Benefits & Trade-offs
Now that you understand how local AI works, let's explore when it shines and where cloud AI might still be preferable.
Security Benefits
Complete Data Privacy
When you use cloud AI services, your prompts travel across the internet to remote servers. Even with encryption in transit, the provider processes and potentially logs your data.
With local AI:
- Zero network transmission — Your prompts never leave your device
- No third-party access — No provider can read your conversations
- No training on your data — Your inputs can't be used to train future models
- No metadata collection — Usage patterns aren't tracked
This matters for:
- Attorney-client privileged communications
- Medical and healthcare information (HIPAA considerations)
- Proprietary source code and trade secrets
- Financial and personal data
- Journaling and private thoughts
- Simply not wanting your conversations sold or used to train AI
Air-Gapped Operation
Some environments prohibit any network connectivity, such as secure facilities, classified networks, or compliance-restricted systems. Local AI works in complete isolation.
Docket supports fully offline operation and never requires an internet connection to use local models.
Encrypted Storage
Docket adds another layer: AES-256 encryption for all stored data. Even if someone physically takes the drive:
- Conversations are encrypted
- Files are encrypted
- Chat history is protected
- Only your password unlocks the vault
You Control the Model
Cloud providers can:
- Update models without notice
- Add content filters or restrictions
- Discontinue models you rely on
- Change terms of service
With local models, you control:
- Which exact model version you use
- What content policies apply (or don't)
- When and whether to update
- Long-term access and availability
Uncensored Models
Local AI gives you the option to run uncensored models that don't have built-in content filters. Some users prefer this for creative writing, research, or simply wanting unfiltered responses.
What you do with uncensored models is your responsibility. We don't endorse any particular use case and aren't liable for how you choose to use these models.
Practical Benefits
No Internet Required
Local AI works anywhere:
- Remote locations — Cabins, boats, wilderness
- Travel — Planes, trains, areas with poor connectivity
- Emergencies — Power grid up but internet down
- Secure facilities — Air-gapped environments
Docket's Survival preset is specifically designed for emergency scenarios where you need reliable AI assistance offline.
No Usage Limits
Cloud AI often has:
- Rate limits on requests
- Token limits per conversation
- Daily or monthly caps
- Throttling during peak times
Local AI has none of these. Use it as much as you want, as fast as your hardware allows.
Predictable Costs
| Cloud AI | Local AI (Docket) |
|---|---|
| $20+/month for premium | One-time purchase |
| Per-token costs for APIs | Unlimited usage |
| Costs scale with usage | Fixed cost |
For regular users, local AI often pays for itself within months.
Consistent Behavior
Cloud models change. A prompt that worked last month might behave differently after a provider update. Local models stay exactly as you downloaded them, forever.
Trade-offs to Consider
Capability Gap
The largest cloud models (GPT-4, Claude 3 Opus) have hundreds of billions of parameters running on specialized hardware. Local models are necessarily smaller.
Cloud AI typically excels at:
- Very complex reasoning chains
- Nuanced understanding of rare topics
- Handling extremely long documents
- Tasks requiring broad world knowledge
Local AI holds its own for:
- Coding and technical tasks
- Writing and editing
- Q&A on common topics
- Summarization
- Most day-to-day AI tasks
Local AI is advancing rapidly. Modern 7B-14B models are remarkably capable, and for many practical tasks, you won't notice a difference.
Hardware Dependency
Your experience depends on your computer:
| Hardware | Experience |
|---|---|
| 4GB RAM | Limited to small models, may be slow |
| 8GB RAM | Good experience with 7B models |
| 16GB+ RAM | Can run larger, more capable models |
| Dedicated GPU | Significantly faster generation |
See Machine Specs to understand what your system can handle.
No Real-Time Information
Local models only know what was in their training data (typically 1-2 years old). They can't:
- Check current weather or news
- Look up recent events
- Access live websites
- Get current stock prices
For tasks requiring current information, you'd need to either:
- Enable network access temporarily
- Use OpenRouter for cloud model access
- Provide the information yourself in your prompt
Setup and Maintenance
Cloud AI: Sign up, start using.
Local AI traditionally required: Installing Python, downloading llama.cpp, finding model files, configuring parameters, troubleshooting dependencies...
Docket eliminates this. It's pre-configured and ready to use. Just plug in and start. If you want to download new models or customize settings, there's a small learning curve.
When to Use Which
Choose Local AI (Docket) When:
- Privacy and security are priorities
- You work with sensitive or confidential information
- You need reliable offline access
- You want to avoid recurring costs
- You prefer control over your tools
- You're in a restricted network environment
Consider Cloud AI When:
- You need the absolute cutting edge capability
- Real-time information access is essential
- Your hardware is very limited
- You need features like web browsing or code execution with internet access
- The task requires models too large for local hardware
Use Both
Many users combine approaches:
- Docket for sensitive work, travel, and daily tasks
- Cloud AI for occasional tasks requiring maximum capability or current information
Docket supports this hybrid approach with OpenRouter integration, letting you access cloud models when needed while keeping local AI as your default.
Getting Started
Ready to experience local AI?
- Setup Guide — Get Docket running
- First Run — Your first conversation
- Pre-installed Models — Explore what's included