Local-First vs Cloud-First AI

What local-first means in practice

Local-first means your browser automation runs on your hardware. Your credentials are stored in a local vault encrypted with AES-256-GCM. Your session data never leaves your machine unless you explicitly export it. The LLM call goes from your machine directly to your provider.

The vendor — in this case Solace — stores evidence bundles and OAuth3 vault sync data on Pro plans, but does not host your execution environment. You bring the compute. The platform brings the orchestration, governance, and storage.

What cloud-first means in practice

Cloud-first means the vendor runs your browser session on their infrastructure. Your credentials are transmitted to and stored on the vendor's servers. Execution happens in a data center you do not control.

This works well when you need 24/7 always-on automation without managing local infrastructure. Bardeen, Zapier, and Claude Computer Use use cloud-first models. The tradeoff is that your session cookies, API keys, and form inputs travel over the network to a third party.

When to choose each

Choose local-first when: you handle sensitive credentials (banking, healthcare, government), you operate in regulated environments, you need evidence that is legally defensible, or you want to avoid vendor lock-in on your automation data.

Choose cloud-first when: you need 24/7 always-on execution and cannot keep a local machine running, you are automating low-sensitivity public websites, or setup simplicity matters more than privacy guarantees.

The Solace architecture supports both. The Free and Managed LLM tiers are fully local-first. The Pro cloud twin adds always-on execution while keeping credentials in your local vault and syncing only evidence bundles to cloud storage — giving you the operational benefits of cloud-first without the credential exposure.

The right choice depends on your threat model. We built Solace to make local-first viable for the workflows where it matters most.