Local LLM
Also known as: local model · self-hosted LLM
A local LLM is a model you run on your own machine rather than calling a cloud API.
- Private: your data never leaves the box.
- Offline-capable: works with no internet.
- Yours to tune: pick the model, the quant, the context.
The trade-off: you provide the hardware, and it’s usually a smaller model than the biggest cloud offerings.
The appeal: local LLMs are about control — privacy, cost, and freedom from rate limits — at the price of a smaller, on-device model.