Running LLMs Locally on macOS: The Complete 2026 Comparison

If you're a developer building AI-powered applications, you've probably wondered: Can I just run these models on my Mac? The answer is a resounding yes - and you have options than ever. But choosing between them can be confusing. Ollama? LM Studio? llama.cpp? MLX? They all promise local LLM deployment, but they solve fundamentally different problems. After running all of these tools on Apple Silicon Macs for development work, here's the no-nonsense breakdown.