Llama 3.2 3B Instruct
Meta · Text generation · 3B · 131k context · Released 25 September 2024
Permitted with conditions
Open weights
Runs on CPU
Apple Silicon
A small 3-billion-parameter model that runs on almost anything, including laptops without a dedicated GPU. Capable for its size at summarising, rewriting, and simple assistant tasks, and a good first model to try.
Strengths
- Runs on laptops and even CPU-only machines at usable speed
- Low memory footprint leaves room for long context
- A gentle introduction to running models locally
Weaknesses
- Limited reasoning depth, it will struggle with harder tasks
- More prone to factual mistakes than larger models
- Same Llama licence conditions as its larger siblings
Hardware requirements
| Quantisation | Approx. VRAM | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Q4_K_M | ~2.2GB | Runs on almost anything, including CPU |
| Q8_0 | ~3.4GB | Near-lossless and still very light |
| FP16 | ~6.5GB | Full precision, comfortable on an 8GB card |
Also runs on CPU (slower). Optimised builds available for Apple Silicon.
Licence
Llama 3.2 Community License — read the licence
Availability
- Official page
- Hugging Face
- ollama run llama3.2:3b
Recommended for
- A first local model on a laptop
- Summarising and rewriting where a small model is enough
- Running alongside other software with memory to spare
Related guides
Glossary
Catalogue entry last verified 15 January 2026. Specifications change; verify anything you are about to spend money on.