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# The Best Local Models Right Now (That I Actually Run)
- URL: https://news.benjaminboyce.com/the-best-local-models-right-now-that-i-actually-run/
- Published: 2026-09-01T04:25:53.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-01T04:25:53.000Z
- Description: Forget the cloud — these are the frontier models I run locally every day, what they're actually good at, and the hardware you need.
- Author: Benji Boyce

Everyone talks about "local AI" like it's a hobby. It's not. Running frontier-class models on your own hardware is the biggest cost advantage most businesses are leaving on the table.

Here's the stack I actually run every day — not benchmarks, real work:

## The core models

- **Qwen 3.5 (27B)** — my main agent brain. Handles multi-step reasoning, tool calls, and long context without breaking a sweat. Runs on a single GPU.
- **DeepSeek-R1 (14B)** — when I need deep chain-of-thought reasoning. The distilled version keeps 90% of the thinking at a fraction of the VRAM.
- **Qwen 2.5 VL (7B)** — vision. Image QC, reading screenshots, checking generated art. This replaced a paid API for me entirely.
- **FLUX.1 (fp8)** — image generation that rivals Midjourney for product and marketing work. Runs locally, no per-image fee.
- **Kokoro** — TTS voiceovers that don't sound robotic. 1GB of RAM, near-zero cost.

## What this means for your business

Stop paying per-seat, per-token, per-image. The exact same frontier models the trendy SaaS apps resell to you — you can run them yourself for the cost of electricity. One-time hardware, zero monthly fees, your data never leaves the building.

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**🎓 Want the full system?** The **Local Models Course** is coming soon — how to pick, run, and profit from frontier AI models on your own hardware, no cloud, no monthly fees. [Join the email list](https://benjaminboyce.com/?ref=news.benjaminboyce.com) and you'll be first to know when it drops.