Uncensored AI ChatWindows · macOS · Linux · API
Ollama
Runs open models on your own hardware from a terminal, free and unlimited, fully offline.
What it does
- Pulls and runs open-weight models on your own hardware from one command
- Local HTTP API that most model tooling already supports
- Runs entirely offline once a model is pulled
- Open source, so the client can be audited or built from source
At a glance
- Price
- $20/mo
- Free tier
- Yes
- Account
- No
- Runs locally
- Yes
- Image generation
- No
- Voice
- No
- Trains on your content
- No
- Last verified
- 8 Aug 2026
ClickTug verdict
The standard way to run an open-weight model on your own hardware, and the right recommendation for anyone who reaches this category through a command line. Local use is free, unlimited and offline, the client is open source, and the local API makes it the piece most other local tooling assumes. The cloud tiers are a genuine hosted service rather than a paywall around the local product, which is an unusually honest structure. The cost is that Ollama is deliberately plain, and choosing a model is entirely your problem.
Should you use Ollama?
Good fit if
- Local use is free, unlimited and needs no account
- Open source, so the client can be audited or built from source
- Local HTTP API that a large amount of other tooling already targets
- Runs fully offline once a model is pulled
- Paid tiers buy hosted capacity rather than removing a limit on local use
It is the least ceremonious way to get a model running locally, it is open source so the client can be inspected or built from source, and the local API means a lot of other software works with it immediately. For anyone scripting rather than chatting it is the obvious pick.
Look elsewhere if
- Terminal first, with no polished chat interface in the core product
- Text only. No image or video generation
- Model choice and quality are entirely the user's problem
- Same hardware constraints as any local runtime
- The cloud tiers are a hosted service under separate terms
The plainness is real. There is no polished interface, model selection is on you, and the same hardware constraints apply as to any local runtime. If you want something with a chat window and a model picker rather than a terminal, a desktop-first tool will suit you better.
What is Ollama?
Ollama is an open-source tool that pulls open-weight models and runs them on your own hardware, driven from a terminal or a small desktop app. It exposes a local HTTP API that most model tooling already understands, which is why a great deal of other software can be pointed at it. Once a model is pulled it runs with no internet connection at all.
Who it is for
People comfortable with a command line who want models running on their own machine, and developers who want a local endpoint to build against. It is the default choice for anyone who wants to script model use rather than click through an interface.
Who it is not for
Anyone who wants a polished chat interface out of the box. Ollama is deliberately plain, and while desktop front-ends exist, the core experience is a terminal. It also produces text only, with no image or video generation.
Every fact we hold on Ollama
| Category | Uncensored AI Chat |
|---|---|
| Pricing model | Freemium |
| Starting price | $20 per month |
| Free tier | YesRunning models on your own hardware is unlimited and always free. The free tier also includes light cloud usage. |
| Free trial | No |
| Card required at signup | No |
| Account required | No |
| Payment methods | Card |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux, API |
| Generation modes | Text chat, Text generation |
| Content filtering | No documented output filter |
| Age policy | None stated |
| Position on minors | Not applicableRuns on your hardware and receives no user content. |
| Data retention | Local use retains nothing off the machine: models run on your hardware and can run entirely offline. Ollama states that your data is never trained on, and describes zero data retention and no logging on the Team tier. Cloud models are hosted in the United States, Europe and Singapore.source |
| Trains on your content | No |
| Deletion on request | Your own files. There is no account and no vendor-held copy to delete |
| Anonymous use | Supported |
| Company | Ollama Inc., United States |
| Last verified | by ClickTugger |
Pricing
Running models on your own hardware is free and unlimited, permanently, and that is the part most readers of this directory want. The paid tiers buy hosted cloud inference rather than removing a local restriction: Pro is 20 US dollars a month or 200 a year, Max is 100 a month and was paused for new signups when checked, and Team is 25 per seat a month with a five seat minimum.
Yes, and it is unlimited for the thing that matters. Local model use has no cap and needs no account, and the free tier additionally includes a small cloud allowance. Nothing about running a model at home is gated behind payment.
| Tier | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free |
Local use needs no account. This is the product for most readers. |
| Pro | $20/month |
Also offered at $200 a year. Cloud only: local use is already unlimited. |
| Max | $100/month |
Paused for new signups at the time of checking. |
| Team | $25/month |
|
Refunds: Not applicable to local use, which is free. Cloud subscriptions bill monthly or annually.
Getting started
No. Local use requires no account at all, so nothing is collected before you run a model. An account and a card are only needed for the optional cloud tiers.
- No card at signup
- No account required
- Anonymous use supported
Windows, macOS and Linux, plus a local HTTP API that a large amount of third-party tooling already targets. Cloud models, where used, run in the United States, Europe and Singapore.
- Windows
- macOS
- Linux
- API
Privacy, data and safety
For local use there is nothing to hand anywhere: the model runs on your machine and works offline once pulled, so no prompt reaches a server. Ollama states plainly that your data is never trained on, and describes zero data retention and no logging on the Team tier. Cloud usage is a separate hosted service in named regions, and choosing it means prompts leaving your machine under different terms from the local mode.
| Retention | Local use retains nothing off the machine: models run on your hardware and can run entirely offline. Ollama states that your data is never trained on, and describes zero data retention and no logging on the Team tier. Cloud models are hosted in the United States, Europe and Singapore.source |
|---|---|
| Trains on your content | No |
| Deletion | Your own files. There is no account and no vendor-held copy to delete |
| Processing location | Your own device for local use |
| Privacy policy | Read the vendor policy |
Where your words go
Local mode
The primary mode, on your own hardware
Ollama Cloud
A separate hosted service under its own terms
What that means for you
Yes. In its primary mode it runs models on your own hardware, so prompts and output stay on the machine and no vendor retention period applies to them. Ollama Cloud is a separate hosted service and none of that covers it.
Content policy
Ollama documents its output filtering as no documented output filter, and its age policy as none stated.
Ollama does not offer clothing removal from photographs of real people. ClickTug does not list tools that do. Its stated position on the likeness of real people is that it is blocked outright.
What the vendor prohibits
- Nothing is enforced by the local client, which receives no content
The client applies no filter. What a model refuses is a property of the model you pulled, and the catalogue includes both heavily aligned and permissive ones. The optional cloud tier is a hosted service under separate terms.
Ollama runs on your own hardware, so it receives none of what you generate. ClickTug does not require a minor safety policy or an acceptable use policy from a tool that never receives user content, because there would be nothing for such a policy to govern. Any optional hosted tier is a separate service under its own terms.
What the vendor publishes
This measures disclosure, not quality. A good product can document nothing, and that is worth knowing separately from whether it is any good.
| Price published | Yes, from $20/mosource | Verified |
|---|---|---|
| Operating company named | Ollama Inc. | Documented |
| Jurisdiction stated | United States | Documented |
| Retention period stated | No period givensource | Not documented |
| Training policy stated | Yessource | Documented |
| Refund terms published | Yes | Documented |
| Content policy published | Self-hosted, not applicable | Not documented |
| Privacy policy published | Yessource | Documented |
| Position on minors published | Not applicable | Not documented |
Hands on
Ollama is the piece most other local model tooling assumes is there. Pull a model with one command, and it runs on your machine behind a local HTTP API that a large amount of third-party software already speaks. That combination is why it turns up as a dependency of things that never mention it on their own homepage.
For this directory the relevant property is the same one that makes LM Studio worth listing: there is no service in the middle. No account is required to run a model locally, nothing is sent anywhere, and after the initial download the whole thing works with the network off. Ollama states that your data is never trained on, and the Team tier goes further with zero data retention and no logging, but for local use those commitments matter less than the architecture does. A promise not to retain your prompts is worth something. Never receiving them is worth more.
The pricing structure deserves a note because it is unusually honest for this market. Ollama sells cloud inference at 20 dollars a month for Pro, 100 for Max, and 25 per seat for Team with a five seat minimum. None of it changes anything about local use. Running models on your own hardware stays unlimited and free whether you subscribe or not, which is the opposite of the common pattern where a free tier exists mainly to demonstrate the limits it imposes.
What you are choosing against is convenience. Ollama is plain by design. There is no model recommendation engine, no interface to speak of in the core product, and no help when a model turns out to be a poor fit for what you wanted. Model selection is genuinely your problem, and the difference between a good and a bad choice is larger than most people expect before they try it. If that sounds tiring rather than appealing, LM Studio does the same job with a window and a browser attached.
As with LM Studio, this listing carries ClickTug’s self-hosted exemption: no minor safety policy is required from a client that receives no user content, because there would be nothing for one to govern. The exemption is recorded against the listing rather than applied quietly, and it does not extend to Ollama’s own cloud tiers, which are a hosted service like any other.
How Ollama compares
Every figure on the right is computed across the 41 tools ClickTug currently tracks, at the moment this page was built. They are facts about this catalogue rather than about the market, and they move as it grows.
| Measure | Ollama | Across ClickTug |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $20 | $11.99 median of 14 that publish one |
| Publishes a price | Yes | 24 of 41 tracked |
| Free tier | Yes | 35 of 41 tracked |
| Names its operating company | Yes | 37 of 41 tracked |
| States a training position | Yes | 20 of 41 tracked |
At $20 a month, Ollama is cheaper than 1 of the 14 tools here that publish a starting price.
Ollama compared with the alternatives
Every cell is read from the same records as each tool's own listing, so nothing here can claim something its page denies. Rows needing an account to confirm are left out entirely rather than guessed at, and named in the verification log at the foot of the page.
| Ollama | LM Studio | Venice AI | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $20/mo | Free | $18/mo |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Card to start | No | No | No |
| Account required | No | No | Yes |
| Runs on your hardware | Yes | Yes | No |
| Image generation | No | No | Yes |
| Video generation | No | No | Yes |
| Voice | No | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile app | No | No | No |
| Trains on your content | States no | States no | Not stated |
| Account deletion | Your own files | Your own files | By request |
| Company named | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Position on minors | N/A | N/A | Published |
Ollama vs LM StudioFreemium
Choose LM Studio instead if you want a desktop application with a model browser and a chat window rather than a command line.
Ollama vs Venice AIFreemium
Choose Venice instead if you do not have the hardware and would rather pay a hosted service that documents its retention position.
Quick answers about Ollama
Generated from the same records as the tables above, so an answer here cannot contradict a figure there. Questions only appear when the answer says something specific to this product.
- Is Ollama free?
- There is a free tier. Running models on your own hardware is unlimited and always free. The free tier also includes light cloud usage.
- How much does Ollama cost?
- Ollama Cloud starts at $20 a month. Hosted inference on Ollama's own servers in the United States, Europe and Singapore, sold as Pro, Max and Team subscriptions beside the free local runtime. Every tier and what it includes is in the pricing section above, taken from the vendor's own page.
- Does Ollama require a credit card to start?
- No card is needed for the free product this page describes. One is needed for Ollama Cloud, which is billed separately.
- Does Ollama offer refunds?
- Not applicable to local use, which is free. Cloud subscriptions bill monthly or annually.
- Does Ollama have an app?
- Not a phone app. It installs on Windows, macOS and Linux, and there is no iOS or Android build.
- Does Ollama have an API?
- Yes. An API is documented, so the same model can be called from your own code rather than only through the interface.
- Can Ollama run locally?
- Yes. In its primary mode it runs models on your own hardware, so prompts and output stay on the machine and no vendor retention period applies to them. Ollama Cloud is a separate hosted service and none of that covers it.
- Does Ollama train on my conversations?
- Nothing is transmitted in the local mode, so there is no user content for anyone to train on. That is a property of where the model runs rather than a promise that could be changed.
- What happens to my Ollama data?
- There is no account and no vendor-held copy, so deleting means removing the files on your own device. Nothing has to be requested from anybody.
- Is Ollama actually uncensored?
- ClickTug records no documented output filter, which is a different claim from having no rules: its terms still prohibit a specific list of conduct, set out above.
- What company owns Ollama, and where?
- Ollama Inc., United States. Publishing an identifiable counterparty is worth noting: several tools in this directory name no company at all.
Ollama FAQ
Is Ollama free?
Running models on your own hardware is free and unlimited, permanently, with no account required. The free tier also includes a small amount of hosted cloud usage. The paid tiers, Pro at 20 US dollars a month, Max at 100 and Team at 25 per seat, all buy cloud capacity rather than removing any restriction on local use.
Is Ollama safe?
Safe in which sense matters. On code, Ollama is open source, so the client can be audited or built from source rather than taken on trust. On data, local use keeps nothing off the machine and runs fully offline once a model is pulled, and its privacy statement says plainly that your data is never trained on. On accountability, the operator is Ollama Inc. of the United States. Two caveats. The client applies no filter of its own, so what a model refuses is a property of whichever model you pulled. And the optional cloud tiers are a separate hosted service in the United States, Europe and Singapore under their own terms, where prompts do leave your machine.
Does Ollama work offline?
Yes, completely, once a model has been pulled. That is the practical difference between a local runtime and a hosted service: after the download, no prompt leaves your machine and no connection is needed. Ollama markets this explicitly for work that cannot depend on a network.
Is Ollama uncensored?
The client applies no filter of its own. Refusal behaviour belongs entirely to whichever model you pull, and the catalogue includes both heavily aligned models and permissive ones. This is a real difference from a hosted assistant, where the filter belongs to the provider and can be changed without telling you.
Does Ollama train on my data?
Its privacy statement says plainly that your data is never trained on, and for local use the question is largely moot because prompts never leave your hardware. The Team tier additionally states zero data retention and no logging. Cloud usage on any tier is a hosted service and should be read as such.
What is the difference between Ollama and LM Studio?
They solve the same problem with different manners. Ollama is command-line first, open source, and built to be driven by other software through its local API. LM Studio is a desktop application with a model browser and a chat window. Both run open-weight models on your own hardware and both are free for that, so the choice is mostly about whether you would rather type a command or click.
How we checked Ollama
- Checked
- 8 August 2026
- Documents read
- 3
- Documentation gaps
- 3
What we did
- Read every policy document linked from this page, in full
- Loaded the pricing page, and re-loaded it in a rendering browser where it was empty
- Checked the homepage against the pricing and policy pages for disagreement
- Ran the vendor's own homepage through ClickTug's excluded-terms gate
- Searched for reporting, incident-database entries and independent testing
- Captured the interface and reviewed the capture by eye
What we have not done
Everything below needs an account, and ClickTug does not hold one here. These are recorded as not tested rather than guessed at, which is why they are absent from the tables above rather than marked "no".
- Signup completed
- Email verification required
- Card required at signup
- First response generated
- Long-term memory
- Voice feature
- Character creation
- Delete-account control
- Chat export
- Cancellation flow
Verified ClickTug observed this directly on the vendor's own pages.Documented The vendor states this in a document we have linked.Not documented We read the document that would carry this and it is absent.Not tested Checking this needs an account. We have not held one, so we have not checked.
Sources and identity
ClickTug last checked these facts on 8 Aug 2026 against 3 vendor sources. Pricing and data policies in this category change within weeks, so treat the date as part of the fact.
Product identity
| Official name | Ollama | Verified |
|---|---|---|
| Operator | Ollama Inc. | Documented |
| Jurisdiction | United States | Documented |
| Website | ollama.com | Verified |
| Also known as | ollama.com | Verified |
Something wrong or out of date? Report this listing. If this listing concerns you personally, use our removal request form.
Ready to try Ollama?
Checked on 8 Aug 2026 against 3 vendor sources.