What is Llama?
Quick answer
Llama is a family of large language models from Meta whose weights are published, so anyone can download a copy and run it on their own computer or server, or use it through a hosting company. It is one of the best-known open-weight model families.
Last updated
Updated · By Robert Breen
Why it matters for a small business
Llama made open-weight models mainstream. The newest versions on Meta's official Hugging Face page, as of October 2026, are Llama 4 Scout and Llama 4 Maverick, released in 2025. Meta's newer models carry the Muse name instead: Muse Spark runs the Meta AI app, and Muse Glimmer, released in August 2026 under the Apache 2.0 license, is Meta's newest open-weight model, small enough to run on a single computer with a capable graphics card.
For a business, Llama-style models matter for three reasons. Control: you can run them on your own hardware, so prompts never leave your network. Cost: there is no per-token charge from Meta, though you pay for the computers or the hosting. Flexibility: developers can fine-tune them on company data. The trade-offs are real: someone has to set up, secure and update them, and the biggest closed models still lead on the hardest tasks. Llama comes with Meta's own license, which has conditions, so read it before using it in a product.
In a real lesson: n8n AI Agent Tutorial: Save Social Media Ideas to Google Sheets
In the AI Social Media Idea Agent lesson, the red warning on the agent says it has no model, and you click the + under Chat Model to add the OpenAI Chat Model. That slot is where an open-weight model would go instead.
n8n also offers chat model nodes for models you run yourself, so a team that wanted prompts to stay on its own server could plug in a Llama model there and keep the rest of the agent the same: the system prompt, the memory and the Google Sheets tool.
Try this lesson free or read the step-by-step guide.
Common confusions
Llama vs Meta AI
Meta AI is Meta's consumer assistant. Llama is a model family you can download. You don't need Meta AI to use Llama.
Open-weight vs open source
Llama's weights are free to download, but its license has conditions. That is why it is called an open-weight model rather than fully open source.
Tips
- Try a hosted Llama model before buying hardware to run one.
- Read the license if you plan to build Llama into a product you sell.
Related terms
More AI basics terms
Where you use it: free lessons
More free tutorials
Frequently asked questions
- Is Llama free to use?
- The models are free to download under Meta's license, which allows most business use but has conditions. Running them still costs money for hardware or a hosting service.
- Is Llama as good as ChatGPT?
- For many everyday tasks, a recent Llama model is good enough. The top closed models from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google still lead on the hardest reasoning and writing work.
- Can I run Llama on a laptop?
- The smaller models can run on a powerful laptop or desktop with enough memory. The largest ones need server hardware or a cloud host.