Running local LLMs on your Mac: what fits, what's free, and what's overkill
This article provides a practical guide for running large language models (LLMs) locally on Apple Silicon Macs. It explains hardware requirements based on model parameter sizes and recommends free tools like Ollama and LM Studio.
Why it matters
As AI integration becomes standard, understanding how to leverage existing consumer hardware for local processing is essential for privacy and cost-effective development.
Every Apple Silicon Mac can run AI locally. Here's what model sizes actually fit your machine, the tools to use, and the daily-driver use nobody talks about.
Every Mac sold today can run a language model locally. Most people either don't know that or think it means a 70-billion-parameter monster on a $5,000 Mac Studio. It doesn't. The MacBook Air you already own qualifies.
Any Apple Silicon Mac can run local LLMs. Rough guide: 1–3B models run anywhere, 7–8B models are comfortable on 8GB of memory, 14B wants 16GB, and 70B wants 64GB or more. The tools are free — Ollama or LM Studio — and the most useful local model isn't one you chat with at all. It's one that lives inside your tools.
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