Local vs Cloud LLMs in 2026

Local models are increasingly competitive on quality, but cloud models still lead on breadth, tools, and managed reliability. Most teams use both.

Choose local when

• Data must not leave the device.
• Latency should not depend on internet.
• You need high request volume with fixed hardware.

Choose cloud when

• You need best-in-class tool use and multimodal output.
• Operation should scale without ops overhead.
• You want integrated workflows through connections.

GreatChat keeps the interface consistent whether you’re using cloud routing or experimenting with local stacks. Explore features to see what one assistant workflow looks like.