Yes, Ollama is free to run on your own computer. The software is open source under the MIT licence, and Ollama's Free plan includes running models locally with no service fees. What isn't unlimited is Ollama's cloud: the Free plan comes with starter usage credits and starter models, and bigger cloud models need added credits or a Pro, Max or Team plan.
Ollama is the tool a lot of people use to run open AI models, such as Gemma or DeepSeek models, on their own laptop instead of sending prompts to a chatbot online. It's popular with developers, privacy-minded business owners and anyone who wants to experiment without a monthly bill. Ollama also offers a cloud option, which is where the question of free gets more interesting.
Two ways to use Ollama
| How you use it | Free? | What limits you |
|---|---|---|
| Local models on your own computer | Yes | Your computer's memory and graphics card |
| Ollama cloud on the Free plan | Yes, with starter credits | Starter models only until you add credits |
| Ollama cloud on Pro or Max | No | Monthly usage credits included in the plan |
| Ollama Team and Enterprise | No | Shared credits, admin controls and support |
Running models locally is free
Ollama's GitHub repository carries the MIT licence, which lets you use, change and share the software, including for business. It runs on macOS, Windows and Linux. Once you've downloaded a model, it runs on your machine, so there's no per-message charge and no usage meter.
The real limit is hardware. Larger models need more memory and a stronger graphics chip, and on an older laptop they'll be slow or won't load. Smaller models ask far less of your machine, which is why they're the sensible starting point.
Ollama's homepage also says your prompts are never stored or trained on. When you run locally, your prompts stay on your own computer, which matters if you handle client data.
What the free cloud plan includes
Ollama's pricing page lists the Free plan as including:
- Running models locally
- Starter usage credits included
- Access to starter models
- The option to add credits to use all models
- No service fees
Cloud models matter when a model is too big for your computer. Instead of buying new hardware, you send the work to Ollama's servers. On the Free plan you can try that with the starter credits, then add pay-as-you-go credits if you want the larger models.
When a paid Ollama plan makes sense
Ollama describes Pro as built for shorter, well-defined day-to-day tasks, and Max for power users who run several agents at the same time. Pro adds monthly usage credits, access to larger pro models and the ability to run several models at once. Max adds more credits, early access to the newest models and up to ten requests at the same time. Team adds unlimited users with shared credits, central billing and priority support.
Ollama's model pricing is per million tokens, and the page notes lower off-peak rates outside 12:00 to 18:00 UTC on weekdays and all day at weekends. If you run long batch jobs, scheduling them off-peak is an easy saving.
How to start with Ollama for free
- Download Ollama for macOS, Windows or Linux from the official site.
- Install it and open a terminal.
- Pull a small model first to check how your computer copes before trying anything larger.
- Chat with the model locally; nothing leaves your machine.
- Sign in only if you want to try the cloud models with starter credits.
My step-by-step guide on how to use Ollama walks through the commands and the first models worth trying.
Who gets the most from free Ollama
Ollama on its own computer is a great fit for a few kinds of small business work. If you handle client documents you'd rather not paste into an online chatbot, a local model lets you summarise, rewrite or draft without the text leaving your laptop. If you're a developer or a technical marketer, it's an easy way to test prompts against several open models without running up a usage bill. And if you're simply curious about AI, it's the cheapest way to learn how models behave.
Where it's less of a fit is heavy, fast work on an older machine. A small model on modest hardware will answer, but slowly, and the answers won't match the largest online models. That's the gap the cloud credits are designed to fill, so use them for the jobs that need a big model and keep the everyday work local.
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The head-to-head is in my LM Studio and Ollama comparison.
Ollama or another local tool?
Ollama is a command-line tool at heart. If you'd rather click than type, LM Studio is the usual alternative, and my guide on how to use LM Studio shows how it compares in practice. Both run the same kinds of open models, so the choice is mostly about how you like to work and how comfortable you are in a terminal.
Before you download anything, check the licence of the model as well as the tool. Ollama is MIT licensed, but each model has its own terms. My page on where to download free AI models explains the licence rules that make a difference for business use.
My verdict
Ollama is free for what most people want it for: running AI models privately on your own computer. Start with a small local model, see how your machine handles it, and only look at the cloud credits or a paid plan if you need models bigger than your hardware can run. Check each model's licence before you use it for client work.
For models to download, see what Hugging Face gives you for nothing.
Frequently asked questions
Is Ollama free for commercial use?
The Ollama software is released under the MIT licence, which allows commercial use. Each model you download has its own licence, so check that too.
Does Ollama cost anything to run locally?
No. Ollama's Free plan includes running models locally with no service fees. Your hardware is the only limit.
What does Ollama Pro add?
Ollama says Pro adds monthly usage credits, access to larger pro models and running several models at the same time.
Does Ollama store my prompts?
Ollama's homepage says your prompts are never stored or trained on. When you run a model locally, prompts stay on your computer.
Which systems does Ollama run on?
Ollama is available for macOS, Windows and Linux.
