Should a small office rent AI seats or run its own server?

Prices below were checked on 2026-09-29. Check each vendor's page on the day you buy, because prices change.

What renting costs

Renting means a monthly fee per person. Three public prices, for one person[1][2][3]:

The math is the price per user, times 10 people, times 12 months. Google's Business Standard price includes Gemini app access[2]. We saw the Microsoft price in a search snippet, not on the full page, so confirm it[3].

These prices leave out tax. From January 1, 2027, California sales and use tax generally applies to digital products[4]. Ask your tax adviser how it applies to your subscriptions.

What owning costs

Owning means buying a server and paying for the setup. One server option is the NVIDIA DGX Spark Founders Edition. Tom's Hardware reported on February 27, 2026 that its price rose 18% to $4,699, up from $3,999[5]. It has 128 GB of unified memory and a 240 W external power supply, which is the supply's rating and not a measured draw[6].

Add these on top:

• The install. MeshVault's one-week install is quoted per job, because the price depends on your hardware.
• A network storage box for backup copies. We did not verify a US price for one.
• A UPS, a battery box that keeps the server up through a short power cut. We did not verify a US price for one either.
• Power. We have no measured running cost.
• Tax.

Where we have no verified price, we leave the line blank. Fill in only prices you have checked, and get the rest in writing.

The year-one comparison

Take ChatGPT Business billed annually: $2,400 a year for 10 people. The server alone is $4,699, which is about two years of that plan before the install, the extras and the running costs. Google Workspace Business Standard at $1,680 a year takes longer still to catch up. On these numbers, the owned server does not win on cost in year one, and it wins later only if you keep using it and the local model does the job.

Local models may be less capable than hosted ones. We have not measured this for your work.

When renting is the better choice

• You only want a chat window for a few people.
• You need it working today, not in a week.
• You want the vendor to fix problems instead of one operator.
• Your files already live in one place you trust.

When owning is the better choice

• Your files are scattered across email, drives, phones and apps, and you want them under your control.
• You want a clean exit: if you leave, you keep the hardware, the files and the memory.
• You accept a server that has to keep running, and a first year that costs more.

Seats also do not put your scattered files in one place. Each seat sees only what you give it. A server you own can hold the shared files and records, and the AI works from them there.

Questions to ask before you decide

1. Where do our files live today, and who else holds a copy?

2. How many people would use AI every week?

3. Who fixes it when it breaks, and how fast?

4. What do we lose if we cancel? Can we export everything?

5. Do we have a spot for a server with power and a network cable? The server location guide lists what to check.

Questions

Sources

1. OpenAI Help Center, ChatGPT Business Overview, checked 2026-09-29. help.openai.com
2. Google, Google Workspace pricing, checked 2026-09-29. workspace.google.com
3. Microsoft, Microsoft 365 Copilot plans and pricing (search snippet), checked 2026-09-29. microsoft.com
4. California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, Sales and Use Tax Applies to Digital Products Beginning January 1, 2027 (L-1036). cdtfa.ca.gov
5. Tom's Hardware, Nvidia DGX Spark gets 700 dollar price hike, February 27, 2026. tomshardware.com
6. NVIDIA, DGX Spark User Guide, Hardware Overview, read 2026-09-29. docs.nvidia.com