Bonfire Terminal vs Glasp
Glasp is a free, cloud-hosted highlighting and note tool that leans on OpenAI and OAuth sign-in, with your captures living on its servers. Bonfire Terminal is the opposite model: a sovereign on-device agent you license once, running your own LLM key at cost with no markup and keeping data local.
Bonfire Terminal vs Glasp: the 16-factor comparison
| Rating factor | Glasp | Bonfire Terminal |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Other | AI Terminal / Local Agent |
| Popularity | Not disclosed | Growing · indie |
| Hosting architecture | Cloud-Hosted | On-Device Local |
| Licensing model | Freemium | One-Time Perpetual |
| Data / training policy | Not disclosed | Fully local — nothing leaves device |
| Offline capability | No | Yes |
| Pricing tier range | Free | One-time license |
| Execution unit cost | Subscription | Unlimited Local Compute |
| API-key markup | N/A | No — BYO key at cost |
| Supported LLM providers | OpenAI | OpenAI; Anthropic; Google; Local; Any |
| Auth / permission types | OAuth | API Key; Local/None |
| Phone / messaging bridges | None | Telegram; WhatsApp |
| Speech recognition engine | None | Whisper (local) |
| Local media processing | No | Yes |
| Sovereign score | 31 / 100 | 93 / 100 |
The sovereignty gap
Where Glasp lands on each weighted pillar (its bar) — the red marker is Bonfire's score. Auto-derived from the 16 factors above.
Which should you choose?
Choose Glasp if…
Choose Glasp if you want a free, social web-highlighter and knowledge-capture layer that syncs across the cloud and shares annotations with others.
Choose Bonfire Terminal if…
Choose Bonfire Terminal if you want a private, on-device AI agent that never uploads your notes and charges no markup on model usage.
Bonfire Terminal vs Glasp: FAQ
Is Glasp private?
Glasp is cloud-hosted with an unstated training policy, so your highlights and OAuth-linked identity sit on its servers. Bonfire Terminal keeps everything on your device by design, so there is no cloud copy of your captures and no vendor deciding how your data is used.
Is Bonfire Terminal cheaper than Glasp?
Glasp is free, so nothing beats it on sticker price. Bonfire Terminal is a paid one-time perpetual license plus at-cost model usage. You are paying for on-device sovereignty and no data leaving your machine, not for a cheaper version of a free tool.
Can Bonfire Terminal replace Glasp?
Only partially. Glasp specializes in web highlighting and shared annotation, which Bonfire Terminal does not focus on. If your goal is a private AI agent to summarize and process your own material locally, Bonfire Terminal fits; for social highlight-sharing, keep Glasp.
What can Bonfire Terminal do that Glasp can't?
Bonfire Terminal runs an on-device AI agent, brings your own LLM key at cost, transcribes speech locally with Whisper, processes media locally and works offline. Glasp is a cloud OpenAI-backed highlighter with no local execution, no offline mode and no bring-your-own-key economics.
How do I switch from Glasp to Bonfire Terminal?
Export your Glasp highlights, install Bonfire Terminal, add your own LLM key, and feed the exported notes into local agent tasks for summarizing or organizing. Since Glasp is free, there is no billing to cancel, only an account you can leave behind.
Does Bonfire Terminal work offline vs Glasp?
Glasp has no offline capability and depends on its cloud. Bonfire Terminal runs its agent, Whisper transcription and media processing directly on your device, so those work without a connection; only calls to a hosted LLM require internet.