The AI Bench

When not to run AI locally (and when you should)

Local AI is private, works offline and costs nothing per message. Cloud AI is still smarter at the hardest jobs. Here is how to choose.

By The AI Bench · Checked 2026-10-13

Stay with cloud AI when…

  • You need the very best answers. The top cloud models still beat any model you can run at home on hard reasoning, tricky code and expert questions.
  • You need fresh facts. A local model only knows what it learned before release. Cloud assistants can search the web.
  • You use AI only now and then. A capable machine costs far more than years of a basic subscription.
  • You work with huge documents. Long conversations need a lot of memory and get slow on home hardware.
  • Your computer is small. On 8 GB or no graphics card, local models are small and slow. Try one, but do not expect cloud quality.

Run it locally when…

  • Privacy matters. Nothing leaves your machine: client files, health notes, company code.
  • You use it a lot. No per-message cost and no usage limits.
  • You need it offline — on a plane, on a site with no internet, or in a locked-down office.
  • You build things on it. Agents and scripts can call a local model all day without a bill.
  • You want it to stay the same. Cloud models change or disappear; a downloaded model does not.

Mixing both is normal

Many people use a local model for everyday and private work, and a cloud model for the hardest 10%. Coding tools and chat apps can switch between them.

What does electricity cost?

Work it out for your own setup. A graphics card uses most power only while it is writing an answer.

4.20 per month in electricity

Want to know what your machine can run first? Use the checker.