Building a Real Product with Local and Private AI Tools (What I Learned)

The Setup

I spent the last few weeks going deep on local and private ai tools. Not just reading docs or watching demos — actually using them on real projects. Here's what I found.

First Impressions

Ollama immediately stood out for onboarding. Localai had a steeper learning curve but more power under the hood. Jan surprised me the most.

What I Actually Ended Up Using

After testing everything, my daily driver ended up being a combination. For most tasks I stuck with Ollama, but for specific workflows Localai was unbeatable.

The Honest Verdict

If you're looking for local and private ai tools in 2026, don't just follow the hype. Test at least 3 options yourself. What works for my workflow might not work for yours — and that's fine.

Tools Mentioned