Local AI#explainer
You don't need the cloud to run your own AI
A plain-English explainer on running AI models on your own hardware — what it means, what it costs, what you give up, and why it's the front door to everything else we cover here.
When most people use AI, they type into a website and a computer in a data center somewhere types back. That works. But it means a monthly bill, usage limits, and every word you send sitting on someone else’s server.
There’s another way, and it’s more accessible than people think: run the model on a machine in your own house.
What “the model” actually is
An AI model is a file. A big one — anywhere from 3 GB to 60 GB — but just a file. Companies train these files on enormous computers, then release many of them for anyone to download and use. Once it’s on your machine, it runs on your machine. No internet required.
The software to run one is now genuinely easy. A free program called Ollama, or a friendlier app called LM Studio, handles it: you pick a model, it downloads, you start chatting. Twenty minutes, most of it waiting for the download.
What it costs
The model is free. The machine is the cost, and it’s a one-time cost:
- ~$520 gets you a mini PC that runs mid-size models well.
- ~$800–1,000 gets you a Mac mini that does it silently and sips power.
- ~$2,000 gets you a 128 GB machine that runs the large models that feel like the paid services.
After that, electricity. An efficient machine left on all day costs under $15 a year. Our full guide breaks down which one fits which person.
What you give up
Honesty matters here. The very best models in the world are still the ones the big companies keep on their own servers. If you always want the absolute sharpest answer, local AI won’t fully replace a subscription yet.
What you get instead: nothing leaves your house, no monthly fee, no limits, no “the service is down,” and it keeps working when your internet doesn’t. For a lot of everyday use — writing, summarizing, answering questions, searching your own notes — a model on your own box is more than good enough.
Why this is our starting point
Considered Gear covers three things, and local AI is first on purpose. The same box that runs your AI can run your home automation later. The same curiosity that makes you want to own your AI is the one that leads to a workshop. It all comes back to the same idea: technology you own and control, running in your house, answering to you.