Local AI, ChatGPT Enterprise, or Microsoft Copilot: which should businesses choose?
Updated: November 2026. Prices collected November 1, 2026.
Local AI or cloud subscription?
The answer depends on your data and how you use it.
Sensitive data and daily use: local AI. The best models on the market right now, without sensitive data: ChatGPT. Days spent in Word, Outlook, and Teams: Microsoft Copilot. On price alone, the cloud often wins as soon as the machine gets big.
We sell local AI machines. We therefore have an interest in this comparison, and we might as well say it right away. We have tried to write what we would say to a customer on the phone, including when the right answer is not to buy from us.
Prices as of November 1, 2026
The prices below come from the official OpenAI and Microsoft pages, cited at the bottom of the article. They are excluding taxes.
| Offer | Annual payment, per person per month | Monthly payment | Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT Business, Standard seat | 20 $ | 25 $ | From 2 to 200 seats. Price in dollars; the final amount may vary depending on your country and currency. |
| ChatGPT Business, Premium seat | 100 $ | 125 $ | 5 times more usage than a Standard seat, according to OpenAI. |
| ChatGPT Enterprise | No public pricing, available on OpenAI quote | Contract negotiated with OpenAI. | |
| Microsoft 365 Copilot Business, as an add-on | 18.20 € 15.60 € on promotion |
21.84 € | Up to 300 licenses. Requires an existing eligible Microsoft 365 Business subscription. Promotion from July 1 to December 31, 2026, for the first year. |
| Microsoft 365 Business Standard + Copilot Business | 20.36 € | 24.43 € | Microsoft 365 and Copilot in a single offer. |
| Microsoft 365 Business Premium + Copilot Business | 27.73 € | 33.28 € | Microsoft 365 and Copilot in a single offer. |
| Microsoft 365 Copilot, large enterprises | 26.00 € | 27.30 € | Added to an eligible Microsoft 365 offer. Annual subscription. |
| Radiance local AI | No per-person price. One machine, from 1,724 € to 171,791 € excluding taxes, depending on capacity. | One-time purchase. Setup and options extra. | |
The calculation over 3 years, with an equal number of people
This table compares two different things, and it must be read with its assumptions:
- the cost of subscriptions over 36 months, at the annual non-promotional rate;
- the price of the machine that serves the same number of people at the same time, according to our comparisons.
This assumption is unfavorable to local AI: it assumes that all your accounts are working at the same second. In practice, a machine serves more accounts than people at the same time. The amounts in dollars are not converted.
| People | Copilot Business as an add-on, 36 months | ChatGPT Business Standard, 36 months | Machine | Machine price excluding taxes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 3,276 € | 3,600 $ | CoreIA RTX 5060 Ti | 1,724 € |
| 12 | 7,862 € | 8,640 $ | CoreIA Radeon AI PRO R9700, text and RAG only | 3,469 € |
| 15 | 9,828 € | 10,800 $ | CoreIA RTX 5090 | 8,576 € |
| 30 | 19,656 € | 21,600 $ | CoreIA 2x RTX 5090 | 17,462 € |
| 35 | 22,932 € | 25,200 $ | CoreIA 2x RTX PRO 6000 | 40,423 € |
| 100 | 65,520 € | 72,000 $ | EPYC 8 GPU AI Server | 171,791 € |
Copilot: 18.20 € × people × 36, basic Microsoft 365 license not included. ChatGPT: 20 $ × people × 36. Machine: base configuration price, without pack, electricity, or maintenance time.
The honest truth behind these figures:
- For up to about 30 people, the cost of a machine is equivalent to, or less than, 3 years of subscriptions. Once you factor in the hardware package and electricity, the price gap narrows significantly between 15 and 30 users.
- Beyond that point, an annual subscription is significantly cheaper over a 3-year period. In these cases, a local machine is justified by privacy concerns rather than cost savings.
- A machine can serve your needs for more than 3 years, and its cost does not increase with every new hire. A subscription, however, stops the moment you stop paying. The calculation changes if you plan to keep the hardware for a longer period.
- The most misleading figure is the first line. A small graphics card can run an 8-billion parameter model, but it does not perform as well as ChatGPT or Copilot models on complex tasks.
You can find a detailed breakdown of hardware costs in our article local AI server for business, which includes a calculator tailored to your specific figures.
When the cloud is the right choice
Choose a subscription if
- You do not have sensitive data. Marketing writing, monitoring, ideas, public code.
- You want the best models. Proprietary models remain ahead on the most difficult tasks, and you cannot host them.
- Your use is occasional. A few people, a few times a week.
- Your work lives in Microsoft 365. Copilot reads your emails, your meetings, and your files, with your access rights. A local AI does not do this without development.
- You have no one to maintain a machine. The cloud requires neither a server to maintain nor a part to replace.
- You are starting tomorrow. A Business offer opens the same day.
Take a local AI if
- Your data must not leave. Client files, health, acts, professional secrecy, industrial secrets.
- The AI is used every day. No per-person price: each additional account costs nothing.
- You want to choose and keep your model. It does not change without you, and it runs without an internet connection.
- You need a business tool. Radiance makes the hardware and the software, from A to Z: for example, a ready-to-use CRM that runs on the server.
- You process a lot of documents. The volume does not change the bill, only the calculation time.
Where your data goes
The professional offers from OpenAI and Microsoft are not the public versions. It would be wrong to say that your data goes anywhere. Here is what each writes.
| Question | ChatGPT Business and Enterprise | Microsoft 365 Copilot | Local AI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Model training | No training on data from professional offers, except with the explicit agreement of the customer. | Queries, answers, and Microsoft Graph data are not used to train foundation models. | The model runs at your place. Nothing is sent to its publisher. |
| Processing location | Data residency in Europe offered for Enterprise and Edu. OpenAI specifies that it only covers certain content and certain charges. | For EU customers, Copilot falls under the EU data boundary. Microsoft excludes Anthropic models. | Your machine, in your premises. |
| Law applicable to the provider | American company. | American company. | No model provider in the loop. |
| Works without internet | No. | No. | Yes, once the models are installed. |
The real issue is therefore not "cloud equals leak". It is knowing if you have the right, or the desire, to entrust this data to a third party. An American company can be subject to American law, including the CLOUD Act, even for data stored in Europe. The risk is to be assessed with your data protection officer, and with your order if you are bound by professional secrecy.
For your business, see our articles on local AI for lawyers, accountants and doctors.
The verdict by profile
The machines to compare to a subscription
They are assembled by hand in Auriol (13), in 15 business days maximum, often less, then comes the transport. 2-year warranty, extendable to 3 or 5 years. Support 6 days a week. For a machine at 10,000 € including taxes or more, the AI Enterprise Pack (1,400 € excluding taxes) opens the AI to the whole company on your network, and the RAG Enterprise Pack (2,900 € excluding taxes) adds your documents to it.
CoreIA Radeon AI PRO R97008 to 12 people at the same time. No CUDA: text and RAG only.
€3,469 excl. VAT
CoreIA RTX 509010 to 15 people at the same time.
€8,576 excl. VAT
CoreIA 2x RTX PRO 600020 to 35 people at the same time, on a 70-billion-parameter model.
€40,423 excl. VAT
Still undecided? Describe how you plan to use it
If a subscription would suit you better, we'll let you know. Free, no-obligation quote, response within 24 to 48 business hours.
Frequently Asked Questions
Local AI or ChatGPT Enterprise: which costs less?
It depends on the number of people and the duration. A machine is a one-time purchase, while a subscription is paid every month per person. For a small team that keeps its machine for several years, local AI can cost less. For a large number of accounts, the cloud often costs less. ChatGPT Enterprise does not have a public price list: you need a quote from OpenAI to compare.
How much does Microsoft 365 Copilot cost in November 2026?
For large enterprises, €26.00 excl. VAT per person per month with annual payment. For SMEs, with up to 300 licenses, Copilot Business costs €18.20 excl. VAT as an add-on to an eligible Microsoft 365 subscription, or €15.60 excl. VAT on promotion until December 31, 2026. Source: Microsoft pricing page, as of November 1, 2026.
How much does ChatGPT Business cost?
$20 excl. VAT per seat per month with annual payment, $25 with monthly payment, with a minimum of 2 seats and a maximum of 200. Source: OpenAI Help Center, as of November 1, 2026.
Do ChatGPT Enterprise and Copilot train their models with my data?
No, according to their providers. OpenAI states that it does not train its models on data from its business plans unless the customer gives explicit consent. Microsoft states that queries, responses, and Microsoft Graph data are not used to train foundation models.
Is local AI as good as ChatGPT?
Not for everything. Open-source models are well suited for writing, summarizing, and searching your documents. The best proprietary models remain ahead for the most difficult tasks. On a small card, the gap is larger because the model is smaller.
Can you use local AI and a cloud subscription?
Yes, and that is often the most sensible approach. The cloud is used for routine tasks without sensitive data. The local machine is used for everything that must not leave the premises. You then need a simple rule that everyone knows.
Does the GDPR ban ChatGPT or Copilot in businesses?
No, not inherently. It all depends on the data, the contract, and your profession. Certain professions subject to professional secrecy have stricter rules. Local AI makes it easier to comply with regulations without replacing it: you remain responsible for your data processing.
Pricing Sources
All as of November 1, 2026. These prices change: check them before making a decision.
- Microsoft, Copilot pricing for SMEs: prices excl. VAT in euros and promotion.
- Microsoft, Microsoft 365 Copilot for enterprises: prices excl. VAT in euros.
- Microsoft Learn, Copilot licensing options: 300-license limit, page dated October 19, 2026.
- Microsoft Learn, Copilot data and privacy: training and EU data boundaries.
- OpenAI, ChatGPT Business billing and seats and General FAQ: prices in dollars, minimum and maximum seats.
- OpenAI, data usage for training and data residency in Europe.
Our machine prices: base configuration, automatically updated from our store, excl. VAT calculated with 20% VAT. November 2026 article. ChatGPT, OpenAI, Microsoft 365, and Copilot are trademarks of their respective owners.
