Local vs Cloud AI Video: Should Your Creative Studio Run Open Models Like Wan?

Short answer: Most creative studios should start with cloud tools (Higgsfield, Kling, Hailuo and similar): no hardware, the best quality and easy for the whole team. Running open models locally (such as Wan through ComfyUI) makes sense when you produce high volumes, need full privacy for unreleased collections, or want to train custom models, and you have a powerful graphics card and a technical person.

Comparison

Criteria	Cloud tools	Local open models
Upfront cost	None	A high end GPU computer
Cost per clip	Pay per generation	Electricity and time
Quality	Usually the newest and best	Good, a step behind the leaders
Speed	Fast, runs on big servers	Depends on your GPU, often slower
Ease of use	Simple web apps	Technical node based workflows
Privacy	Uploaded to provider	Stays on your machine
Customisation	Limited to features offered	Full control, custom training

When local makes sense

• You generate hundreds of clips a month
• Unreleased designs must not leave the studio
• You want to train on your own archive
• You have someone comfortable with technical setups

When cloud makes sense

• You want results this week
• Your team is designers, not engineers
• Volume is irregular
• You want the latest camera and motion features

Hardware reality check

Open video models need a lot of graphics memory. Smaller versions run on strong consumer cards with long waits; larger versions need workstation class cards. Check the model's official requirements before buying.

A hybrid approach

Explore and test ideas locally or in a cheap cloud tool, then render the final clip in the highest quality cloud tool. Keep your prompts and reference images in one shared library so results are repeatable on both.

Start in the cloud

Our Motion Studio gives you curated fashion and beauty templates without setup, pay per clip from €5. See how the leading tools compare in our Higgsfield vs Kling vs Hailuo comparison, and the AI Frontier Media Index for the current model landscape.