Open Source AI Models 2026: The Best Free Alternatives
Why Open Source?
- Free to use (no API costs)
- Full control over data
- No rate limits
- Custom fine-tuning possible
Best Open Source Models
DeepSeek R1
- Parameters: 671B
- Strength: Reasoning
- License: MIT
- Best for: Self-hosted reasoning
Llama 3.3 70B
- Parameters: 70B
- Strength: General purpose
- License: Custom (Meta)
- Best for: General tasks
Qwen 2.5 72B
- Parameters: 72B
- Strength: Coding
- License: Apache
- Best for: Code generation
Mistral Large 2
- Parameters: 123B
- Strength: Performance
- License: Custom
- Best for: Premium alternative
Performance vs GPT-4
| Model | vs GPT-4 | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| DeepSeek R1 | ~95% | Best reasoning |
| Llama 3.3 | ~85% | Good all-around |
| Qwen 2.5 | ~88% | Best for code |
Running Locally
Hardware Requirements
- 70B model: 1x A100 (80GB)
- 671B model: 8x H100
Software
- Ollama (easiest)
- vLLM (fastest)
- LM Studio (Mac-friendly)
Our Take
Open source is viable for production. Start with API, migrate to self-host when you hit scale.