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Most buyers should pick Ollama.
Choose Jan if you want a free desktop app for chatting with local models or online providers using your own API keys. Choose Ollama if you need a model runtime you can script or embed: it exposes a local REST API, offers Python and JavaScript SDKs, and has OpenAI- and Anthropic-compatible endpoints. Both are open source and support local inference, but Ollama offers broader deployment options and clearer developer interfaces.
01Side by side
| Jan | Ollama | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Free app; online providers bill your API keys | Free local runtime; paid hosted plans |
| Free tier | Unlimited local inference and model downloads | Local use; three concurrent requests |
| Open source and licence | Open source under Apache-2.0 | Open source under MIT |
| Self-hosting | Desktop app runs models locally | Local, offline, on-premises and cloud deployments |
| API and SDKs | Connects to listed online model providers | REST API; official Python and JavaScript SDKs |
| CLI and docs | Desktop app; no CLI listed | CLI for model management; API docs |
| Integrations | OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta and others | 100+ community integrations, including LangChain |
| Platforms | Mac desktop app | macOS, Windows, Linux and Docker |
Jan Choose Jan if
- Choose Jan if you want a desktop chat app for local models.
- Choose Jan if you want to connect online models with your own API keys.
- Choose Jan if a free, open-source Mac app fits your workflow.
Ollama Choose Ollama if
- Choose Ollama if your application needs a local REST API.
- Choose Ollama if you need Python or JavaScript SDKs and CLI tools.
- Choose Ollama if you deploy across Linux, Windows, Docker or on-premises systems.
02Pricing at real usage
Jan is free with no paid tier listed: its pricing page lists unlimited local inference and model downloads. If you connect an online provider, you supply your own API key and that provider bills you directly, so spend follows that provider’s rates and usage. Ollama’s local runtime also has a $0 subscription option, with local models and three concurrent requests. Its hosted usage can grow by token consumption; the listed Pro plan is $20 monthly or $200 annually and includes $60 in monthly usage credits. Max is $100 monthly with $300 credits and 10 concurrent requests; Team is $500 monthly with $1,000 shared credits and 10 concurrent requests. The pricing page lists a $16.67 monthly equivalent for annual Pro billing. Additional credit prices are not published. For local inference, both avoid a per-token vendor subscription, but hardware and operating costs remain yours.
03API, SDKs and integration
Jan is a desktop chat app, not a documented developer API. Its homepage lists connections to OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta, Mistral, Alibaba, DeepSeek and Moonshot AI; online connections use your own provider API keys. Jan is available for Mac, and its homepage links to documentation, but does not present an API or SDK for embedding the app in a codebase.
Ollama runs as a background service and exposes a local HTTP REST API on port 11434 for completions, chat and embeddings. Its endpoints are OpenAI-compatible and Anthropic-compatible, and the project provides official Python and JavaScript SDKs. The CLI can pull, run, list, copy, stop and delete models. Modelfiles configure model weights, prompts, templates, inference settings and LoRA adapters. Ollama’s documentation catalogs more than 100 community integrations, including Open WebUI, Continue, LangChain and LlamaIndex.
04Open source, self-hosting and lock-in
Jan is open source under the Apache-2.0 licence; Ollama is open source under MIT. Both support local inference, but Ollama documents a wider range of self-hosting options: offline machines, air-gapped systems, on-premises GPU infrastructure, Docker and cloud environments. Jan is a desktop app available for Mac.
Ollama’s REST API compatibility and SDKs give application teams a defined integration surface for switching endpoints, while its Modelfile and supported weight formats provide routes for configuring models. Jan’s provider connections depend on the API keys and services you choose. The vendors do not publish data export guarantees on their product pages. Before adopting either app for persistent chats or workflows, ask how to export conversation history and settings, then check what format you can reuse outside the product. Moving application code from Ollama to another runtime still requires checking API and model-format compatibility.
Questions people ask
Is Jan or Ollama better for developers?
Ollama is the stronger fit when software needs to call a model: it provides a local REST API, official Python and JavaScript SDKs, compatible endpoints and a CLI. Jan is better suited to desktop chat with local models or online providers. Both are open source and support local inference.
Does Jan have an API like Ollama?
Jan’s homepage presents a desktop app for chatting with local or connected online models, not a documented developer API. Ollama exposes a local REST API for completions, chat and embeddings on port 11434, with OpenAI- and Anthropic-compatible endpoints.
Can I run Jan or Ollama offline?
Both support local models. Jan is a desktop app for chatting with open models, while Ollama documents offline use, including air-gapped systems. Online model connections through Jan require provider API keys; Ollama also offers hosted cloud models.
Which platforms do Jan and Ollama support?
Jan lists a Mac desktop download. Ollama supports macOS, Windows and Linux, and provides an official Docker image. That makes Ollama the broader fit for teams targeting multiple operating systems or containerized deployments.