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Jan vs LM Studio

Two fact sheets from our own research, side by side — pricing, platforms, API access and status re-checked by us rather than quoted from the vendors.

The short answer

Free plan
Both — Jan is free to use, LM Studio has a free plan
Public API
Both have one
Best fit
Jan: Privacy-focused users who want an offline ChatGPT-style app · LM Studio: Developers testing open-weight models behind an OpenAI-compatible local endpoint
Trust score
About even — Jan 91, LM Studio 91
Status
Both up at our last check (Oct 2, 2026)

From our own records as of each tool's last check. Anything we have not confirmed is left out rather than guessed. How we verify

JanOpen-source desktop chat app that runs open models offline or connects to cloud providers, plus a terminal coding agent.LM StudioDesktop app for downloading and running open-weight LLMs locally, now with a Bionic agent and optional US-hosted cloud models.

Side by side

FactJanLM Studio
CategoryModel Hosting & InferenceModel Hosting & Inference
Pricing modelFreeFreemium
Starts at—$20/mo
Public APIYesYes
Trust score91 / 10091 / 100
PlatformsmacOS, Windows, Linux, APImacOS, Windows, Linux, API
CompanyMenlo Research Pte. Ltd.Element Labs, Inc.
Launched20232023
Last verifiedOct 2, 2026Oct 2, 2026

What our research says

Jan

A friendly, fully free way to chat with open models offline and keep cloud providers one click away in the same app. It suits people who want privacy and zero subscription cost more than the polish of a hosted assistant. The new Jan Agent is explicitly preview quality, so do not rely on it for daily coding yet.

Pros

  • Free and Apache 2.0 licensed, with active public development
  • Local models run offline with no account or API key
  • Works with OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Groq and compatible endpoints
  • Built-in local API server and MCP support

Cons

  • Local model quality and speed depend entirely on your hardware
  • The memory feature is shown as coming soon
  • Jan Agent is in preview with expected rough edges

LM Studio

The easiest graphical way to try open models on a laptop or workstation, with a built-in model browser, chat window and local API server. Bionic extends it into an agent, which is useful if you want open models to do real work, though it is newer than the core app. Teams that need centralized controls will have to wait for the organization plans that are still being rolled out.

Pros

  • Free for personal and work use with local models
  • Runs llama.cpp and MLX engines with a simple model browser
  • Local API server plus CLI and JS and Python SDKs
  • Cloud tier states zero data retention and US hosting

Cons

  • Closed-source desktop app, unlike some local-model runners
  • Large models still need a lot of memory and a good GPU or Apple Silicon
  • Bionic cloud plans are new and usage limits are described only loosely

Which one fits

Choose Jan if you need

  • Privacy-focused users who want an offline ChatGPT-style app
  • Developers who want local and cloud models behind one interface and a local API

Choose LM Studio if you need

  • Developers testing open-weight models behind an OpenAI-compatible local endpoint
  • Privacy-conscious users who want chat and documents to stay on their own computer

Jan vs LM Studio: the questions people ask

Is Jan cheaper than LM Studio?

Jan is free to use; LM Studio starts at $20/mo.

Does Jan or LM Studio have a free tier?

Both: Jan is free to use, and LM Studio has a free tier.

Which has a public API, Jan or LM Studio?

Both ship a public API, so either can be built on; the fact table above shows the platforms each one runs on.

More comparisons

All Jan alternatives →All LM Studio alternatives →Browse all Model Hosting & Inference →