Runtime comparison - verified
Ollama vs LocalAI
Ollama and LocalAI (LocalAI team (Ettore Di Giacinto)), compared field by field from their official docs as of October 18, 2026. Their docs differ on 3 feature points, listed below; the table also shows versions, install methods and links.
Key differences
- Backends: LocalAI lists SYCL and Ollama does not.
- Model formats: LocalAI lists MLX and Ollama does not.
- MCP client: Ollama does not state it in its docs; LocalAI documents it.
Generated from the fields below that differ. Versions, dates and links are left to the table.
Side by side
Every field we track, with the source linked on each value. Rows marked Differs are where the two runtimes' docs differ.
| Field | Ollama | LocalAI |
|---|---|---|
| VendorDiffers | Ollama | LocalAI team (Ettore Di Giacinto) |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Latest releaseDiffers | v0.40.6 | v4.11.0 |
| Release dateDiffers | October 16, 2026 | October 2, 2026 |
| Interface | CLI, Server, Desktop app, Docker | CLI, Server, Docker, Desktop app |
| Platforms | macOS, Windows, Linux | macOS, Linux, Windows |
| BackendsDiffers | CPU, CUDA, ROCm, Metal, Vulkan | CPU, CUDA, ROCm, SYCL, Metal, Vulkan |
| Model formatsDiffers | GGUF, Safetensors | GGUF, Safetensors, MLX |
| OpenAI-compatible API | Yeshttp://localhost:11434/v1 | Yeshttp://localhost:8080 (chat completions at http://localhost:8080/v1/chat/completions) |
| Anthropic-compatible API | Yes | Yes |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured outputs | Yes | Yes |
| Vision (image input) | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-GPU | Yes | Yes |
| MCP clientDiffers | Not stated | Yes |
| Install methods listedDiffers | macOS; Windows; Linux; Docker (CPU only) | docker (CPU only); docker (NVIDIA CUDA 12); docker (AMD ROCm); docker (Vulkan) |
| Run exampleDiffers | ollama run gemma4 | local-ai run llama-3.2-1b-instruct:q4_k_m |
| Audience, per the vendorDiffers | Developers who want to download and run open models from the command line, with a local REST API on port 11434 and built-in launchers for coding agents such as Claude Code and Codex. | LocalAI is an open-source, self-hosted engine that serves LLMs and other model types through OpenAI- and Anthropic-compatible APIs on CPU-only or GPU hardware. |
| HomepageDiffers | ollama.com | localai.io |
| Source repositoryDiffers | github.com/ollama/ollama | github.com/mudler/LocalAI |
Install both
Copied verbatim from the page linked under each command.
Ollama
Docker (CPU only)
docker run -d -v ollama:/root/.ollama -p 11434:11434 --name ollama ollama/ollamaSource: docs.ollama.com/docker
LocalAI
docker (CPU only)
docker run -ti --name local-ai -p 8080:8080 localai/localai:latestSource: github.com/mudler/LocalAI
docker (NVIDIA CUDA 12)
docker run -ti --name local-ai -p 8080:8080 --gpus all localai/localai:latest-gpu-nvidia-cuda-12Source: github.com/mudler/LocalAI
docker (AMD ROCm)
docker run -ti --name local-ai -p 8080:8080 --device=/dev/kfd --device=/dev/dri --group-add=video localai/localai:latest-gpu-hipblasSource: github.com/mudler/LocalAI
docker (Vulkan)
docker run -ti --name local-ai -p 8080:8080 localai/localai:latest-gpu-vulkanSource: github.com/mudler/LocalAI
FAQ
What is the difference between Ollama and LocalAI?
Going by their official docs: Backends: LocalAI lists SYCL and Ollama does not. Model formats: LocalAI lists MLX and Ollama does not. MCP client: Ollama does not state it in its docs; LocalAI documents it.
Do Ollama and LocalAI both have an OpenAI-compatible API?
Ollama: yes. http://localhost:11434/v1. LocalAI: yes. http://localhost:8080 (chat completions at http://localhost:8080/v1/chat/completions).
Which platforms do Ollama and LocalAI run on?
Ollama: macOS, Windows, Linux. LocalAI: macOS, Linux, Windows. Both list macOS, Windows and Linux.
Are Ollama and LocalAI open source?
Ollama is open source (MIT). LocalAI is open source (MIT).
Do Ollama and LocalAI support tool calling and MCP?
Tool calling: Ollama yes, LocalAI yes. MCP client: Ollama not stated, LocalAI yes. "Not stated" means the docs do not say.
What are the latest versions of Ollama and LocalAI?
As of October 18, 2026: Ollama v0.40.6 (October 16, 2026) and LocalAI v4.11.0 (October 2, 2026).
More comparisons
Newsletter
Local AI, every week
One email per week. New model releases, runtime updates and what they mean for what you build.
Keep exploring
Open-weight models you can run
Download sizes, licenses and the run command for each model.
All local LLM runtimes
Every runtime in one feature matrix, with sources.
Picking a runtime for coding agents
Ollama, LM Studio, vLLM and llama.cpp for agent workloads.
Setup guides
Point your coding tools at the model you picked.