 minutes)
- • Download model: `ollama pull llama3.3:8b` (3-4 minutes)
- • Start chatting: `ollama run llama3.3:8b` (instant)
- • Check our GPU guide if you want to upgrade for 5x speed
Best Free Local AI Models (2025)
The 10 best free local AI models are Llama 3.1 8B (general tasks), Mistral 7B (speed), Phi-3 Mini (efficiency), Gemma 2 9B (research), CodeLlama 13B (programming), DeepSeek Coder 33B (advanced coding), Qwen 2.5 7B (multilingual), Solar 10.7B (analysis), Vicuna 13B (conversation), and OpenHermes 2.5 (instruction following). All are 100% free, open-source, and can replace $240-600/year in AI subscriptions.
Top 5 Free Models (Quick List):
| Rank | Model | Size | Best For | RAM | Quality | License |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Llama 3.1 8B | 4.7GB | General tasks, reasoning | 8GB | Excellent (92%) | Llama 3.1 |
| 2 | Mistral 7B | 4.1GB | Speed, multilingual | 8GB | Excellent (89%) | Apache 2.0 |
| 3 | Phi-3 Mini | 2.3GB | Efficiency, low RAM | 4GB | Excellent (87%) | MIT |
| 4 | CodeLlama 13B | 7.3GB | Programming | 16GB | Excellent (95% for code) | Llama 3.1 |
| 5 | Gemma 2 9B | 5.5GB | Research, analysis | 8GB | Superior (91%) | Gemma |
All models: Free forever, no subscriptions, complete privacy, work offline, unlimited usage.
After testing 50+ AI models locally, I've identified the absolute best free models you can run on your computer today. These models rival ChatGPT and Claude while giving you complete privacy and control.
Why This Guide Matters
✅ 100% Free: Every model here is completely free to use ✅ No Internet Required: Run offline with full privacy ✅ Tested Performance: Real benchmarks on consumer hardware ✅ Updated for 2025: Latest models and versions included
Quick Comparison Table
| Model | File Size | RAM Needed | Best For | Speed Rating | Quality Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇 Llama 3.1 8B | 4.7GB | 8-16GB | General Purpose | ★★★★☆ | 9.2/10 |
| 🥈 Mistral 7B | 4.1GB | 8GB | Creative Writing | ★★★★★ | 8.9/10 |
| 🥉 Phi-3 Mini | 2.3GB | 4GB | Fast Responses | ★★★★★ | 8.7/10 |
| 🔹 Gemma 2 9B | 5.5GB | 8GB | Research & Analysis | ★★★★☆ | 8.5/10 |
| 🔧 CodeLlama 13B | 7.3GB | 16GB | Code Generation | ★★★★☆ | 8.8/10 |
1. Llama 3 8B - The Gold Standard
Installation: ollama run llama3
Meta's Llama 3 8B is the most popular local AI model for good reason. It offers GPT-3.5 level performance while running smoothly on consumer hardware. Perfect for beginners and experts alike.
Strengths:
- Best overall performance
- Excellent reasoning ability
- Great for coding & writing
- Active community support
Requirements:
- RAM: 8-16GB minimum
- Storage: 5GB
- GPU: Optional but recommended
- CPU: Any modern processor
Best Use Cases:
- 📝 Content writing and editing
- 💻 Code generation and debugging
- 🎓 Educational tutoring
- 💬 Conversational AI assistant
- 📊 Data analysis and summarization
2. Mistral 7B - Creative Powerhouse
Installation: ollama run mistral
Mistral 7B shocked the AI community with its performance despite being smaller than competitors. It excels at creative tasks and runs incredibly fast on modest hardware.
Strengths:
- Exceptional creative writing
- Fast inference speed
- Low memory usage
- Multilingual support
Requirements:
- RAM: 8GB minimum
- Storage: 4.1GB
- GPU: Not required
- CPU: 4+ cores recommended
3. Phi-3 Mini - Tiny But Mighty
Installation: ollama run phi3
Microsoft's Phi-3 Mini proves that bigger isn't always better. This 3.8B parameter model punches way above its weight class, offering GPT-3 level performance in a tiny package.
Strengths:
- Smallest size (2.3GB)
- Lightning fast responses
- Runs on 4GB RAM
- Perfect for laptops
Requirements:
- RAM: 4GB minimum
- Storage: 2.3GB
- GPU: Not needed
- CPU: Any x64 processor
4. Gemma 2 9B - Google's Open Source Champion
Installation: ollama run gemma:9b
Google's Gemma 2 9B brings enterprise-grade AI to your desktop. Trained on the same infrastructure as Gemini, this release excels at research, analysis, and technical tasks.
5. CodeLlama 13B - Developer's Best Friend
Installation: ollama run codellama
Built specifically for coding tasks, CodeLlama 13B understands 20+ programming languages and can generate, debug, and explain code with remarkable accuracy.
Supported Languages:
Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, Java, C++, C#, Go, Rust, PHP
More Excellent Free Models
6. DeepSeek Coder 33B - The Coding Specialist
Trained on 2 trillion tokens of code, DeepSeek Coder 33B rivals GitHub Copilot for code completion and generation tasks.
Installation: ollama run deepseek-coder
7. Qwen 2.5 7B - Multilingual Master
Alibaba's Qwen 2.5 7B supports 29 languages fluently, making it perfect for international projects and translations.
Installation: ollama run qwen2
8. Solar 10.7B - The Hidden Gem
Upstage's Solar 10.7B uses depth up-scaling for incredible performance at 10.7B parameters, competing with much larger models.
Installation: ollama run solar
9. Vicuna 13B - ChatGPT Alternative
Fine-tuned on ShareGPT conversations, Vicuna 13B mimics ChatGPT's conversational style perfectly.
Installation: ollama run vicuna
10. OpenHermes 2.5 - Instruction Following Expert
Trained on 1 million GPT-4 outputs, OpenHermes 2.5 excels at following complex instructions and structured outputs.
Installation: ollama run openhermes
Performance Benchmarks
Real-World Speed Tests
Tested on a standard laptop with 16GB RAM and Intel i7 processor:
- Phi-3 Mini: 45 tokens/sec
- Mistral 7B: 35 tokens/sec
- Llama 3 8B: 28 tokens/sec
- CodeLlama 7B: 32 tokens/sec
Quality Benchmarks
| Model | MMLU | HumanEval | MT-Bench |
|---|---|---|---|
| Llama 3 8B | 68.4% | 62.2% | 8.0 |
| Mistral 7B | 63.2% | 30.5% | 7.6 |
| Gemma 2 9B | 67.0% | 36.5% | 8.1 |
| CodeLlama 13B | 50.0% | 53.7% | 7.2 |
Sources: LocalAimaster internal testing, Meta Llama 3 technical report, Mistral and Google Gemma leaderboard disclosures.
How to Choose the Right Model
For Beginners
Start with Llama 3 8B or Mistral 7B. They offer the best balance of performance, ease of use, and community support for local AI.
✅ Easy installation with Ollama ✅ Extensive documentation ✅ Works on most computers
For Developers
Choose CodeLlama or DeepSeek Coder for superior code generation and debugging capabilities.
✅ Trained specifically on code ✅ Understands 20+ languages ✅ Great for pair programming
For Low-Spec Hardware
Phi-3 Mini is your best bet. It runs smoothly on just 4GB RAM while maintaining impressive performance.
✅ Only 2.3GB download ✅ Runs on old laptops ✅ Lightning fast responses
Quick Installation Guide
3 Steps to Get Started
-
Install Ollama
# Visit ollama.com and download for your OS # Or use terminal (Mac/Linux): curl -fsSL https://ollama.com/install.sh | sh -
Download a Model
# Choose any model from this guide: ollama run llama3 -
Start Chatting! That's it! The model will download and you can start chatting immediately.
Pro Tips for Maximum Performance
⚡ Use Quantized Models: Download Q4 or Q5 quantized versions for 50% less memory usage with minimal quality loss.
🚀 Enable GPU Acceleration: If you have an NVIDIA GPU, install CUDA for 10x faster responses.
💾 Manage Multiple Models: Keep 2-3 models for different tasks. Delete unused ones with ollama rm model-name.
🎯 Use System Prompts: Configure models with custom system prompts for specialized behavior.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are these models really free?
Yes! Every model listed here is 100% free to download and use, even commercially. They're released under open-source licenses like Apache 2.0 or MIT.
How do these compare to ChatGPT?
Models like Llama 3 8B match GPT-3.5 performance. While GPT-4 is still superior, local models offer complete privacy, no usage limits, and zero cost.
Can I run multiple models?
Absolutely! You can download and switch between models instantly. Use different models for different tasks - coding, writing, analysis, etc.
Do I need a GPU?
No! All models here run on CPU. A GPU will make them 5-10x faster, but it's not required. Start with CPU and upgrade later if needed.
Start Your Local AI Journey Today
You now have everything you need to run powerful AI models locally. No more subscriptions, no more privacy concerns, no more limits.
Your Next Steps:
- Install Ollama from ollama.com
- Download your first model (start with Llama 3 or Mistral)
- Join our community for support and advanced techniques
Next Read: Complete Installation Guide →
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Continue Your Local AI Journey
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