2025’s Top Open-Source LLMs: How to Choose the Perfect Model by Size, Budget & Hardware

Open-Source Large Language Models: The 2025 Buyer’s Guide A plain-language, data-only handbook for junior college graduates and busy practitioners Table of Contents Why bother choosing the model yourself? Four size buckets that make sense Giant models (>150 B): when you need the brain Mid-size models (40–150 B): the sweet spot for most teams Small models (4–40 B): run on one gaming GPU Tiny models (≤4 B): laptops, phones, and Raspberry Pi One mega-table: parameters, context length, price, and download link FAQ: answers we hear every week 60-second decision checklist 1. Why bother choosing the model yourself? Open-source weights mean you …