Pieces remembers your work across apps. It forms memories every few seconds and keeps them on your device. That is a good start.
But a memory is only as private as the model that reads it. Pieces' PiecesOS docs say features that need a large language model run in the cloud. Off Grid AI Desktop (OGAD) Pro keeps both the memory and the model on your computer, for $79.99 once.
Get Pro for $79.99 once · Download Off Grid AI
Four questions to ask any memory app
- Capture. What does it save, and when?
- Storage. Where does the history live?
- Inference. Which model reads it, and where does that model run?
- Actions. Can it do work for you, and who approves it?
Pieces answers the storage question well. The inference question is where the two apps differ.
Off Grid AI and Pieces side by side
| Off Grid AI Pro | Pieces Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Capture | Sampled screen moments, after you choose Resume capture | Focused app, copy and paste, and opt-in meetings |
| Storage | On your disk | On your device by default |
| Inference | Local models you download in the app | Cloud for LLM features; local models also listed |
| Actions | Gmail, Linear, Jira and Notion, sent only with your yes | Summaries and recaps; MCP gives context to other AI tools |
| Meetings | Recorded without a bot, transcribed locally | Opt-in capture of what you hear and say |
| Free version | OGAD is free and open source (AGPL-3.0) | None; 7-day trial needs a card |
| Computers | Mac (Apple silicon), Windows, Linux | macOS, Windows, Linux |
| Price | $79.99 once, or $7.99 a month | $18.99 per user a month |
Checked 30 October 2026 against Pieces' pricing, home page, PiecesOS docs and Linux install guide. Off Grid AI's price is a limited-time lifetime offer, down from $119.
Where the two really differ
Inference. The PiecesOS docs say that for cloud LLM features, "only the scoped context for that request is sent." That is a careful design. It still means parts of your work memory reach a model provider when you ask. Pieces' pricing page lets you switch models per question, including Claude, Gemini, ChatGPT and local models. In OGAD, the models that read your memory run on your computer.
Price model. Pieces has no free plan. Its pricing page says you choose a plan when you open the app. OGAD is free to download and use. Pro unlocks memory and is paid once, or monthly if you prefer.
What comes after recall. Pieces gives you recaps, a morning brief and meeting prep, and it feeds context to tools like Claude, Cursor and Codex. OGAD does those things too, then drafts the reply or the issue and waits for your yes.
What it costs over three years
| 1 year | 3 years | |
|---|---|---|
| Pieces Pro, billed monthly | $227.88 | $683.64 |
| Off Grid AI Pro, lifetime | $79.99 | $79.99 |
Pieces says yearly billing saves 25%, but its page does not show the yearly total, so it is not in this table.
How OGAD remembers your work
- Open Replay and choose Resume capture. The status shows Capturing. Choose Pause capture at any time.
- OGAD saves sampled moments from your screen to your disk.
- A local vision model reads each moment and writes a short note: the app, the project and the people.
- Ask "what did we decide about the API limits?" and get the answer with the moment it came from.
You can exclude apps and delete any moment. See how to delete saved screen activity.
Memory is one part of Pro
- Meetings. Calls recorded without a bot, transcribed and summarised on your computer.
- Actions you approve. Replies and issues through Gmail, Linear, Jira and Notion, sent only with your yes.
- God, your chief of staff. A morning brief, meeting prep and what people owe you.
- Reflect. Where your day went, by project, app and person.
- Vault, Clipboard and Sync. Encrypted secrets, a searchable clipboard, and your phone and computer in sync, device to device.
One price, up to 5 devices.
When Pieces is the better pick
Pieces is built for developers. It has deep IDE and developer-tool links and a strong MCP server for Claude, Cursor and Codex. Its Enterprise plan adds org-wide capture controls, approved AI providers and your own API keys. Its LLM features run in the cloud, so your computer does not need to run a model. OGAD needs a computer that can run a small local vision model; most Apple silicon Macs and recent PCs can.
If your team needs managed controls and frontier cloud models inside the IDE, Pieces is a good fit. If you want your work memory read only by a model on your own computer, and paid once, use OGAD.
Get started
- Download OGAD for Mac, Windows or Linux.
- Get Pro and enter your key.
- In Models, download a vision model and a text model.
- In Replay, choose Resume capture.
- Tomorrow, open Day and ask about yesterday.
FAQ
Does Pieces send my data to the cloud?
Pieces stores capture, indexing and memory on your device. Its PiecesOS docs say features that need a large language model run in the cloud, and only the scoped context for that request is sent.
Is Pieces free?
No. Pieces' pricing page says it is not free to use. Pro is $18.99 a month, with a 7-day trial that needs a card. Off Grid AI Desktop is free and open source; Pro is a paid upgrade.
How much does Pieces cost compared with Off Grid AI?
Pieces Pro is $18.99 per user a month. On 30 October 2026 Off Grid AI Pro is $79.99 once for lifetime access, a limited-time price, or $7.99 a month.
Does Off Grid AI work on Linux like Pieces?
Yes. Off Grid AI Desktop runs on Mac (Apple silicon), Windows and Linux.
Where does Off Grid AI keep my work memory?
On your own disk. With local models selected, the analysis and the answers also run on your computer.
Get Off Grid AI Pro and keep your work memory and its model on your computer.
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