How Your Own AI compares
One private memory, for every model you use, kept only on your devices.
28 things cloud AI apps don't do·29 things local model runners don't do
Yes, free Yes, with a plan (from $20 a month) Yes, free, with the Flowsta Vault— Novar. Varies between those apps
| ChatGPT, Claudecloud AI apps | Ollama, LM Studiolocal model runners | Your Own AI | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Does it know me? | |||
| Remembers you across conversations | — | ||
| Memory kept only on your own devices, encrypted | — | — | |
| The same memory for offline and online models | — | — | |
| You can read, change and undo every line of it | — | — | |
| Reads your documents on your device, never uploaded | — | var. | |
| Where do my words go? | |||
| Runs fully offline, so nothing leaves your machine | — | ||
| Online, the provider gets no account, name or email of yours | — | — | |
| You choose which providers may answer, and see where each is based | — | — | |
| Health questions stay on your device | — | ||
| Open source, so every claim here can be checked | — | var. | |
| Will the answers be good? | |||
| One download picks the model for your computer | — | — | |
| Frontier models when a question needs one | var. | ||
| Picks the model for each question, so you never have to | — | — | |
| Every reply says which model answered, where, and why | — | — | |
| A busy provider hands over to another | — | — | |
| Web search with sources | — | ||
| Does it work on all my computers? | |||
| The same AIs, conversations and memory on every device | — | ||
| Synced peer to peer, so no server keeps a copy | — | — | |
| Replies keep going when you leave the chat | — | ||
| Signs you in with no account database | — | — | |
| Backs itself up and restores without doubles | — | — | |
| Can I trust what it did? | |||
| Every conversation in a signed, tamper-evident record | — | — | |
| Proof of which model answered | — | — | |
| Asks before it acts on your files, with every step recorded | var. | — | |
| Everything exports readable, keys included | — | var. | |
| Exports signed with your identity, so anyone can verify them | — | — | |
| What does it cost? | |||
| Free to use offline, with no account needed | — | ||
| Online models are optional, with every price shown up front | — | — | |
| A monthly usage allowance included in the plan | — | — | |
| Can I build on it? | |||
| A standard endpoint that serves your AIs, not a bare model | — | — | |
| Your own server as one of your models | — | ||
| Characters, skills and tools as signed add-ons | — | — | |
| Reads and writes your Obsidian or Logseq notes | — | — | |
Yes, free Yes, with a plan (from $20 a month) Yes, free, with the Flowsta Vault— Novar. Varies between those apps
How each of these works: the docs →
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