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Best self-hosted and local AI companions

Companion apps you can run on your own machine or against your own model, so no conversation has to leave your hardware.

8 apps rankedEditorial score, not paid placement

How we pick these. Everything here can run locally — either self-hosted, on a local model, or against your own API key. This is the shortest list in the directory on purpose: most companion apps are cloud-only and cannot honestly be listed here. The list is generated from the same catalogue the category pages use, so the numbers here and the numbers there always agree.

  1. SillyTavern

    4.3
    Free

    If you want total control and zero subscription, this is where the advanced users live. Best for: Running your own companion UI with your own model.

    Optional mature modeLong-term memoryLive voice callsPricing unverifiedRead the review

  2. Kindroid

    4.2
    $9.99/mo

    The best pick for people who will actually fill in the backstory — lazy setup buys you a chatbot. Best for: One consistent companion with a detailed backstory.

    Optional mature modeLong-term memoryLive voice callsPricing unverifiedRead the review

  3. Text generation web UI

    4.0
    Free

    Not a companion app, but the plumbing most local companion setups are built on. Best for: Running local models with a browser UI.

    Optional mature modeLong-term memoryPricing unverifiedRead the review

  4. Risu AI

    3.9
    Free

    A lighter alternative to SillyTavern that runs in a browser tab with no install. Best for: Character card chat without installing anything.

    Optional mature modeLong-term memoryPricing unverifiedRead the review

  5. Backyard AI

    3.8
    $12/mo

    The easiest way to run a local companion without touching a terminal. Best for: Local companions with a friendly interface.

    Optional mature modeLong-term memoryPricing unverifiedRead the review

  6. Faraday

    3.7
    Free

    Free, offline and surprisingly good at persona consistency for a local app. Best for: Offline character chat with zero cost.

    Optional mature modeLong-term memoryPricing unverifiedRead the review

  7. Agnai

    3.6
    Free

    Free and genuinely capable, with chat memory and multi-bot scenes. Best for: Free character chat with real memory control.

    Optional mature modeLong-term memoryPricing unverifiedRead the review

  8. KoboldAI

    3.6
    Free

    The classic offline story engine: clunky, but it never phones home. Best for: Offline story writing on your own hardware.

    Optional mature modeLong-term memoryPricing unverifiedRead the review

Keep browsing

Create your own (16)Self-hostedRuns on your machineOpen sourceBring your own API key

Common questions about this list

How many apps are on this list?

8 apps meet the criteria for “Best self-hosted and local AI companions”. We would rather publish a short, honest list than pad it with apps that only half fit.

Which one should I pick first?

SillyTavern tops this list with an editorial score of 4.3 out of 5 and costs Free. That is a starting point, not a verdict — the card under each entry says who it actually suits.

What is the cheapest option here?

SillyTavern, at Free — and 8 of the 8 listed apps have a free tier you can try first.

Can I sort these by something else?

Yes. The category pages carry the full five-way filter — medium, orientation, price, platform and sort — and the numbers on this list match the numbers there, because both are computed from the same catalogue.

What this list is not. Nothing here is a paid slot. If a site ever pays us, it is a labelled sponsored placement that sits outside the ranking — never inside it. Prices come from public pricing pages and are labelled as unverified until one of us has actually checked them. How our editorial decisions work.