Local AI › Local AI vs. cloud AI: privacy, cost and limits

Local AI vs. cloud AI: privacy, cost and limits

Local AI gives you privacy and offline use; cloud AI gives you the most capable models without needing a powerful computer. Many people use both.

	Local AI	Cloud AI
Privacy	What you type is processed on your computer (except «-cloud» models).	Your data goes to the provider's servers, under its privacy policy.
Offline	Works without a connection once the model is downloaded.	Needs internet.
Cost	Free tools; you pay for the hardware and electricity.	Free plans with limits and monthly subscriptions.
Quality	Below the top cloud models at complex reasoning.	Access to the most capable models.
Context and speed	Limited by your RAM/VRAM and your GPU.	Does not depend on your computer.
Web search and updates	No built-in web search; you update models by hand.	Usually built in; updated by the provider.

When local AI makes sense

Confidential information or personal data you would rather not send to third parties (useful for GDPR).
Working without a connection or with a poor one.
Experimenting without usage limits or subscriptions.

When the cloud is better

Complex reasoning, long documents or the best possible quality.
A computer with little memory and no dedicated graphics card.
Built-in web search. Compare cloud chats in AI chats.

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