Distill.io Local Monitor vs Cloud Monitor: What’s the Difference?

Short answer: A Distill local monitor checks a page using a browser extension or the Distill Desktop App running on your computer. A cloud monitor checks from Distill’s servers. Local monitoring depends on your device and monitoring software being available; cloud monitoring can continue while your computer is off or your browser is closed. That difference also affects browser context, check intervals, resource use, supported content, and troubleshooting.

Use local monitoring when the page depends on your browser, local login state, location, or very frequent checks—and you can keep the device available. Use cloud monitoring when you need unattended checks and the page is reachable from Distill’s infrastructure. These recommendations follow from Distill’s documented tradeoffs.

1. The core difference: where the check runs

	Local monitor	Cloud monitor
Where it runs	Your browser extension or Distill Desktop App on your computer	Distill’s servers
Does your computer need to be on?	Yes. The device and relevant browser or app must be running and able to check.	No. Checks can continue while your computer is off or your browser is closed.
Page context	Uses the local browser and device context. This can help with local sessions, geographic access, or pages that block cloud requests.	Uses a cloud context. Proxies or Dedicated Cloud Devices may help with some access and state requirements.
Check frequency and accounting	Distill describes local checks as unlimited, with intervals as short as five seconds in its comparison.	Plan limits apply to intervals and cloud resources. Distill’s comparison lists a two-minute minimum on Flexi; its pricing page counts cloud checks in ten-second units.
Formats and notifications	PDF/XML monitoring is not listed as supported in the comparison. Audio notifications are local-only.	PDF/XML monitoring is listed as supported. Audio notifications are not supported.

These interval and capability details come from Distill’s documentation and can change. Check the current comparison and your plan before relying on a specific minimum interval, quota, or format. See Distill’s local and cloud monitor comparison, platform guide, and audio notification guide.

2. What local monitoring means in practice

A local monitor performs its checks through software on a device you control. The device needs to be on, connected, and running the relevant extension or Desktop App. A browser-extension monitor also depends on the browser being available; a Desktop App monitor depends on that app and device being available.

Local monitoring is a good fit when a page works in your real browser but not from a remote service. Examples include pages that require an existing local login, content that varies by location, and sites that block cloud access. It can also suit checks that need a short interval, subject to the current product settings and practical load on your machine.

The tradeoff is continuity: if the computer sleeps, shuts down, loses connectivity, or the monitoring software stops, local checks cannot run. Local history is also associated with the checking device: Distill says extension logs are available for local browser monitors and local-device logs for Desktop App monitors.

3. What cloud monitoring means in practice

A cloud monitor runs from Distill’s infrastructure, so it does not depend on your personal computer staying available. Cloud logs are available in the web app, according to Distill’s documentation. This is useful for unattended monitoring and for checks you want to continue while your own browser is closed.

The page must be reachable and behave acceptably from the cloud environment. If it blocks cloud requests, depends on browser state that is not present there, or serves different content by location, a cloud check may fail or see a different page. Distill documents proxies and Dedicated Cloud Devices for some cloud-side access and state needs. Dedicated Cloud Devices are hosted in Distill’s infrastructure and can preserve browser data such as cookies, local storage, and proxies. Distill says its older cloud Profiles feature has been deprecated in favor of Dedicated Cloud Devices. See the Dedicated Cloud Devices guide.

Cloud checks use subscription resources and plan-specific limits. Distill’s pricing page describes cloud checks in ten-second units and says unused resources expire at the end of the billing period. Treat quotas and intervals as plan details to verify, not as a universal property of cloud monitoring.

4. Which one should you choose?

Choose local when…	Choose cloud when…
The page works only with your local browser, login, network, or geographic context.	You need monitoring to continue while your computer is off or browser closed.
The page blocks cloud requests and works from your device.	The page is reachable and consistent from Distill’s servers.
You need a very short check interval and can keep the device available.	You prefer checks to run without maintaining a local device.
You need a local-only capability such as audio notifications.	You need a documented cloud capability such as PDF/XML monitoring.

If the choice is unclear, create a monitor in the mode that matches the page’s access requirements, then compare the result with what you see in the browser. A page that loads locally is not necessarily accessible from the cloud, and a cloud result may differ from a page rendered with your local session or location.

5. How to tell which mode a monitor uses

Open the monitor’s watchlist and look for its device indicator. Distill says the device icon indicates the selected device.
Check where you created the monitor. Monitors created in the web app default to cloud; monitors added through the browser extension or Desktop App default to local, according to Distill’s comparison.
Confirm that the selected device matches your requirement. A local device setting means checks depend on that device; a cloud setting means checks run on Distill’s servers.
For team use, check workspace configuration. Distill’s enterprise local-monitoring guide describes associating the browser or device with a Primary Workspace so teammates can see and manage local monitors.

See Distill’s enterprise local monitoring guide for workspace details.

6. Intervals, quotas, and current pricing

At the time the research for this guide was retrieved on October 3, 2026, Distill’s official pricing page displayed Free at $0, Starter at $15/month, Professional at $35/month, and Flexi at $80+/month. It listed monthly cloud-check allocations of 1,000, 30,000, 100,000, and 200,000+ respectively. Distill’s comparison listed local intervals from five seconds and a two-minute cloud minimum on Flexi. These are time-sensitive product and pricing details, not guarantees for every account; verify them on Distill’s current pricing page and its current comparison.

When estimating cloud usage, account for the plan’s check allowance and how Distill counts checks. When estimating local usage, the documented unlimited local-check description does not remove the practical limits of keeping a computer, browser, and network available. Choose an interval that serves the monitoring need without creating unnecessary checks.

7. Troubleshooting local and cloud monitors

Local monitor has stopped checking

Cause: The computer is off, asleep, disconnected, or the browser/extension/Desktop App is not running.
Fix: Make the device available, restore connectivity, and confirm that the relevant Distill software and local monitoring are running. Distill notes that its Chrome extension cannot check pages when the device is off.

Local works, but cloud checks fail

Cause: The site may block cloud access, require a local session, or return location-specific content.
Fix: Confirm the page’s access requirements. Review Distill’s proxy options and Dedicated Cloud Devices documentation for supported cloud-side approaches. If the page fundamentally depends on your local browser or network, use a local monitor.

Cloud sees different content than your browser

Cause: The cloud request and your local browser may have different cookies, storage, location, or access permissions.
Fix: Check whether the page requires persistent browser data or a particular location. Review Dedicated Cloud Devices if appropriate, or use local monitoring where the local context is essential.

Teammates cannot see or manage a local monitor

Cause: The local browser or device may not be associated with the expected workspace.
Fix: Review the workspace setup described in Distill’s enterprise local-monitoring guide and verify the device association.

You cannot find the logs you expect

Cause: Logs are associated with the monitor’s execution environment.
Fix: Check the web app for cloud logs, the extension for local browser-monitor logs, or the local device for Desktop App logs, as applicable.

An interval, quota, or page format is unavailable

Cause: The setting may depend on plan or monitor type, or Distill may have changed its offering.
Fix: Verify the current pricing page and comparison for your account before changing plans or promising a particular capability.

8. A different need: capturing a page as an image or PDF

Distill monitors are for detecting page changes. If the task is to save a clean visual snapshot instead, ScreenshotNeo is a website screenshot API and MCP server for developers. It returns a PNG, JPEG, WebP, or PDF from one GET request. It is an alternative for capture workflows, not a page-change monitoring service.

ScreenshotNeo can accept cookie and consent banners like a visitor and remove more than 60 known consent platforms, newsletter popups, and chat widgets before capture; each step can be turned off. Its responses identify the page verdict and billing status in headers, and bot checks/CAPTCHAs, blank pages, timeouts, failed loads, and cache hits cost nothing. It also offers an MCP server with take_screenshot, get_page_info, and capture_pdf tools for Claude, Cursor, and other MCP clients.

The API supports full-page and element captures, device presets and custom viewports, dark mode, retina scale, PDF settings, custom CSS and JavaScript, wait conditions, request blocking, headers, cookies, user agents, authorization, timezone and geolocation, caching, signed image links, asynchronous jobs, bulk capture, usage information, and an OpenAPI spec. See the ScreenshotNeo documentation for parameters and setup.

9. Or skip the browser setup

For a screenshot, make one request to ScreenshotNeo’s API. This cURL example saves a WebP image of Stripe:

curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://stripe.com -o shot.webp

Python:

import requests

r = requests.get(
    "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot",
    params={"access_key": "YOUR_API_KEY", "url": "https://stripe.com"},
    timeout=90,
)
open("shot.webp", "wb").write(r.content)

Node.js:

const q = new URLSearchParams({ access_key: 'YOUR_API_KEY', url: 'https://stripe.com' });
const res = await fetch(`https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot?${q}`);
const bytes = new Uint8Array(await res.arrayBuffer());
await import('node:fs/promises').then(fs => fs.writeFile('shot.webp', bytes));

Replace YOUR_API_KEY with your key and change the target URL as needed. ScreenshotNeo’s documentation covers the API parameters and response behavior.

Cookie banners, popups, and chat widgets are removed before the shot.
Bot checks, blank pages, and failed loads are never billed.
An MCP server lets AI agents take screenshots.
1,000 screenshots a month are free with no card; paid plans start at $5 for 3,000.

10. FAQ

Do I have to keep my computer on for a Distill local monitor?

Yes. The local device and its relevant monitoring software need to be available for checks to run.

Can cloud monitoring use my local browser session?

Not automatically. Cloud checks run from Distill’s infrastructure. Distill documents Dedicated Cloud Devices for retaining browser data such as cookies and local storage in some cloud workflows.

Which mode checks faster?

Distill’s comparison lists local checks as fast as five seconds and a two-minute cloud minimum on Flexi. Availability depends on the current plan and settings, so verify the live documentation.

Does ScreenshotNeo replace Distill?

No. ScreenshotNeo captures pages as images or PDFs; Distill monitors pages for changes. Use the product that matches the job.