Can I use Claude in Kintari at all?

Yes — Claude Opus and Sonnet are selectable as cloud providers in Kintari, alongside Google Gemini and any model behind an OpenAI-compatible endpoint. You keep the model quality, gain the option to pick a local model instead of the cloud per task.

What does "local" mean concretely in Kintari?

The app runs on your machine. Your workspace, your chat history, your knowledge index live in the encrypted vault on your device. If you pick a local model (e.g., Qwen or Mistral via Ollama), inference happens on your hardware too — no token leaves the house. If you reach for a cloud model, only that one request goes to the provider, clearly separated in the UI.

Claude Desktop has MCP server support — does Kintari?

Yes. Kintari speaks MCP both as a client (hook in existing servers) and as a server (its own endpoint that Claude Code, Gemini CLI, or other agents can dock onto). You can use the same MCP tools you know from Claude Desktop — just with the local vault as your data home.

Do I get the same model quality in Kintari as in Claude Desktop?

If you pick Claude Opus in Kintari: yes, same model, same API. If you choose a local model, you gain data sovereignty and give up some all-round quality — how much depends on the model and the task. For most research and writing tasks, current local open-source models are sufficient; for very complex reasoning, Opus remains the bar.

What if I have no API keys or don't want to use cloud models at all?

Then Kintari runs completely locally with Ollama models. You need no account, no key, no internet connection after the first setup. The licence is valid offline forever after activation.

Kintari is €99 once, Claude Desktop is $20 per month. Where is the catch?

The "catch" is transparent: the licence covers the app and its features, not a token budget at a cloud provider. If you reach for a cloud model in Kintari, you pay there separately — either with your own API key or not at all, if you prefer local models. Claude Desktop bundles tokens into the subscription. Which is cheaper depends on how much you actually compute and whether you need cloud at all.

Compare · Kintari vs Claude Desktop

Cloud chat vs. local workplace.

Claude Desktop is Anthropic\'s official app: cloud chat with the strongest available model, polished UX, refined to a fine detail. Kintari is the counter-design, not the head-to-head competitor: everything local, models freely chosen, an encrypted vault as the home of your knowledge. Your data is yours.

multi-provider offline-capable perpetual licence encrypted vault

Chapter I · What Claude Desktop is built for

The best model, at the shortest path.

Anyone who wants the fastest path to Claude Opus installs Claude Desktop. Anthropic builds the models, operates the infrastructure, and ships the app — all from one hand. Projects bundle knowledge bases, MCP servers attach tools, and for agentic work the Cowork mode joins in.

That is an exceptionally well-maintained stack — if you are willing to trust Anthropic\'s cloud and lock yourself into their models. Content is processed on their servers; conversations are stored server-side (with retention windows and training opt-out).

If your use case doesn\'t carry professional confidentiality and you want the strongest model, Claude Desktop is hard to beat.

When Claude Desktop

— You want Opus-grade quality with no detours.
— Your content carries no confidentiality obligation.
— Cloud processing is fine with you.
— You are happy on Anthropic\'s models.
— A subscription suits you better than a purchase.

Chapter II · Where Kintari takes a different path

Four points, that make the difference.

I.

Data doesn\'t leave the machine

With Claude Desktop, conversations, uploaded files, and project content are inevitably sent to Anthropic\'s servers — the model cannot read them otherwise. With Kintari, workspace, notes, knowledge index, and chat history all live in the encrypted vault on your device. Only what you deliberately send to a cloud model actually leaves the house.

For regulated professions — law firms, tax practices, medical offices — that is often not a comfort issue but a professional-conduct one.

II.

You pick the model, not the vendor

Claude Desktop only knows Anthropic models. Kintari knows three paths in parallel: cloud models from Anthropic and Google, local open-source models via Ollama (Llama, Mistral, Qwen, DeepSeek and more), and any service that speaks the OpenAI API.

Switching works mid-conversation. That makes data sovereignty concrete: local for sensitive work, cloud for the rest — a deliberate decision per query, not a lock-in decision on the day of installation.

III.

Knowledge base, not chat history

Claude Desktop has Projects as a container for files and a system prompt. Useful, but a container, not a workshop. Kintari builds a knowledge graph around your content with semantic search, typed relations, and full text — the same index the agent consults first.

You can edit content directly in the workspace — notes, Markdown, wiki — instead of throwing it into a chat as an attachment. Every answer points back to the source in your file.

IV.

Licence once, no subscription

Claude Desktop is a subscription — you pay monthly and get bundled tokens. Kintari is a one-off licence purchase for €99. Cloud models you pay for when you use them, with your own API key — directly to the provider, without our markup.

If you work mostly locally, you have no ongoing costs except electricity long term. If you do a lot of cloud inference, the Claude Desktop subscription may well be cheaper — both are legitimate, you decide per use case.

Chapter III · Side-by-side

Axis by axis.

Axis	Claude Desktop	Kintari
Data location	Anthropic cloud	encrypted vault, local
Offline operation	no	yes (with a local model)
Model choice	Anthropic only	Anthropic + Google + Ollama + OpenAI format
Platforms	macOS, Windows	macOS, Windows, Linux, mobile (beta)
Knowledge base	Projects with file upload	Workspace + semantic graph
MCP support	yes, native	yes, both client and server
CLI agent bridge	partial (Claude Code)	Claude Code, Gemini CLI, OpenCode, Aider …
Telemetry	Anthropic standard	none
Price	$20–200/month (Pro/Max)	€99 once · cloud tokens separate

Chapter IV · Where Claude Desktop wins

What we don\'t promise.

Anthropic builds the strongest available models. If you need Opus quality daily for general knowledge work and cloud processing is fine, there is no shorter path there than Claude Desktop.

The polished UX, the seamless mobile companion app, the curated collection of desktop extensions, and the enterprise governance (central policy, audit logs) are strengths we deliberately don\'t fully reproduce.

Kintari is the right choice when data sovereignty, model freedom, and an encrypted vault matter more than the last few percent of model quality — or when you want both, and need the app that lets you choose per task.

Questions we hear

FAQ — Claude and Kintari.

Can I use Claude in Kintari at all?: Yes — Claude Opus and Sonnet are selectable as cloud providers in Kintari, alongside Google Gemini and any model behind an OpenAI-compatible endpoint. You keep the model quality, gain the option to pick a local model instead of the cloud per task.
What does "local" mean concretely in Kintari?: The app runs on your machine. Your workspace, your chat history, your knowledge index live in the encrypted vault on your device. If you pick a local model (e.g., Qwen or Mistral via Ollama), inference happens on your hardware too — no token leaves the house. If you reach for a cloud model, only that one request goes to the provider, clearly separated in the UI.
Claude Desktop has MCP server support — does Kintari?: Yes. Kintari speaks MCP both as a client (hook in existing servers) and as a server (its own endpoint that Claude Code, Gemini CLI, or other agents can dock onto). You can use the same MCP tools you know from Claude Desktop — just with the local vault as your data home.
Do I get the same model quality in Kintari as in Claude Desktop?: If you pick Claude Opus in Kintari: yes, same model, same API. If you choose a local model, you gain data sovereignty and give up some all-round quality — how much depends on the model and the task. For most research and writing tasks, current local open-source models are sufficient; for very complex reasoning, Opus remains the bar.
What if I have no API keys or don't want to use cloud models at all?: Then Kintari runs completely locally with Ollama models. You need no account, no key, no internet connection after the first setup. The licence is valid offline forever after activation.
Kintari is €99 once, Claude Desktop is $20 per month. Where is the catch?: The "catch" is transparent: the licence covers the app and its features, not a token budget at a cloud provider. If you reach for a cloud model in Kintari, you pay there separately — either with your own API key or not at all, if you prefer local models. Claude Desktop bundles tokens into the subscription. Which is cheaper depends on how much you actually compute and whether you need cloud at all.

Getting started

Keep the cloud model, keep the data.

You can keep using Claude in Kintari — only with a local vault as the home of your content and a second switch to a local model whenever you need one.

Book a demo call Kintari home