A model is the software that produces AI answers. This guide compares models and tools. New to this? Choose a setup path first. Use the lists below when you want more detail.

New words, in plain language

Local / cloud: Local runs on your computer. Cloud runs on computers managed online.
Model / tokens: A model produces AI answers. Tokens are small pieces of text; some services charge for the tokens used.
Account / identity: An account is a sign-in. Your cloud identity is the account you use for online services.
Connector / permissions: A connector links an AI tool to another service. Permissions are the access you allow.

Field Guide · Week of 5 October 2026

Qwen 3.6 27B

Alibaba · China · Alibaba

The best open writer you can still keep on one machine. Multilingual. Apache. The download numbers this week are enormous.

Where it runs: Runs on your computer
Memory: 16–24 GB (4-bit ~17 GB)
Size: 27B dense
License: Apache 2.0
Hugging Face downloads: 2.4M
Hugging Face likes: 2.3k
Card last updated: 24 April 2026

On your computer · #5 China · #3

Why it is on this week’s list

If we had to pick one non-US model for a 24 GB laptop, it is this. Strong at code and long notes.

Use it when

A 16–32 GB machine and work in more than one language.

Skip it when

8 GB, or a policy that forbids Chinese-origin weights.

Published scores

Scores as of 17 August 2026. A blank test is not a zero. We just will not invent it.

GPQA Diamond: 87.8
SWE-Bench Verified: 77.2
LiveCodeBench: 83.9
MMLU / MMLU-Pro: 84.0
AIME: —
Humanity’s Last Exam: —

What these numbers actually mean

Walk me through installing this Hugging Face card All lists