A private ChatGPT alternative on your own hardware.
A private assistant answers your team's questions and keeps every prompt and document on your own server.
Runs locally · GDPR-compliant · No cloud lock-in
Cloud AI, without the cloud
Cloud assistants send every prompt to someone else's servers. A private alternative keeps that work on a server you own. This guide answers the questions businesses ask before making the switch.
Cloud assistants are convenient, but every prompt travels to someone else's server. The alternative: the same kind of assistant, running on hardware you own, with your prompts and documents staying on your server and no per-token cost. Arasul is built for exactly this: it hosts internal apps on a server inside your company, and the assistant is one of them.
What is a private ChatGPT alternative?
A private ChatGPT alternative is an AI assistant that runs on hardware you own instead of a provider's cloud. Your prompts and documents stay on your own server, so nothing leaves your control and there is no per-token cost. You still get a modern assistant.
Can I run a private ChatGPT alternative on my own hardware?
Yes. Arasul hosts internal apps on a server you own, and an assistant for your team is one such app, built with the open Ara-Kit. Verified, Arasul runs today on the NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin. You can order the NVIDIA DGX Spark from us, and we set Arasul up on it after the order. The models compute on the server, so your prompts and documents stay inside your company. You put Arasul on the server with a single command and follow the setup assistant in your browser, or a partner sets it up for you on site.
What is the best on-premise ChatGPT alternative for a business?
For small and medium-sized businesses with sensitive data, the best on-premise option is one that stays local and still feels like a modern assistant. Arasul does that: it hosts internal apps on a server inside your company, from a form to an AI agent, built with the open Ara-Kit and assigned per person by an admin. Because everything is processed on the server, GDPR compliance gets much simpler, with no third-country transfer to justify. Law firms, medical practices and tax advisors are typical users, and so are agencies, engineering offices and trade businesses.
Which open-source models can replace ChatGPT?
Through Ollama you can load any compatible open-source model, for example Llama, Mistral or Qwen. Against the largest cloud models there is a gap in quality; for structured everyday tasks like drafting, summarizing or sorting email it hardly matters in practice. When a job genuinely needs a frontier model, you can still add an external cloud model while the local model stays the default.
How much does a local AI setup cost?
Two costs sit side by side: the server and the Arasul license. The bare NVIDIA DGX Spark costs around 5,850 euros net if you order it through us, shipping included; set up with Arasul after the order it comes to 6,900 euros net, and that is the figure the calculation below uses. You can also source the server yourself. The Arasul license costs 5,500 euros net one-time, the same for every business. Maintenance for updates and security is optional at 2,000 euros net per year; without it the license stays valid. Electricity comes to about 20 euros a month, calculated from 90 watts around the clock at 0.30 euros per kilowatt hour. Against cloud AI for 10 users at 37 euros per user and month, the server breaks even after about 36 months without maintenance and after about 68 months with it. There is no cost per user and no cost per request, because the models compute on the server.
One-time
- NVIDIA DGX Spark, set up with Arasul
- 6,900 euros
- Arasul license, perpetual
- 5,500 euros
- One-time total
- 12,400 euros
Running, per month
- Electricity
- 20 euros
- Maintenance, optional
- 167 euros
- Cloud AI for 10 users
- 370 euros
Break-even against the cloud
- with maintenance
- 68 months
- without maintenance
- 36 months
After 3 years
- Own server with maintenance
- 19,120 euros
- Own server without maintenance
- 13,120 euros
- Cloud AI
- 13,320 euros
After 5 years
- Own server with maintenance
- 23,600 euros
- Own server without maintenance
- 13,600 euros
- Cloud AI
- 22,200 euros
Assumptions: 10 users, cloud AI at 37 euros per user and month (seats plus API share). The device price is the Spark with Arasul set up, as we deliver it; the bare device costs around 5,850 euros. Electricity: 90 watts around the clock, the upper measured value during inference, at 0.30 euros per kilowatt hour. Maintenance (2,000 euros per year) brings updates and security and can be cancelled; without it the license stays valid. On-site setup and training are not included. All amounts net of VAT.
Is a self-hosted AI as good as ChatGPT?
For typical business work, yes. Open-source models on Arasul handle drafting, summaries and routine automation, and they answer without a constant internet connection. Against the largest cloud models there is a gap in quality that hardly matters for structured everyday tasks. You trade the very top end of raw capability for privacy, predictable cost and control, and you can still add an external cloud model for the rare task that needs it.
How do I get started?
Two paths lead to the same place. If you want to run the AI in your own company, read Arasul for business to see what a setup looks like and how to get going, yourself or with a partner who installs it on site. If you first want proof it fits your work, the use cases walk through concrete examples like leave requests, quotes and invoices and answers from your records. For the full picture, start on the Arasul home page.
Bring AI into your company, on your own server.
Local, GDPR-compliant, no cloud lock-in. See what Arasul does for your business or browse the use cases.
Runs locally · GDPR-compliant · No cloud lock-in