How much does a self-hosted AI assistant cost?

• Fixed host cost. Your own computer adds nothing to the bill. A rented server (VPS) is a small, predictable monthly fee.
• Model usage. Every reply the model reads and writes costs tokens. Heavy daily use can cost more than the host.
• Setup effort. A VPS gives control but you set it up and maintain it. A managed host trades some of that work for a higher fee.
• Privacy and control. Self-hosting keeps keys and history on hardware you choose, which is often the reason people self-host in the first place.

Processing tokens always costs compute. You pay for it one of three ways. An API model bills per token. Self-hosting an open model on a rented GPU replaces that token bill with the GPU rental, and run 24/7 that rental is often more than the API, not less. The only path that truly removes the recurring bill is hardware you already own, and only if it fits the model and stays on when you need it.

Example totals are full-stack at moderate usage, priced from current verified data. Your model usage changes the total.

• Compute: where it runs: a cloud host, a rented GPU, or hardware you own.
• Model usage: how much it reads and writes, and how often it runs.
• Runner: the software that serves the model, or runs the agent loop and its tools.
• Capabilities: browser automation, web search, memory, or scheduled work.
• Required extras: security, delivery, monitoring, or managed-host fees.
• Freshness: whether each price is verified, aging, stale, or disputed.

Each path above is a real, priced build, not a marketing figure. AIStackPicker takes the host price from its verified source, adds estimated model usage, and shows the date behind every number so you can judge how current it is.

• Can I run an AI assistant on my own computer?
• Do I need a VPS for an AI assistant?
• What is the difference between self-hosted and managed?

• Cost to run an LLM
• Cost to run an AI agent
• Local LLM vs cloud API
• Run a local LLM
• GPU hosting vs model API
• Browse all stack parts
• Read the FAQ