Honest comparison
Ollama is a great way to run any open AI model on your computer. Taby is the easy way to use local AI: it picks and sets up one model for you, then helps with your day. You can use both.
The short answer
Pick Ollama if you want maximum choice: lots of models, your own settings, an API, or coding tools on local models. Pick Taby if you want local AI without choosing anything: Taby picks, sets up and tests the model, then helps with your day.
Ollama
Ollama downloads and runs open AI models, like Gemma and Qwen, on your own computer. It has a desktop chat app for Mac and Windows, plus a command-line tool and a local API for everything else.
It’s free and open source. Developers love it because other apps and coding tools can plug into it.
Taby
Taby is a little assistant at the top of your screen: the notch on a Mac, a thin bar on Windows. The AI model comes with it and runs on your computer. You never choose a model, a size or a setting.
Instead of only chatting, Taby keeps your tasks and notes, sets reminders, plans your day and closes distractions. Think Clippy, but one that actually helps.
Picked for you
With Ollama, choosing is part of the fun: which model, which size, which version. Taby does that work for you, so you can just ask.
Taby’s Local Brain is Qwen 3.5 4B, an open model from Alibaba. Taby picked it because it scored highest on Taby’s own test of 114 real tasks: about 96 of 114, against about 72 for Gemma 4 E2B. It’s mostly better at actually doing things, like moving, snoozing and completing tasks. Taby tuned it for everyday jobs like tasks, reminders and notes.
It needs 8 GB of memory or more (a graphics card on Windows). No graphics card? Taby Cloud runs the AI for you instead.
Side by side
| Ollama | Taby | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Runs open AI models on your computer | A personal assistant at the top of your screen, with local AI built in |
| Picking a model | You choose from a huge library: model, size and version | Taby picks one, sets it up and tests it for you |
| Settings to learn | Context length, quantization, custom models | None |
| Which model | Any open model you like | Qwen 3.5 4B, picked on Taby’s own 114-task test |
| Desktop chat app | Yes, on Mac and Windows | Yes, on Mac and Windows |
| Terminal needed | For the command line, custom models and the API | Never |
| Use your Ollama models | Yes | No, Taby runs its own model |
| Developer API | Yes, works with OpenAI and Anthropic style apps | Yes, for tasks (MCP and local API) |
| Run Claude Code or Codex on local models | Yes, with ollama launch | No |
| Tasks, reminders, notes, habits | No | Yes |
| Plan your day, focus timer, close distracting apps | No | Yes |
| Calendar | No | Google, Outlook, Apple |
| Find notes by meaning | Embeddings API for your own code | Built in |
| Talk with your voice | Not built in | Yes |
| A little face that reacts | No | Yes, or hide it |
| Works offline | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Soon |
| Price | Free and open source. Paid cloud plans | Free. Taby Cloud is €8.99 a month |
Checked October 2026. Both apps change often.
Both is fine
Yes. They run side by side without getting in each other’s way. Taby brings its own model, so it doesn’t need Ollama, and it doesn’t use your Ollama models as its brain.
Where they meet: if you run an agent like Claude Code through Ollama, you can connect it to Taby over MCP, and it can read and add tasks for you. Ollama does the model work, and Taby keeps your day.
Quick answers
No. Taby brings its own AI engine inside the app, so you don’t need Ollama installed. Taby downloads and sets up its model the first time you open it.
Ollama has a desktop chat app for Mac and Windows since 2025. You can chat with a model there without the terminal. The command line is still where you manage custom models, the API and coding tools, and on Linux Ollama is command line only.
No. Taby runs its own model, which it downloads, sets up and keeps up to date by itself. Your Ollama models stay separate, and the two apps run side by side without getting in each other’s way.
Taby uses one Local Brain, Qwen 3.5 4B. It scored highest on Taby’s own test of 114 real tasks, so Taby uses it for everyone and you don’t pick models, sizes or settings. If you want to try lots of models, that’s what Ollama is great at.
8 GB of memory or more (a graphics card on Windows). If your computer can’t run it, Taby Cloud does the AI part instead, with no graphics card needed.
For plain chat, Ollama’s app is simple too, but you still choose a model and its size. Taby makes that choice for you, and it also helps with your day: tasks, reminders, focus and your calendar, without any setup.
Yes. Both run models on your computer for free. Ollama also sells cloud plans for bigger models. Taby Cloud is an optional €8.99 a month upgrade with a bigger brain, web search, images and voice in 100+ languages.
Yes. Ollama can run Claude Code on local models with ollama launch. Taby works next to it: Claude Code, Codex and other agents can read and add Taby tasks over MCP once you allow it in Taby’s settings.
Download Taby, open it, and ask it to plan your day. The model comes with it. No terminal, no account.