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Convira vs ChatGPT
ChatGPT information last checked: 28 July 2026
ChatGPT is a more capable general assistant than anything you can run on a laptop, it has a free tier, and it is on every device you own. If what you need is an answer, it is usually the better tool and this page is not going to pretend otherwise. Convira is built for a narrower job: doing the work on the files already on your computer, with the option of running the model on that computer too, so your prompts and files stay on it - unless you use an online tool, in which case only that call's input leaves. The interesting difference is not which model is smarter. It is where your documents go.
What ChatGPT is
ChatGPT is a general-purpose AI assistant from OpenAI, available in a browser, on mobile and as a desktop app, backed by some of the most capable models in existence. It can reason about almost anything, work with files you give it, write documents, and analyse data.
It is also a genuinely enormous product with an ecosystem to match, and it improves constantly. Nothing on this page is an argument that Convira has a better model, because it does not.
What Convira does differently
The first difference is where your documents live during the work. With a hosted assistant you upload a copy and download a result. Convira opens the file where it already sits on your disk, changes what you asked for, leaves the rest as it was, and saves it back - so what you get at the end is the document itself rather than a new copy to reconcile with the old one.
The second is where the model runs, which in Convira is a per-session setting rather than a property of the product. Local runs an Ollama-compatible model on your own machine and, once models are downloaded, keeps working with no connection for up to 24 hours between the app's licensing check-ins; a one-click Offline Mode toggle in the app footer blocks all outgoing traffic except your own machine's local services and Convira's sign-in and licensing endpoints. A Private Box runs far larger open models than a laptop can - frontier-scale releases like Qwen3 235B and DeepSeek V3.2 - on hardware you control on your own network. Cloud forwards the run to a hosted frontier model when you want maximum capability and the material is not sensitive.
The third is that the controls are enforced rather than described. Code and subprocess execution run under operating-system-level isolation - a Bubblewrap namespace jail on Linux, a deny-by-default Seatbelt profile on macOS, and an AppContainer with a Job Object constraining the process tree on Windows. Every other action passes through permission gates and network controls. Sensitive actions stop for your approval. An automatic local backup is taken before Convira's file and document tools modify or remove a file - terminal commands you approve can write without one - and restoring recovers a copy rather than overwriting anything. You choose what each task can see - attachments and Active History per task, projects per session; memory is yours to edit or turn off in Settings, and every connector action asks before it runs - and every step stays visible while it runs.
What you give up is real. There is no free tier and no free trial, the cheapest plan is $9 a month, it is desktop-only with no mobile or web app for running the agent, it is not available for purchase in the United Kingdom, and a model running on your laptop will not match a frontier model on hard reasoning.
Side by side
| Convira | ChatGPT | |
|---|---|---|
| Best at | Carrying out work on your own files | Answering, reasoning and general assistance |
| Where your files go | They stay on your disk and are edited in place - on Cloud runs, the content a run needs is sent to the model provider and not retained | Uploaded to the service, results downloaded |
| Where the model runs | Your machine, a Private Box on your LAN, or hosted models | The provider's servers |
| Works with no internet | Yes, on the Local runtime - for up to 24 hours between licensing check-ins | No |
| Raw model capability | Frontier models on Cloud; smaller models on-device | Among the most capable available |
| OS-level sandboxing of agent actions | Bubblewrap namespaces, Seatbelt, AppContainer | Not published in these terms |
| Automatic backup before a file changes | Yes, for file and document tools - approved terminal commands can write without one | No |
| Platforms | Desktop only - macOS, Windows, Linux | Web, mobile and desktop |
| Free tier | None | Yes |
| Price | From $9/month | Free tier plus paid plans |
When ChatGPT is the better choice
- You want the most capable model available and the material is not sensitive.
- You want a free option, or you want it on your phone.
- The job is thinking, explaining, drafting from scratch or research rather than changing files you already have.
- You want one assistant for everything rather than a tool aimed at document work.
When Convira is the better choice
- The material genuinely cannot leave your machine, and you want that enforced by the runtime rather than promised in a policy.
- You need the actual .docx, .xlsx or .pptx changed in place, with the untouched parts preserved and the original backed up.
- You need it to keep working with no connection - on a flight or through an outage. Runs continue for up to 24 hours between licensing check-ins, so a permanently air-gapped machine is not a supported setup.
- You want an agent that can drive a visible browser and your connected apps, pausing for approval before it sends or changes anything.
- You want to see exactly which steps ran, and be able to stop or redirect the work while it happens.
Common questions
Is Convira's AI as good as ChatGPT's?
On the Cloud runtime Convira routes to hosted frontier models from Anthropic, OpenAI, Google or xAI, so the capability is comparable. On the Local runtime it runs a smaller open model on your own hardware, which will not match a frontier model on the hardest reasoning. That is the trade for the material never leaving the device.
Does Convira send my files anywhere?
It depends on the runtime you choose, which is shown in the app. On Local and Private Box the run happens on hardware you control and the record stays there. On Cloud the prompt and context are forwarded to the selected model provider to generate a response; that content is not retained in Convira's database, where only operational metadata such as status, timestamps, model and credit usage is kept.
Can Convira replace ChatGPT entirely?
For most people, no, and it is not trying to. It has no mobile or web app for running the agent, no free tier, and it is built around document and desktop work rather than general assistance. A lot of people use both.
Is Convira available everywhere?
Almost. Convira purchases are not available in the United Kingdom. Prices are shown in USD or EUR depending on your country, and everywhere in Europe as a continent sees EUR.
Convira facts on this page come from How it works, Security and Pricing, and are the same ones published there. If anything about ChatGPT is out of date or unfair, tell us at support@convira.ai and we will correct it.