Choose between OSS control and hosted convenience—TCO and risk checklist included.
TL;DR - **Llama 3**: control, zero data leaves VPC, cheap at scale; more ops overhead. - **Hosted GPT**: best-in-class UX, tooling, uptime; pay per token. Checklist - **Compliance** needs? Go OSS. - **Time-to-value** urgent? Go hosted. - **Traffic predictability** drives TCO. > Graphic idea: decision tree with compliance/cost/speed branches.
Tags: comparison, llama3, gpt, self-host, privacy, costs