What is LM Studio?
LM Studio lets you run open large language models on your own computer. You browse its model catalogue, download models such as Qwen, Nemotron or other open releases, and chat with them privately, with the LM Studio runtime using MLX and llama.cpp under the hood. Developers can also use it through the lms command-line tool and the lmstudio-js and lmstudio-python libraries.
Its newer Bionic agent works on documents, coding tasks, automations and computer control, with real-time voice transcription that is processed locally. LM Link connects your devices. For heavier tasks, paid plans add US-hosted open models in LM Studio Cloud, which the company says runs with zero data retention. The free plan covers local models, the Bionic agent, offline transcription and limited web search.
Main Features
- Download and run open models locally
- Model catalogue with tool use, reasoning and vision filters
- Bionic agent for documents, code and automations
- Local real-time voice transcription
- CLI plus JavaScript and Python SDKs
- Optional US-hosted cloud models with zero data retention
How to Get Started with LM Studio
- Download LM Studio from lmstudio.ai for your computer
- Open the model catalogue and download a model that fits your hardware
- Load the model and start chatting or give Bionic a task
- Upgrade only if you want cloud models or higher limits
LM Studio Pricing
The free plan runs local models and includes the Bionic agent, offline transcription, LM Link for up to 5 devices and limited web search. Bionic+ costs $20 a month for cloud-hosted models, and Pro costs $100 a month with 5x usage limits.
Who Should Use It?
- Developers testing open models locally
- Privacy-minded users who keep data on device
- Researchers comparing open-source LLMs
- People who want an AI agent that works offline
- Hobbyists with capable laptops or GPUs
LM Studio Alternatives
- HuggingChat: Chat with open-source models in the browser.
- OpenRouter: One API to reach hundreds of language models.
- Hugging Face: Hub for downloading open AI models and datasets.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is LM Studio free?
Yes, running local models is free. Paid plans are Bionic+ at $20 a month and Pro at $100 a month, which add cloud-hosted models and higher limits.
Does LM Studio work offline?
Local models and voice transcription run on your device, so they work without sending your data to the cloud.
Can developers use LM Studio in code?
Yes. It offers the lms CLI and lmstudio-js and lmstudio-python libraries.