A: Thanks for asking this — it’s a very fair question.

OrcaSheets is local-first in the sense that your data processing happens on your own machine. Your files and datasets do not need to be uploaded to our cloud for analysis, and the heavy lifting is done locally.

The AI query limit applies only to the hosted AI assistance layer, where we provide managed AI usage, routing, and reliability for natural-language questions, formula help, SQL generation, recipe creation, and similar AI workflows. Since those AI calls involve third-party/model infrastructure costs, we keep a fair monthly limit so the plan remains sustainable for all users.

That said, the core analytics experience is not limited by AI queries. You can still connect data, process large files, write SQL, build pivots, dashboards, and run local analysis without consuming AI credits.

We’d definitely encourage you to try it out. The best way to experience OrcaSheets is to load your own dataset and see how much can be done locally before AI even comes into the picture. The AI layer is there to make the workflow faster and more intuitive, not to make the product cloud-dependent.