Short answer: Self-hosting Hoppscotch gives you a web platform under your own domain, but it is a service to run and maintain. A local desktop studio opens the file in your repo and needs no server. Self-host when you want a shared web platform; use the desktop when the work should stay on the machine and in the repository.

What self-hosting involves

Running the community or enterprise edition means standing up a web service, maintaining it, and managing the platform itself. It is the right choice for a shared, always-on web tool, and it is operational overhead.

What a local desktop studio keeps

PropertySelf-hosted webLocal desktop
To runA server and upkeepOpen the file
Where the work livesOn the platformIn your repo
Shared accessBuilt inVia Git / hosting
OfflineDepends on the hostYes

When self-hosting is the right call

If you need a shared web platform that a whole team reaches through a browser, self-hosting is the answer. The platform is the product you are choosing to run.

When the desktop is the right call

If the contract is already in the repo and the work should be versioned with the code, a desktop studio adds no moving parts and keeps the file as the source of truth.

This is part of the Powerduck vs Hoppscotch comparison. Next, read contract verification.