I tested 3 tiny local LLMs for everyday work, and only one of them impressed me
The article reviews three small local language models (LLMs) to assess their practical utility. Despite their smaller size, some models are proving to be more capable than previously thought. The author conducted tests to determine how effective these tiny models can be for everyday tasks.
- ▪The local models typically discussed are in the 7B to 12B range, but smaller models under 2B are gaining attention.
- ▪The author tested three of the smallest LLMs available, focusing on their performance in structured tasks.
- ▪Two models, Qwen 3.5 9B and Gemma 4 E4B, were highlighted for their ability to run on limited hardware.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
{ "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": "1", "name": "Home", "item": "https://www.xda-developers.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position":"2", "name": "AI tools", "item": "https://www.xda-developers.com/ai-tools/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position":"3", "name": "I tested 3 tiny local LLMs for everyday work, and only one of them impressed me", "item": "https://www.xda-developers.com/tested-tiny-local-llms-for-everyday-work-only-one-impressed-me/" } ] } I tested 3 tiny local LLMs for everyday work, and only one of them impressed me By Nolen Jonker Published May 23, 2026, 6:02 AM EDT Nolen began their writing career in 2019, with three years dedicated to editing the Creative section at MakeUseOf.
…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at XDA Developers.
Discussion
0 commentsMore from XDA Developers
