# Hoppscotch Self-Hosted vs a Local Desktop API Studio

**Short answer:** Self-hosting Hoppscotch gives you a web platform under your own domain, but it is a service to run and maintain. A local desktop studio opens the file in your repo and needs no server. Self-host when you want a shared web platform; use the desktop when the work should stay on the machine and in the repository.

## What self-hosting involves

Running the community or enterprise edition means standing up a web service, maintaining it, and managing the platform itself. It is the right choice for a shared, always-on web tool, and it is operational overhead.

## What a local desktop studio keeps

| Property | Self-hosted web | Local desktop |
| --- | --- | --- |
| To run | A server and upkeep | Open the file |
| Where the work lives | On the platform | In your repo |
| Shared access | Built in | Via Git / hosting |
| Offline | Depends on the host | Yes |

## When self-hosting is the right call

If you need a shared web platform that a whole team reaches through a browser, self-hosting is the answer. The platform is the product you are choosing to run.

## When the desktop is the right call

If the contract is already in the repo and the work should be versioned with the code, a desktop studio adds no moving parts and keeps the file as the source of truth.

This is part of the [Powerduck vs Hoppscotch comparison](https://www.powerduck.com/blog/powerduck-vs-hoppscotch/). Next, read [contract verification](https://www.powerduck.com/blog/contract-verification-hoppscotch-vs-powerduck/).