Does local AI beat the cloud bill?
A proper break-even calculator: monthly token volume × model size → hardware amortized over 3 years vs per-token cloud cost. Includes electricity, idle cost, and payback period. Routes honestly — recommends cloud when the math favors it, with cloud referral links.
Full calculator coming soon
The full local-vs-cloud break-even calculator is in development. Subscribe below to be notified when it launches — along with first-party benchmark data that will power the cost model.
In the meantime, the VRAM calculator and build planner are fully functional.
What the calculator will do
Enter your monthly token volume. See the crossover point where owning hardware beats paying per-token (RunPod, Vast.ai, Lambda Labs).
Hardware purchase amortized over 3 years + electricity (24/7 idle vs active inference) = real monthly cost. Not just the GPU sticker price.
When cloud wins the math, we say so — and link to RunPod / Vast.ai referrals. When local wins, we link to the hardware build. No thumb on the scale.
Cloud GPU costs vary by model size and provider. The calculator will use published cloud pricing (with date stamps — prices change).