Ollama

Runs AI models privately on your own computer, so your data stays in your office.

Type: Free · Open source
Monthly cost: $0
License: MIT (permissive)
Setup: Needs a tech helper
AI features: Generally available
Trust: Caution
Official site: https://ollama.com

AI capabilities

Runs open models (Llama, Gemma, Qwen, DeepSeek, Mistral, etc.) fully on your own hardware. Exposes an OpenAI-compatible API, so other tools can use it instead of a paid cloud AI key.

Pricing

Free license. Hosting estimate: $0 (runs on a PC you own; a 16 GB+ RAM machine or a GPU helps)

Open source

Code: https://github.com/ollama/ollama
GitHub stars: 186021
Latest release: 2026-11-03
Hosting: Runs on your own Mac, Windows or Linux PC or office server (one-click installer). No hosting needed. Optional paid Ollama Cloud models.
Backing: Company-backed (Ollama Inc.). Extremely active: v0.40.14 on 2026-11-03.
The runtime is MIT. Ollama also sells optional cloud model access (Pro $20/mo, Max $100/mo, Team $500/mo). That is not needed to run models locally for free.
No GitHub repo advisories, but 2026 CVEs exist. CVE-2026-7482 (critical, GGUF loader heap read) is fixed in 0.17.1. CVE-2026-5757 'Bleeding Llama' (unauthenticated heap leak via the quantization engine) and CVE-2026-42248 (Windows auto-updater skips signature checks, reported up to 0.17.5) have no vendor-confirmed fix version that we could find. Mitigation: run the latest version, keep the API on localhost (the default, port 11434), and never expose it to the internet.

Trust checks

Admin-verified listing: Pass · Reviewed by the Catervas team: links and prices checked Nov 5, 2026
License verified: Pass · MIT is on the license allow-list
Active maintenance: Pass · Last release or commit 2026-11-03
No open critical security advisories: Fail · Two 2026 vulnerabilities have no vendor-confirmed fix. Keep it on localhost and never expose it to the internet.
Privacy and data policy: Pass · Self-hosted: your data stays on your own hosting.
Company or foundation backing: Pass · Company-backed (Ollama Inc.). Extremely active: v0.40.14 on 2026-11-03.

Problems it helps with

Data security, WISP rules and phishing risk: Keeps client and patient data in the office. A tech helper installs it once on an office PC and points AnythingLLM (document Q&A) or Phlox (AI scribe) at it. Nothing is sent to OpenAI or another cloud, which simplifies WISP and HIPAA data-handling questions.
Charting overload and after-hours notes: Keeps client and patient data in the office. A tech helper installs it once on an office PC and points AnythingLLM (document Q&A) or Phlox (AI scribe) at it. Nothing is sent to OpenAI or another cloud, which simplifies WISP and HIPAA data-handling questions.

Data as JSON: /api/tools/ollama · Compare tools: /compare · llms.txt

Information, not professional advice. Rankings can't be bought.