| What you are comparing | Self-hosted AI | Cloud AI (SaaS) |
|---|---|---|
| Where the data lives | Your own machine or server | The vendor’s cloud |
| Who controls it | You — full control | Governed by the vendor’s terms |
| Model choice | Mix local and cloud models freely | Whatever the vendor offers |
| Billing | Hardware you already own + usage | Fixed monthly fee, often per seat |
| Customisation | High — connects to your own systems | Limited to the platform’s features |
| Maintenance | Yours, or outsourced to a partner | The vendor’s job |
Self-hosting is not free of work. You need a machine that can run continuously (a company workstation or a rented server), some technical help with the initial install, and a plan for backups, updates and fault handling. In practice most small and mid-sized businesses choose vendor-assisted installation, then day-to-day self-use — the operational complexity goes to a specialist team, the control stays with the business.
| Option | Best for | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| A workstation inside the office | Small teams running a pilot | Simplest to start; relies on office power and network |
| Your own server (Ubuntu / Debian) | Production use | Stable, runs 24/7, easy to back up |
| Private cloud or rented VPS | Elastic capacity | Isolation and availability without owning hardware |
| Local models, fully offline | Maximum privacy | Nothing leaves the machine; capability depends on the hardware |
| Profile | Fit |
|---|---|
| Clinics, law firms, accountants handling sensitive client data | Very good |
| Teams that want AI to execute tasks and automate workflows | Very good |
| Content creators and independent media | Good |
| Individuals who only need occasional Q&A | A cloud chat subscription is enough |
Local models for privacy, cloud models for peak capability — mixed per task.
The part that plans, calls tools and keeps going until the job is done.
Vector memory plus your own documents, so answers use your real data.
Web app, WhatsApp, Telegram, internal dashboards — wherever work happens.
MOKAGI uses a one-off setup fee plus usage-based billing: HK$5,000 for installation, agent configuration and the first knowledge base; HK$68 per million tokens for usage; AI customer-service agents from HK$299 per month. There is no mandatory per-seat subscription, and local models can lower the running cost further. See pricing for the full breakdown.
Self-hosted AI means running the AI system on your own computer or server, so the data, the memory and the choice of model stay under your control instead of living in a vendor’s cloud.
Data stays in your own environment, which lowers leakage and cross-border transfer risk — but you still need sensible account permissions, backups and an audit trail of what the agent did.
Not necessarily. You can run it on hardware you already own, the cost is mostly a one-off installation plus metered usage, and a steady workload is often cheaper than several SaaS subscriptions.
Yes, with local models it can run fully offline. You can also mix in cloud models when you need more capability for a specific task.
The concepts are close. Private deployment emphasises a dedicated installation for one customer; self-hosting emphasises that the user controls the environment it runs in.
MOKAGI is a self-hosted multi-agent AI operating system built by a Hong Kong team, with native Traditional Chinese and Hong Kong usage, and data staying in the customer’s own environment.
Want to know how MOKAGI fits your business, need a quote, or book a demo? Reach us any of the ways below — we usually reply within one business day.