Jan can be used without paying: Free and open source under Apache 2.0; cloud model connections are optional. Check the vendor’s pricing page for current limits.

Yes. Jan publishes its source code under the Apache-2.0 license.

Which platforms does Jan support?

Jan is available on: macOS, Windows, Linux.

What is Jan best for?

Offline chat on a personal computer. In our ranking of local LLM runners it is number 5 of 7 with a score of 86.0.

What are the best alternatives to Jan?

The highest-ranked alternatives on listme.name are Ollama, llama.cpp, LM Studio, GPT4All.

Jan Review, Pricing & Alternatives (2026)

86.0score

Ranked 5 of 7 in best local LLM runners

An open-source desktop chat app for macOS, Windows and Linux that runs offline and can connect to cloud providers. It is a finished app rather than an engine, so it gives less developer control than llama.cpp.

Best for Offline chat on a personal computer

About Jan

Jan is a desktop chat app that presents itself as an open-source alternative to ChatGPT. Its download page offers builds for macOS, Windows and Linux, and the site describes it as a way to run AI on your own computer, with a local API server. It can run models locally or connect to cloud model providers.

The repository describes Jan as running 100% offline, and its acknowledgments list llama.cpp and Tauri among the projects it is built on. Jan is released under the Apache 2.0 license. Compared with llama.cpp, it is a finished desktop app rather than an engine, so it suits people who want a chat window and a local server without writing code.

Key features

Desktop app for three systems
Local API server
Offline model use
Cloud provider connections

Strengths

Apache 2.0 licensed with source on GitHub
Runs models offline on your own computer
Connects to cloud providers when wanted

Limits

Local speed depends on the computer's hardware
Smaller model catalog than a hosted service

Where Jan ranks

List	Rank	Score	Best for
Best Local LLM runners	5 of 7	86.0	Offline chat on a personal computer

Alternatives to Jan

All 6 alternatives

Compare Jan

Questions about Jan

Is Jan free?: Jan can be used without paying: Free and open source under Apache 2.0; cloud model connections are optional. Check the vendor’s pricing page for current limits.
Is Jan open source?: Yes. Jan publishes its source code under the Apache-2.0 license.
Which platforms does Jan support?: Jan is available on: macOS, Windows, Linux.
What is Jan best for?: Offline chat on a personal computer. In our ranking of local LLM runners it is number 5 of 7 with a score of 86.0.
What are the best alternatives to Jan?: The highest-ranked alternatives on listme.name are Ollama, llama.cpp, LM Studio, GPT4All.