What is Ollama?
Ollama is a writing & chat tool and completely free. Run Llama, Mistral and Gemma locally with one command. Private by default. We rate it 9.2/10 after hands-on testing. Because it is open source (MIT), you can run it yourself and keep full control of your data.
Ollama at a glance
| Category | Writing & Chat |
|---|---|
| Pricing | Free |
| Free version | ✓ Yes |
| Open source | ✓ MIT |
| GitHub stars | ★ 105k |
| Our score | 9.2/10 |
| Partner deal | — |
Why we rate Ollama
- Has a genuinely free version — no credit card to start.
- Open source (MIT) — self-hostable and yours to modify.
- Backed by a large community — 105k GitHub stars.
- One of the highest-scoring tools in its category on our tests.
Ollama FAQ
Is Ollama free?
Yes. Ollama is completely free to use.
Is Ollama open source?
Yes — Ollama is open source under the MIT license and can be self-hosted.
What are the best Ollama alternatives?
We track 13 other writing & chat tools you can compare with Ollama in the directory.
How do we rate Ollama?
We score Ollama 9.2 out of 10 after hands-on testing, weighing the free tier, output quality, ease of use and value. Scores are decided before any partnership and never bought.
