AI avatars in our cloud, on your servers, on the device or fully offline
Side by side
| Row | bitHuman cloud | Your servers | On the device | Fully offline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avatar renders | On bitHuman's servers | On your own Mac or Linux machines | On the user's device, or a WebGPU browser tab | On your Linux PCs and terminals |
| Conversation runs | bitHuman's voice service, or your own provider keys | The CLI's local brain, your services, or bitHuman's | Your app's choice; with the web embed, on bitHuman's servers | Agreed with sales for your site |
| Internet | Required for the whole session | To start a session | To start a session | Off the internet once set up |
| Best for | The fastest start: web pages, apps and APIs | On-premises, data-center and private-cloud deployments | Apps, kiosks and embedded screens | Kiosks, ATMs and trade shows; Business and Enterprise |
bitHuman cloud
- Avatar renders
- On bitHuman's servers
- Conversation runs
- bitHuman's voice service, or your own provider keys
- Internet
- Required for the whole session
- Best for
- The fastest start: web pages, apps and APIs
Your servers
- Avatar renders
- On your own Mac or Linux machines
- Conversation runs
- The CLI's local brain, your services, or bitHuman's
- Internet
- To start a session
- Best for
- On-premises, data-center and private-cloud deployments
On the device
- Avatar renders
- On the user's device, or a WebGPU browser tab
- Conversation runs
- Your app's choice; with the web embed, on bitHuman's servers
- Internet
- To start a session
- Best for
- Apps, kiosks and embedded screens
Fully offline
- Avatar renders
- On your Linux PCs and terminals
- Conversation runs
- Agreed with sales for your site
- Internet
- Off the internet once set up
- Best for
- Kiosks, ATMs and trade shows; Business and Enterprise
Creating an avatar from a portrait always happens in the bitHuman cloud. Once created, its model file downloads to your machines and runs there.
What reaches bitHuman in each mode
Available for Business & Enterprise: fully offline · Upgrade to Business
AI avatars in the bitHuman cloud
The fastest start for web pages, apps and APIs. The avatar renders on bitHuman's servers.
How it runs
- What reaches bitHuman
- The session's audio and conversation, to run it. Conversations with an agent in the bitHuman cloud are kept as transcripts until the agent is deleted, unless conversation logging is switched off for that agent. Today bitHuman switches logging off on request; there is no dashboard switch or API field for it. Agent owners can view their transcripts in the dashboard, export them as JSON and read them with the API. They can't delete a single transcript; deleting the agent deletes its transcripts.
- Models
- Essence 2, Expression 2 and the first-generation models
AI avatars that render on the device
On the iPhone, iPad, Mac or Android device in front of the user, or in a WebGPU browser tab.
How it runs
- Where it renders
- On the iPhone, iPad, Mac or Android device in front of the user, or in a WebGPU browser tab
- What reaches bitHuman
- With your own voice and language services, usage metering only — never audio, video or conversation text
- Internet
- To start a session; rendering continues through a network drop of up to 5 minutes
- Models
- Essence 2 and Expression 2
With the web embed, the conversation runs on bitHuman's servers, even when the avatar renders in the tab.
AI avatars on your own servers
On your own Mac or Linux machines, on-premises or in your cloud account. A standard Linux PC needs no GPU.
How it runs
- Where it renders
- On your own Mac or Linux machines, on-premises or in your cloud account; a standard Linux PC needs no GPU
- Where the conversation runs
- Your choice: the CLI's local conversation brain, your own speech and language services, or bitHuman's
- What reaches bitHuman
- A credential check when a session starts, the avatar download, and usage reports with no audio, video or conversation text
- Internet
- To start a session; rendering continues through a network drop of up to 5 minutes
- Models
- Essence 2 and Expression 2; Essence 1 on the CLI and Python
Usage reports contain no audio, video, images or conversation text. When you run the engine on your servers or device with your own agent, conversation text never reaches bitHuman; usage reports carry only session id, durations, product and install id. Hosted bitHuman agents store transcripts wherever the avatar renders, unless conversation logging is turned off.
Run AI avatars completely off the internet
Pay once per character. No per-minute charges.
Offline license is only available to Business and Enterprise clients who want to run avatars completely locally, off the internet — e.g. kiosks, trade shows, ATM machines, embedded screens.
Available for Business & Enterprise
Linux PCs and terminals
Linux x86_64.
$899 per character, paid once
Packs of 5 and 25 on Business, 100 on Enterprise. Works while your Business or Enterprise plan is active.
Connects about once a year
Offline devices connect before the license file runs out: about once a year on an annual plan, at least every 30 days on a monthly plan.
What runs offline
Essence 1
Photoreal people, pre-built avatars
- Offline
- Comes later · Linux x86_64
Essence 2
A photoreal person from one portrait
- Offline
- Comes later
Expression 2
Any character from one portrait
- Offline
- Now · Linux x86_64
An offline license runs characters fully offline on Linux x86_64: Expression 2 now; Essence 1 and Essence 2 come later.
Creating the avatar from a portrait happens in the bitHuman cloud; the finished avatar model then runs on your machines.
Linux PCs and terminals (x86_64). Phones, Macs and browsers stay online: the Swift package, the Android SDK and the web embed check your credential when a session starts, and an on-device session keeps rendering through a network drop of up to 5 minutes.
Business & Enterprise
Linux PCs and terminals; arranged through sales. Your licenses work while your Business or Enterprise plan is active. If the plan ends, they keep working for 30 days, then the characters stop loading until a plan is active again.
1 character $899 · 5 for $2,990 · 25 for $9,900 (Business) · 100 for $24,900 (Enterprise). Unlimited: by quote.




