Your cost
You are not on someone else's meter.
Token rent is simple until the work is constant. Hardware is a cost you can see. A rate limit is not a plan.
When renting can win
One-off artifacts. A thing you make once and show often. Rare work. Then renting tokens can win: open-weight in the cloud, capacity you do not own. Not a closed-model product.
When your hardware wins
Lots of events. Analysis that does not clock out. Always-on. Inspect the stream. Then the work belongs on iron you own, so the meter and the rate limit are not someone else's.
Throttle
You run your own models. On your hardware nobody caps you. A rate limit is not a plan.
Predictable cost
With your hardware you do not rent tokens. You already bought the hours. Costs are more predictable because the clock is yours.
- Your models You run them. Nobody throttles your use.
- Hours you already bought No token meter. The cost is a thing you can see.
- Tied to the use case One-off and show-often can rent. High-event work stays on iron you own.