AI · alternatives · 2026
24 alternatives to Ava PLS
Desktop app for running LLMs locally
Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. Ava PLS launched in 2023; newer entries below may have overtaken it.
- 1
Hi Hackers, Excited to share a macOS app I've been working on: https://recurse.chat/ for chatting with local AI. While it's amazing that you can run AI models locally quite easily these days (through llama.cpp / llamafile / ollama / llm CLI etc.), I missed feature complete chat interfaces. Tools like LMStudio are super powerful, but there's a learning curve to it. I'd like to hit a middleground of simplicity and customizability for advanced users. Here's what separates RecurseChat out from similar apps: - UX designed for you to use local AI as a daily driver.…
2024 · recurse.chat · its alternatives →
- 2
LM Studio▲209Discover, download, and run local LLMs (incl. DeepSeek R1)
2025 · lmstudio.ai · its alternatives →
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- 4
Hi HN A few folks and I have been working on this project for a couple weeks now. After previously working on the Docker project for a number of years (both on the container runtime and image registry side), the recent rise in open source language models made us think something similar needed to exist for large language models too. While not exactly the same as running linux containers, running LLMs shares quite a few of the same challenges. There are "base layers" (e.g. models like Llama 2), specific configuration to run correctly (parameters, temperature, context window sizes etc). There's…
2023 · github.com · its alternatives →
- 5
Ollama▲235The easiest way to run large language models locally
2023 · github.com · its alternatives →
- 6
Kuzco▲216Open-source Swift package to run LLMs locally on iOS & macOS
2025 · github.com · its alternatives →
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- 9MG
Hello HN, I've been working on this project for a while, and it has been in an "open" beta for some time. I finally believe it's ready for its first release. I hope you like it. Here are some potential questions that may arise: 1. How does it compare to LM Studio? It's likely that if you're already using LM Studio, you'll continue to do so. This project is designed to be more user-friendly. 2. Is it open-source? No, it is not. 3. Does it use any open-source libraries? Yes, it uses llama.cpp and a few others, as indicated in the license information included with the application. 4. Why is not…
2023 · avapls.com · its alternatives →
- 10
This lets you talk to local LLMs in Apple Notes. I saw Obsidian Ollama (https://github.com/hinterdupfinger/obsidian-ollama) and thought it was handy, but I'm too lazy to migrate away from the Apple ecosystem, so I quickly hacked this together. I tend to use Notes as a scratchpad for prompts, so it's nice to do some quick inference without leaving the app. Notes doesn't really support plugins so I'm using the macOS accessibility API for reading selections and then stream responses using the clipboard (not ideal but it works).
2024 · smallest.app · its alternatives →
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LLMWare▲358Dev tool to make AI apps to deploy privately or locally
2024 · llmware.ai · its alternatives →
- 13CI
One of the most frequent questions one faces while running LLMs locally is: I have xx RAM and yy GPU, Can I run zz LLM model ? I have vibe coded a simple application to help you with just that. Update: A lot of great feedback for me to improve the app. Thank you all.
2025 · can-i-run-this-llm-blue.vercel.app · its alternatives →
- 14
Find the local LLM that actually runs and performs best on your hardware. Ranked by real, recency-aware benchmarks, not parameter count. One command, run it instantly. - Andyyyy64/whichllm
May 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →
- 15
Your personal, private, powerful AI assistant | Free & OSS
2025 · getbodhi.app · its alternatives →
- 16TL
2023 · tinyllms.vercel.app · its alternatives →
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Hi HN, I'm excited to share Bodhi App, a tool designed to simplify running open-source Large Language Models (LLMs) locally on your laptops. While we currently support M2 Macs, we plan to support other platforms as our community grows. # Problem To use LLMs, you typically need to purchase a subscription from providers like OpenAI or Anthropic, or use OpenAI API credits with compatible Chat UIs. These options can not only burden you financially, but also raise data security and privacy concerns. Many laptops are capable of running powerful open-source LLMs, but for non-tech users, setting…
2024 · github.com · its alternatives →
- 19
Lemonade is an open-source SDK and local LLM server focused on making it easy to run and experiment with large language models (LLMs) on your own PC, with special acceleration paths for NPUs (Ryzen™ AI) and GPUs (Strix Halo and Radeon™). Why? There are three qualities needed in a local LLM serving stack, and none of the market leaders (Ollama, LM Studio, or using llama.cpp by itself) deliver all three: 1. Use the best backend for the user’s hardware, even if it means integrating multiple inference engines (llama.cpp, ONNXRuntime, etc.) or custom builds (e.g., llama.cpp with ROCm betas). 2.…
2025 · github.com · its alternatives →
- 20
DemoGPT▲94Auto generative AI app generator with the power of Llama 2
2023 · github.com · its alternatives →
- 21
Chat with LLMs like Deepseek R1 locally inside browser
2025 · chat.browserai.dev · its alternatives →
- 22
Let Llama take over your desktop
2025 · github.com · its alternatives →
- 23
Harbor▲75CLI + companion App to spin up complete local LLM stacks
May 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →
- 24
Lekh AI▲80Run powerful AI models on your Mac:fully offline and private
Jan 2026 · apps.apple.com · its alternatives →
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