Ollama Inc.

Ollama

Run open models locally with a single command.

One-line local model running

Visit Site View on GitHub Read the Docs Join Discord

GitHub Stars

175.0K

Contributors

607

PyPI / Month

—

Maintained by: Ollama Inc.
First released: Jul 2023
Last commit: Yesterday
Language: Go
License: MIT

Strengths

The simplest path from zero to a running model on your laptop.
Works across Mac, Windows, and Linux with one install.
Ships an OpenAI-compatible endpoint, so apps can talk to it directly.

Trade-offs

Tuned for ease over peak throughput, so it is not a high-volume serving engine.
Less control over low-level performance knobs than vLLM or SGLang.

Key Features

What the engine gives you out of the box, in plain language.

OpenAI-Compatible API
NVIDIA GPU
AMD GPU
Apple Silicon
CPU Inference
Quantization
Continuous Batching
Multi-GPU
Desktop GUI
One-Line Install
Structured Output
Streaming

One-command model pulls
Run any supported model with a single command. Ollama downloads and sets it up.
Local OpenAI-compatible API
A local endpoint that mirrors the OpenAI API for easy app integration.
Cross-platform
The same simple workflow on Mac, Windows, and Linux.

Where It Shines

The jobs this engine is best suited for.

Local development
Develop against a real model on your laptop before paying for an API.
Private, offline assistants
Run a model with no data leaving your machine.
Prototyping app integrations
Point your app at a local endpoint to test prompts and flows for free.

Side-by-Side

Compare Ollama With Another Engine

Add a second or third engine and see stars, downloads, and capabilities lined up next to each other.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What Is an Inference Engine?

An inference engine is the software that runs a language model and turns your prompt into tokens. It loads the model weights, manages memory on your GPU or CPU, and serves the output, usually behind an API.

Is Ollama open source?

Ollama ships under the MIT license. The source code lives on GitHub, so you can read it, fork it, and run it on your own hardware if your team prefers self-hosting.

Which language is Ollama built in?

Ollama is primarily a Go project. The implementation language matters less than the hardware it supports and the throughput it delivers, but it does affect how easily your team can extend or debug it.

Free Monthly Report

The AI Build Report

The state of AI models, API prices, and what to run where. New every month, free.

Ollama Inc.

Ollama

Run open models locally with a single command.

One-line local model running

Visit Site View on GitHub Read the Docs Join Discord

GitHub Stars

175.0K

Contributors

607

PyPI / Month

—

Maintained by: Ollama Inc.
First released: Jul 2023
Last commit: Yesterday
Language: Go
License: MIT

Strengths

The simplest path from zero to a running model on your laptop.
Works across Mac, Windows, and Linux with one install.
Ships an OpenAI-compatible endpoint, so apps can talk to it directly.

Trade-offs

Tuned for ease over peak throughput, so it is not a high-volume serving engine.
Less control over low-level performance knobs than vLLM or SGLang.

Key Features

What the engine gives you out of the box, in plain language.

OpenAI-Compatible API
NVIDIA GPU
AMD GPU
Apple Silicon
CPU Inference
Quantization
Continuous Batching
Multi-GPU
Desktop GUI
One-Line Install
Structured Output
Streaming

One-command model pulls
Run any supported model with a single command. Ollama downloads and sets it up.
Local OpenAI-compatible API
A local endpoint that mirrors the OpenAI API for easy app integration.
Cross-platform
The same simple workflow on Mac, Windows, and Linux.

Where It Shines

The jobs this engine is best suited for.

Local development
Develop against a real model on your laptop before paying for an API.
Private, offline assistants
Run a model with no data leaving your machine.
Prototyping app integrations
Point your app at a local endpoint to test prompts and flows for free.

Side-by-Side

Compare Ollama With Another Engine

Add a second or third engine and see stars, downloads, and capabilities lined up next to each other.

Open the Comparator

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is an Inference Engine?

Is Ollama open source?

Ollama ships under the MIT license. The source code lives on GitHub, so you can read it, fork it, and run it on your own hardware if your team prefers self-hosting.

Which language is Ollama built in?

Free Monthly Report

The AI Build Report

The state of AI models, API prices, and what to run where. New every month, free.

Ollama

Strengths

Trade-offs

Key Features

One-command model pulls

Local OpenAI-compatible API

Cross-platform

Where It Shines

Local development

Private, offline assistants

Prototyping app integrations

Compare Ollama With Another Engine

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is an Inference Engine?

Is Ollama open source?

Which language is Ollama built in?

The AI Build Report

Ollama

Strengths

Trade-offs

Key Features

One-command model pulls

Local OpenAI-compatible API

Cross-platform

Where It Shines

Local development

Private, offline assistants

Prototyping app integrations

Compare Ollama With Another Engine

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is an Inference Engine?

Is Ollama open source?

Which language is Ollama built in?

The AI Build Report