We host it
Freedam Cloud
Subscribe in minutes. We run the infrastructure, the AI plumbing, and the upgrades. You focus on the content.
Self-hosting · Compare with Freedam Cloud
Same Freedam. Different perimeter.
Freedam Cloud and Self-Hosting ship the same product. The differences are about where the data lives, who holds the keys, and how much your environment is allowed to talk to the outside world. The most demanding environments add an air-gap option, where the public internet is simply not part of the picture.
You host it
Self-Hosting
Freedam runs inside your perimeter, on your cloud or your datacenter. Your keys, your audit trail, your AI provider accounts.
You host it, sealed
Self-Hosting · Air-gap
Same as Self-Hosting, with no path to the public internet. Features that depend on outside services are routed locally or quietly turned off.
Feature by feature
A green check means the feature works end-to-end. An amber dash means it is partially available or routed differently. A grey cross means it is intentionally off in that variant.
The library, the search, the everyday product
The Freedam you put in front of your team is the same Freedam in all three columns. No stripped-down on-prem edition.
| Feature | Cloud | Self-Hosting | Air-gap |
|---|---|---|---|
Asset library, collections, metadata | |||
Bulk ingestion, virus scanning, format checks | |||
Smart search, semantic search, visual look-alikes | Local search, no calls out | ||
Brand portals, rights & governance, audit trail | |||
Automation rules and workflows | |||
Document previews (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF) | |||
Audio transcription with speaker timestamps | Runs on a local transcription sidecar | ||
Face detection and recognition | Local face engine, opt-in |
Asset library, collections, metadata
- Cloud
- Self-Hosting
- Air-gap
Bulk ingestion, virus scanning, format checks
- Cloud
- Self-Hosting
- Air-gap
Smart search, semantic search, visual look-alikes
- Cloud
- Self-Hosting
- Air-gap
- Local search, no calls out
Brand portals, rights & governance, audit trail
- Cloud
- Self-Hosting
- Air-gap
Automation rules and workflows
- Cloud
- Self-Hosting
- Air-gap
Document previews (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF)
- Cloud
- Self-Hosting
- Air-gap
Audio transcription with speaker timestamps
- Cloud
- Self-Hosting
- Air-gap
- Runs on a local transcription sidecar
Face detection and recognition
- Cloud
- Self-Hosting
- Air-gap
- Local face engine, opt-in
AI features that reach the public internet
Most AI Studio features call out to large hosted models. In the air-gap variant, the calls that need the open internet are either routed to a local model or quietly turned off, with the rest of Freedam carrying on as usual.
| Feature | Cloud | Self-Hosting | Air-gap |
|---|---|---|---|
Smart tagging, captioning, OCR on assets Uses hosted vision models | Uses your AI provider account | Routed to a local AI model, or off | |
Image generation, editing, background removal Uses hosted creative models | Uses your AI provider account | Off in sealed networks | |
Smart cropping and focus point detection | Uses your AI provider account | Local model where available | |
Conversational chat over your library | Uses your AI provider account | Routed to a local AI model | |
Subtitle translation between languages Uses an external translation service | External translation key required | Translation off, transcription stays on | |
Audio transcription itself | Local sidecar, no calls out | ||
Bring your own AI provider accounts | We pick and pay for the models | Used only for the calls you allow |
Smart tagging, captioning, OCR on assets
Uses hosted vision models
- Cloud
- Self-Hosting
- Uses your AI provider account
- Air-gap
- Routed to a local AI model, or off
Image generation, editing, background removal
Uses hosted creative models
- Cloud
- Self-Hosting
- Uses your AI provider account
- Air-gap
- Off in sealed networks
Smart cropping and focus point detection
- Cloud
- Self-Hosting
- Uses your AI provider account
- Air-gap
- Local model where available
Conversational chat over your library
- Cloud
- Self-Hosting
- Uses your AI provider account
- Air-gap
- Routed to a local AI model
Subtitle translation between languages
Uses an external translation service
- Cloud
- Self-Hosting
- External translation key required
- Air-gap
- Translation off, transcription stays on
Audio transcription itself
- Cloud
- Self-Hosting
- Air-gap
- Local sidecar, no calls out
Bring your own AI provider accounts
- Cloud
- We pick and pay for the models
- Self-Hosting
- Air-gap
- Used only for the calls you allow
Sharing, embedding, external collaboration
These features are the ones most affected by a sealed-network deployment. Inside an intranet they still work, but only inside the perimeter you defined.
| Feature | Cloud | Self-Hosting | Air-gap |
|---|---|---|---|
Share links to clients and partners outside the company | No path to the public internet | ||
Share links inside the company intranet | Reachable only from inside your network | ||
Embed codes for placing assets in third-party sites | Public sites cannot reach a sealed network | ||
Embed codes for internal portals and intranets | |||
Notifications by email | Through your mail service | Through your internal mail relay | |
Notifications to chat tools (Slack, Teams) | Through your workspace | Only if the chat tool is on your network |
Share links to clients and partners outside the company
- Cloud
- Self-Hosting
- Air-gap
- No path to the public internet
Share links inside the company intranet
- Cloud
- Self-Hosting
- Air-gap
- Reachable only from inside your network
Embed codes for placing assets in third-party sites
- Cloud
- Self-Hosting
- Air-gap
- Public sites cannot reach a sealed network
Embed codes for internal portals and intranets
- Cloud
- Self-Hosting
- Air-gap
Notifications by email
- Cloud
- Self-Hosting
- Through your mail service
- Air-gap
- Through your internal mail relay
Notifications to chat tools (Slack, Teams)
- Cloud
- Self-Hosting
- Through your workspace
- Air-gap
- Only if the chat tool is on your network
Identity, compliance, billing
How people sign in, where the data lives, and how the bill is settled.
| Feature | Cloud | Self-Hosting | Air-gap |
|---|---|---|---|
Where the data lives | Our managed environment | Your datacenter or cloud account | Inside your sealed network |
Who holds the encryption keys | We do, on your behalf | You do | You do |
Audit trail to your security tooling | Through export | Direct stream to your tools | Direct stream to your tools |
Sign in through your identity provider | Google sign-in today, more on the roadmap | SAML, OIDC, or LDAP | SAML, OIDC, or LDAP |
Multi-tenant workspaces in one deployment | One workspace per subscription | Useful for agencies and group structures | |
Updates and new features | Continuous, on our cadence | On your cadence, with our help | Offline update bundles, on your cadence |
Billing model | Monthly or yearly subscription | Custom engagement, scoped together | Custom engagement, scoped together |
Time from contract to first asset uploaded | Minutes | Typically a few weeks | A few weeks, plus your change-control |
Where the data lives
- Cloud
- Our managed environment
- Self-Hosting
- Your datacenter or cloud account
- Air-gap
- Inside your sealed network
Who holds the encryption keys
- Cloud
- We do, on your behalf
- Self-Hosting
- You do
- Air-gap
- You do
Audit trail to your security tooling
- Cloud
- Through export
- Self-Hosting
- Direct stream to your tools
- Air-gap
- Direct stream to your tools
Sign in through your identity provider
- Cloud
- Google sign-in today, more on the roadmap
- Self-Hosting
- SAML, OIDC, or LDAP
- Air-gap
- SAML, OIDC, or LDAP
Multi-tenant workspaces in one deployment
- Cloud
- One workspace per subscription
- Self-Hosting
- Useful for agencies and group structures
- Air-gap
Updates and new features
- Cloud
- Continuous, on our cadence
- Self-Hosting
- On your cadence, with our help
- Air-gap
- Offline update bundles, on your cadence
Billing model
- Cloud
- Monthly or yearly subscription
- Self-Hosting
- Custom engagement, scoped together
- Air-gap
- Custom engagement, scoped together
Time from contract to first asset uploaded
- Cloud
- Minutes
- Self-Hosting
- Typically a few weeks
- Air-gap
- A few weeks, plus your change-control
Air-gap option
What changes when the network is sealed
The air-gap variant of self-hosting is meant for environments that simply do not have a path to the public internet: classified networks, regulated production sites, broadcast facilities, or any environment where outbound traffic is treated as a risk. The product still behaves like Freedam, but features that depend on outside services are reshaped.
AI rerouted, not removed
Calls that would have gone to a hosted model are sent to a local AI model on your network. If no local equivalent is configured, that single feature is turned off and the rest of Freedam carries on.
Transcription keeps working
Audio transcription runs on a small local component that lives next to Freedam. No internet path needed. Subtitle translation, which depends on an outside service, stays off until you allow a path.
Sharing inside your perimeter
Share links and embed codes still work, but only inside your network. We do not punch holes through your firewall to reach the public internet, by design.
No surprise calls home
No telemetry, no licensing pings, no analytics beacons leaving your network. What goes out is what your team explicitly allows.
Which one is for you
A simple way to decide, in plain language.
Pick Cloud if
You want to start today
- Speed matters more than perimeter.
- You are happy with our hosted AI capabilities.
- A subscription bill is the simplest path for your finance team.
Pick Self-Hosting if
You need it inside your perimeter
- Compliance, residency, or sovereignty rules say data stays in your hands.
- You want to use your own AI provider accounts and your own keys.
- You run multiple brands or clients in one deployment.
Pick Air-gap if
The internet is not part of the picture
- Outbound traffic is policy-restricted or simply not allowed.
- You have a local AI capability you want Freedam to use, or you are happy to operate without the AI features that need an outside model.
- Sharing and embedding only need to work inside the company network.
Self-hosting · Talk to us
Tell us about your environment
Cloud, self-hosted, or air-gapped, we will help you scope an engagement that fits your team and your constraints.