T
TGroq vs Ollama
Pricing, features, platforms and who each one suits — side by side.
G
Choose Groq if…
- you work on Web
- you're in its core audience: ai application developers, startups building llm products
O
Choose Ollama if…
- you want open source you can self-host or audit
- you work on macOS, Windows, Linux
- you're in its core audience: developers, ai engineers
Side by side
Feature Groq Ollama
Pricing modelFreemiumFreemium
Starting price—$16.67/mo
Free plan
Free trial
API
Open source
Trains AI on your content—No
Data retention—Cloud prompts/responses processed transiently, not stored beyond request time
GitHub stars—185K
PlatformsWeb, APImacOS, Windows, Linux, API
CategoryLLM APIs & Model HostingLocal & Open Models
CompanyGroqOllama
Full feature lists
G Groq
- OpenAI-compatible API endpoint
- Text generation and reasoning models
- Speech-to-text and text-to-speech
- Vision and OCR support
- Tool use with built-in, remote MCP and local tools
- Structured outputs and prompt caching
- Performance, Flex and Batch service tiers
- Dedicated bare-metal LPU capacity for enterprises
O Ollama
- Run open models locally with unlimited usage
- Cloud-hosted open models with pay-as-you-go token pricing
- Off-peak discounted rates for some models
- Tool calling support on compatible cloud models
- Concurrent requests up to 10 on higher plans
- API keys with per-key cost budgets (Enterprise)
- Shared team billing and administration
- Usage alert email at 90% of monthly allowance
Their home pages
What each vendor shows first: the pitch, the plans and the sign-up.
Groq · groq.com
Ollama · ollama.aiWhat you'd pay
The cheapest plan that fits, per month, billed yearly where the plan offers it.
| Team size | Groq | Ollama |
|---|---|---|
| 1 person | no published plan | $16.67 Pro |
| 5 people | no published plan | $500 Team (early access) |
| 20 people | no published plan | $500 Team (early access) |
What the free plans include
Groq
Free plan limits aren't published.
Ollama
- Pay as you go: $0 subscription, pay per token for cloud models
- 3 concurrent requests
- Running models on your own hardware is unlimited
All plans and prices
Groq
FreeFree
DeveloperUsage-based
Ollama
Free$0
Pro$20/mo or $200/yr ($16.67/mo billed annually)
Max$100/mo
Team (early access)$500/mo
EnterpriseCustom
Strengths and limitations
Groq
- Drop-in OpenAI-compatible API
- Free plan available
- Covers text, speech, vision and tool use in one API
- 13 data centers across four continents
- Free plan has lower rate limits than Developer plan
- Batch and Flex processing require the Developer plan
Ollama
- Local model use is free and unlimited
- Prompt and response data is never logged or trained on
- Open source project on GitHub
- Published per-token prices for every cloud model
- Free cloud usage is limited to starter models unless you buy credits
- Unused monthly credits do not roll over
- Free plan allows only 1 concurrent cloud request
- Cloud hosting is primarily in the US
More comparisons
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Local & Open ModelsFree planAPIOpen source
Facts from each vendor's public pages, prices checked Oct 26, 2026. Editorial policy