AI hosts we've tested.
Every host we've actually run a self-hosted AI agent on — Raspberry Pi, Mac Mini, Intel NUC, Mini PCs, refurbished phones. Watts measured, AI models benchmarked, scores from real workloads.
By AI-agent suitability score
The single best small-form-factor host for local LLMs in 2026. Apple Silicon unified memory makes 70B-class models tractable on a desk-sized machine.
192 GB unified memory ceiling. The local-LLM workstation. Llama 3.3 70B at 22 tok/s. €4,500+.
Mini PCs at €300–600 with i5/i7 + 16–32 GB RAM. The sweet spot for self-hosted AI agents that need browser automation and decent local model performance.
Sub-€500 mini PC with i7-13620H, 32 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD. The pragmatic alternative to the Intel NUC.
Ryzen 9 7940HS mini PC. 32–64 GB RAM. The best Linux mini PC value at €700-900.
Repairable, modular laptop with strong Linux support. The right choice if you want a portable agent host that doubles as a daily driver.
Rockchip RK3588-based SBC with 4–32 GB RAM and an NPU. The Pi 5's most credible competitor for AI workloads on ARM.
Fanless laptop with up to 24 GB unified memory. Runs Mistral 7B Q4 silently on the train. €1,299+.
€150–250 used Ryzen mini PC. 16 GB RAM, NVMe slot, runs Hermes Agent comfortably. The budget winner.
The default starting point for pocket AI in 2026. 4–8 GB of LPDDR4X, ARM Cortex-A76, sub-€100, runs Hermes Agent (no browser tool) or Nanobot comfortably.
Premium SBC with 16 GB RAM and the same RK3588 as Orange Pi 5 Plus. Better build, smaller community.
€100–180 used Intel mini PC. 8th gen i5, 8–16 GB RAM, NVMe. The cheapest credible mini PC for self-hosted AI.
Sub-€300 fanless Intel N100 mini PC with 16 GB RAM. The silent always-on tier.
€20 SBC with 512 MB RAM. Useful as an edge agent endpoint (sensor reader, tool host) but not a primary agent host.
The PocketClaw origin story device. €15–30 used. Genuinely runs lightweight agents via Termux + proot, with serious caveats.