vLLM, Ollama or llama.cpp? the three ways to run local AI, and which one is actually for you

The short answer

Ollama, llama.cpp and vLLM are three local LLM inference engines for different users. Ollama is the easiest — one command to run a model on your desktop, GGUF-based, built on llama.cpp. llama.cpp is…

Ollama: easiest desktop use — one command, GGUF, great for individuals. Built on llama.cpp.

llama.cpp: most flexible — CPU/Mac/GPU, MoE offload, widest hardware support.

vLLM: high-throughput GPU serving for production and many concurrent users.

Not competitors: Ollama wraps llama.cpp; vLLM is a different tool for a different scale.

Pick by job: ease (Ollama), flexibility (llama.cpp), serving at scale (vLLM).