In this comprehensive guide, we compare Azumo and Protecto across various parameters including features, pricing, performance, and customer support to help you make the best decision for your business needs.
Overview
When choosing between Azumo and Protecto, understanding their unique strengths and architectural differences is crucial for making an informed decision. Both platforms serve the RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) space but cater to different use cases and organizational needs.
Quick Decision Guide
Choose Azumo if: you value highly skilled nearshore developers in same timezone
Choose Protecto if: you value industry-leading 99% accuracy retention
About Azumo
Azumo is top-rated nearshore ai development services for custom solutions. Azumo is a leading nearshore software development company specializing in custom AI and machine learning solutions, offering dedicated teams and enterprise-grade development services for businesses looking to build intelligent applications. Founded in 2016, headquartered in San Francisco, CA, the platform has established itself as a reliable solution in the RAG space.
Overall Rating
92/100
Starting Price
$100000/mo
About Protecto
Protecto is ai data guardrails & privacy protection for llms. Protecto is an AI-driven data privacy platform that secures sensitive data in LLM and RAG applications without compromising accuracy. It offers intelligent tokenization, PII/PHI masking, and compliance automation, achieving 99% accuracy retention while protecting privacy. Founded in 2021, headquartered in United States, the platform has established itself as a reliable solution in the RAG space.
Overall Rating
87/100
Starting Price
Custom
Key Differences at a Glance
In terms of user ratings, both platforms score similarly in overall satisfaction. From a cost perspective, Protecto offers more competitive entry pricing. The platforms also differ in their primary focus: AI Development versus Data Privacy. These differences make each platform better suited for specific use cases and organizational requirements.
⚠️ What This Comparison Covers
We'll analyze features, pricing, performance benchmarks, security compliance, integration capabilities, and real-world use cases to help you determine which platform best fits your organization's needs. All data is independently verified from official documentation and third-party review platforms.
Detailed Feature Comparison
Azumo
Protecto
CustomGPTRECOMMENDED
Data Ingestion & Knowledge Sources
Builds custom ETL pipelines that pull data from your proprietary systems, internal wikis, SharePoint, and cloud storage—so everything ends up in one place.
Works with both unstructured sources—PDFs, HTML, even multimedia—and structured data like databases or spreadsheets, bringing it all together into a single knowledge index.
Learn more
Stores and indexes your content in vector databases such as Pinecone or Weaviate, giving you the flexibility to handle domain-specific data.
Plugs straight into enterprise data stacks—think databases, data lakes, and SaaS platforms like Snowflake, Databricks, or Salesforce—using APIs.
Built for huge volumes: asynchronous APIs and queuing handle millions (even billions) of records with ease.
Focuses on scanning and flagging sensitive info (PII/PHI) across structured and unstructured data, not classic file uploads.
Lets you ingest more than 1,400 file formats—PDF, DOCX, TXT, Markdown, HTML, and many more—via simple drag-and-drop or API.
Crawls entire sites through sitemaps and URLs, automatically indexing public help-desk articles, FAQs, and docs.
Turns multimedia into text on the fly: YouTube videos, podcasts, and other media are auto-transcribed with built-in OCR and speech-to-text.
View Transcription Guide
Connects to Google Drive, SharePoint, Notion, Confluence, HubSpot, and more through API connectors or Zapier.
See Zapier Connectors
Supports both manual uploads and auto-sync retraining, so your knowledge base always stays up to date.
Integrations & Channels
Specializes in bespoke integrations: Azumo can craft custom connectors for your enterprise tools—CRM, ERP, or even internal intranets.
Puts AI agents wherever your users are—web, mobile, Slack, Microsoft Teams—through custom interfaces and API wrappers.
Integration services
No end-user chat widgets here—Protecto slots in as a security layer inside your AI app.
Acts as middleware: its APIs sanitize data before it ever hits an LLM, whether you’re running a web chatbot, mobile app, or enterprise search tool.
Integrates with data-flow heavyweights like Snowflake, Kafka, and Databricks to keep every AI data path clean and compliant.
Embeds easily—a lightweight script or iframe drops the chat widget into any website or mobile app.
Offers ready-made hooks for Slack, Zendesk, Confluence, YouTube, Sharepoint, 100+ more.
Explore API Integrations
Connects with 5,000+ apps via Zapier and webhooks to automate your workflows.
Supports secure deployments with domain allowlisting and a ChatGPT Plugin for private use cases.
Hosted CustomGPT.ai offers hosted MCP Server with support for Claude Web, Claude Desktop, Cursor, ChatGPT, Windsurf, Trae, etc.
Read more here.
Builds RAG agents that focus on context-rich, accurate answers by pairing advanced relevancy search with thoughtful prompt engineering.
Supports multi-turn conversations with context retention and clear source attribution to bolster trust.
See their approach
Handles complex multi-agent systems and multi-step reasoning whenever the business case calls for it.
Doesn’t generate responses—it detects and masks sensitive data going into and out of your AI agents.
Combines advanced NER with custom regex / pattern matching to spot PII/PHI, anonymizing without killing context.
Adds content-moderation and safety checks to keep everything compliant and exposure-free.
Reduces hallucinations by grounding replies in your data and adding source citations for transparency.
Benchmark Details
Handles multi-turn, context-aware chats with persistent history and solid conversation management.
Speaks 90+ languages, making global rollouts straightforward.
Includes extras like lead capture (email collection) and smooth handoff to a human when needed.
Customization & Branding
Gives you unlimited room to customize—from the agent’s persona and tone to a fully branded UI—through bespoke development.
Works side-by-side with your team to match brand voice, greetings, fonts, colors, and layouts.
Learn about branding
No visual branding needed—Protecto works behind the curtain, guarding data rather than showing UI.
You can tailor masking rules and policies via a web dashboard or config files to match your exact regulations.
It’s all about policy customization over look-and-feel, ensuring every output passes compliance checks.
Fully white-labels the widget—colors, logos, icons, CSS, everything can match your brand.
White-label Options
Provides a no-code dashboard to set welcome messages, bot names, and visual themes.
Lets you shape the AI’s persona and tone using pre-prompts and system instructions.
Uses domain allowlisting to ensure the chatbot appears only on approved sites.
L L M Model Options
Takes a model-agnostic stance, integrating whichever model best fits your project—OpenAI's GPT, Anthropic's Claude, Meta's LLaMA, Cohere, or open-source alternatives.
Model-agnostic: works with any LLM—GPT, Claude, LLaMA, you name it—by masking data first.
Plays nicely with orchestration frameworks like LangChain for multi-model workflows.
Uses context-preserving techniques so accuracy stays high even after sensitive bits are masked.
Taps into top models—OpenAI’s GPT-5.1 series, GPT-4 series, and even Anthropic’s Claude for enterprise needs (4.5 opus and sonnet, etc ).
Automatically balances cost and performance by picking the right model for each request.
Model Selection Details
Uses proprietary prompt engineering and retrieval tweaks to return high-quality, citation-backed answers.
Handles all model management behind the scenes—no extra API keys or fine-tuning steps for you.
Developer Experience ( A P I & S D Ks)
Delivers a tailor-made API or microservice that meets your integration needs—no off-the-shelf SDKs, just code built for you.
Collaborates closely on endpoint design, using frameworks like LangChain or Haystack internally, and hands over clear docs and code reviews on delivery.
See development process
REST APIs and a Python SDK make scanning, masking, and tokenizing straightforward.
Docs are detailed, with step-by-step guides for slipping Protecto into data pipelines or AI apps.
Supports real-time and batch modes, complete with examples for ETL and CI/CD pipelines.
Ships a well-documented REST API for creating agents, managing projects, ingesting data, and querying chat.
API Documentation
Lets you build multiple datastores, set role-based access, and tweak system prompts so the agent behaves exactly as you want.
Makes continuous refinement easy—add new training data, tune prompts, or plug in custom logic for tricky queries.
Customization approach
Fine-tune masking with custom regex rules and entity types as granular as you need.
Role-based access lets privileged users view unmasked data while others see safe tokens.
Update masking policies on the fly—no model retraining required—to keep up with new regs.
Lets you add, remove, or tweak content on the fly—automatic re-indexing keeps everything current.
Shapes agent behavior through system prompts and sample Q&A, ensuring a consistent voice and focus.
Learn How to Update Sources
Supports multiple agents per account, so different teams can have their own bots.
Balances hands-on control with smart defaults—no deep ML expertise required to get tailored behavior.
Pricing & Scalability
Uses a bespoke, project-based pricing model—costs scale with scope, complexity, and timeline, so expect a higher upfront investment than a typical SaaS subscription.
Pricing overview
Architected for enterprise scale: as query volume and data grow, the infrastructure scales right along with you.
Enterprise pricing tailored to data volume and throughput, with a free trial to test the waters.
Scales to millions or billions of records—cloud or on-prem—priced around volume and usage.
Ideal for large orgs with heavy data-protection needs; volume discounts and custom contracts keep costs sane.
Runs on straightforward subscriptions: Standard (~$99/mo), Premium (~$449/mo), and customizable Enterprise plans.
Gives generous limits—Standard covers up to 60 million words per bot, Premium up to 300 million—all at flat monthly rates.
View Pricing
Handles scaling for you: the managed cloud infra auto-scales with demand, keeping things fast and available.
Security & Privacy
Offers the choice of on-prem or VPC deployments for full data sovereignty.
Implements enterprise-grade encryption, granular access controls, and compliance measures (HIPAA, FINRA, and more) tailored to your industry.
Learn about security
Privacy-first: spots and masks sensitive data before any LLM sees it, meeting GDPR, HIPAA, and more.
End-to-end encryption, tight access controls, and audit logs lock down the pipeline.
Deploy wherever you need—public cloud, private cloud, or entirely on-prem—for full residency control.
Protects data in transit with SSL/TLS and at rest with 256-bit AES encryption.
Holds SOC 2 Type II certification and complies with GDPR, so your data stays isolated and private.
Security Certifications
Offers fine-grained access controls—RBAC, two-factor auth, and SSO integration—so only the right people get in.
Observability & Monitoring
Bakes in comprehensive logging and monitoring—tracking query performance, retrieval success, and response times out of the box.
Can tie into your monitoring stack (Splunk, CloudWatch, etc.) for real-time alerts and KPI-driven analytics.
Monitoring capabilities
Audit logs and dashboards track every masking action and how many sensitive items were caught.
Hooks into SIEM and monitoring tools for real-time compliance and performance stats.
Reports RARI and other metrics, alerting you if something looks off.
Comes with a real-time analytics dashboard tracking query volumes, token usage, and indexing status.
Lets you export logs and metrics via API to plug into third-party monitoring or BI tools.
Analytics API
Provides detailed insights for troubleshooting and ongoing optimization.
Support & Ecosystem
Provides white-glove support with a dedicated account manager and direct access to the dev team during and after deployment.
Support details
Leverages a broad technology network—including partnerships like Snowflake—and deep expertise across multiple AI platforms.
High-touch enterprise support—dedicated managers and SLA-backed help for big deployments.
Rich docs, API guides, and whitepapers show best practices for secure AI pipelines.
Active in industry partnerships and thought leadership to keep the ecosystem strong.
Supplies rich docs, tutorials, cookbooks, and FAQs to get you started fast.
Developer Docs
Offers quick email and in-app chat support—Premium and Enterprise plans add dedicated managers and faster SLAs.
Enterprise Solutions
Benefits from an active user community plus integrations through Zapier and GitHub resources.
Core Agent Features
Custom RAG Agents: Builds context-rich, accurate answers by pairing advanced relevancy search with thoughtful prompt engineering tailored to specific business needs
Multi-Turn Conversations: Supports conversation context retention and clear source attribution to bolster trust across multi-step interactions
Conversation approach
Multi-Agent Systems: Handles complex multi-agent orchestration and multi-step reasoning when business case demands coordination across specialized agents
Voice & Text Capabilities: Can implement voice agents, text chatbots, or hybrid solutions depending on channel requirements and use case specifications
Custom Analytics: Performance monitoring, query tracking, response time metrics integrated with client monitoring stacks (Splunk, CloudWatch) for KPI-driven insights
Lead Capture & CRM: Custom integration with enterprise CRM systems (Salesforce, HubSpot, Microsoft Dynamics) for lead qualification and contact management
Human Handoff: Configurable escalation logic with full conversation context transfer to human agents when AI confidence drops below thresholds or complex queries detected
Workflow Automation: Connects with enterprise tools (ERP, CRM, internal intranets) for complex multi-step workflows beyond simple Q&A retrieval
Proprietary System Integration: Builds custom connectors for legacy systems, internal databases, and proprietary data sources without published APIs
Bespoke Development: All features custom-built to specifications - no off-the-shelf limitations on functionality or integration capabilities
Multi-Agent Data Access Control: Manages data access across multi-agent workflows - global enterprises use Protecto for fine-grained identity-based access enforcement
Role-Based Agent Security: Control who sees what at inference time - sales agents can't access support data, analysts see anonymized aggregates, supervisors unmask when authorized
LangChain Agent Integration: Works with LangChain agents, CrewAI frameworks, and model gateways for comprehensive agentic workflow protection
Agent Context Sanitization: Detects and masks PII/PHI in agent prompts, retrieved context, and responses - prevents sensitive data exposure in multi-step agent reasoning
SecRAG for Agents: Integrates role-based access control (RBAC) directly into retrieval process - every context chunk checked for user authorization before agent access
Real-Time Agent Security: Pre-processing layer sanitizes data before reaching agents, post-processing filters agent outputs - dual protection at inference time
Agentic Workflow Compliance: High-throughput workloads like RAG and ETLs protected with context-preserving masking - agents maintain accuracy despite security layer
Agent Tool Protection: Secures data flowing through agent tools (function calls, external APIs, database queries) - comprehensive pipeline security
Identity-Based Unmasking: Privileged agents/users can view unmasked data when authorized - granular control over sensitive information access
Agent Audit Trails: Comprehensive logging of what data each agent accessed, when, and why - regulatory compliance for agentic systems
Context-Preserving for Agents: 99% RARI (vs 70% vanilla masking) ensures agent reasoning accuracy despite security - semantic meaning maintained
NOT Agent Orchestration: Protecto secures agent workflows but doesn't orchestrate agents - requires separate framework (LangChain, CrewAI) for agent coordination
Custom AI Agents: Build autonomous agents powered by GPT-4 and Claude that can perform tasks independently and make real-time decisions based on business knowledge
Decision-Support Capabilities: AI agents analyze proprietary data to provide insights, recommendations, and actionable responses specific to your business domain
Multi-Agent Systems: Deploy multiple specialized AI agents that can collaborate and optimize workflows in areas like customer support, sales, and internal knowledge management
Memory & Context Management: Agents maintain conversation history and persistent context for coherent multi-turn interactions
View Agent Documentation
Tool Integration: Agents can trigger actions, integrate with external APIs via webhooks, and connect to 5,000+ apps through Zapier for automated workflows
Hyper-Accurate Responses: Leverages advanced RAG technology and retrieval mechanisms to deliver context-aware, citation-backed responses grounded in your knowledge base
Continuous Learning: Agents improve over time through automatic re-indexing of knowledge sources and integration of new data without manual retraining
R A G-as-a- Service Assessment
Platform Classification: CUSTOM AI DEVELOPMENT AGENCY, NOT a self-service RAG platform - delivers bespoke RAG solutions vs providing standardized API service
Architecture Philosophy: Full custom implementation from scratch vs plug-and-play API consumption - requires development partnership not subscription
Target Audience: Enterprises with complex, mission-critical requirements and dedicated budgets ($10K+ minimum) vs developers seeking instant API access
Agentic RAG Capabilities: Implements cutting-edge agentic RAG with multi-agent reasoning, self-validation, real-time orchestration between retrievers/planners/verifiers
Agentic RAG approach
Code Ownership: Clients own delivered code and infrastructure enabling complete control, modification rights, and independent maintenance post-delivery
Deployment Flexibility: On-premise, VPC, cloud-agnostic options for complete data sovereignty vs SaaS vendor lock-in
Developer Experience: Tailor-made APIs and microservices designed for specific integration needs - no generic SDKs but custom endpoints with comprehensive documentation
Implementation Timeline: Weeks to months for delivery vs instant API access - requires discovery, design, development, testing, deployment phases
Ongoing Support: Professional services model with dedicated account manager and direct development team access vs community forums or ticketing systems
Cost Structure: Project-based pricing ($10K-$70K+ range) vs monthly subscription - higher upfront but includes customization, deployment, training
Use Case Fit: Ideal for enterprises needing custom RAG for legacy systems, specialized workflows, compliance requirements; poor fit for rapid prototyping or simple chatbot deployments
Platform Type: NOT RAG-AS-A-SERVICE - Protecto is data security middleware, not retrieval-augmented generation platform
Core Focus: Enterprise data protection layer for RAG systems - detects and masks PII/PHI before data reaches LLMs or vector databases
Security Middleware: Sits between data sources and RAG platforms as security layer - not alternative to RAG platforms (CustomGPT, Vectara, Nuclia)
RAG Protection Layer: Protects RAG pipelines by sanitizing documents before indexing, queries before retrieval, and responses before delivery
Context-Preserving RAG: Maintains semantic meaning for accurate RAG retrieval despite masking - 99% RARI vs 70% vanilla masking accuracy
Integration Point: Integrates with existing RAG platforms (LangChain, CrewAI, model gateways) - complementary not competitive to RaaS platforms
Comparison Category Mismatch: Invalid comparison to RAG-as-a-Service platforms - fundamentally different product category (security vs knowledge retrieval)
Best Comparison Category: Data security platforms (Presidio, Private AI, Nightfall AI) or DLP tools, NOT RAG platforms
Use Case Fit: Organizations using third-party RaaS platforms (CustomGPT, Nuclia) who need additional security layer for regulated data
SecRAG Offering: While Protecto markets "RAG-as-a-Service", this refers to secure RAG infrastructure services - not turnkey RAG platform like CustomGPT
Platform Recommendation: Should be compared to security tools, not listed alongside RAG platforms - prevents buyer confusion about product category
Core Architecture: Serverless RAG infrastructure with automatic embedding generation, vector search optimization, and LLM orchestration fully managed behind API endpoints
API-First Design: Comprehensive REST API with well-documented endpoints for creating agents, managing projects, ingesting data (1,400+ formats), and querying chat
API Documentation
Developer Experience: Open-source Python SDK (customgpt-client), Postman collections, OpenAI API endpoint compatibility, and extensive cookbooks for rapid integration
No-Code Alternative: Wizard-style web dashboard enables non-developers to upload content, brand widgets, and deploy chatbots without touching code
Hybrid Target Market: Serves both developer teams wanting robust APIs AND business users seeking no-code RAG deployment - unique positioning vs pure API platforms (Cohere) or pure no-code tools (Jotform)
RAG Technology Leadership: Industry-leading answer accuracy (median 5/5 benchmarked), 1,400+ file format support with auto-transcription, proprietary anti-hallucination mechanisms, and citation-backed responses
Benchmark Details
Deployment Flexibility: Cloud-hosted SaaS with auto-scaling, API integrations, embedded chat widgets, ChatGPT Plugin support, and hosted MCP Server for Claude/Cursor/ChatGPT
Enterprise Readiness: SOC 2 Type II + GDPR compliance, full white-labeling, domain allowlisting, RBAC with 2FA/SSO, and flat-rate pricing without per-query charges
Use Case Fit: Ideal for organizations needing both rapid no-code deployment AND robust API capabilities, teams handling diverse content types (1,400+ formats, multimedia transcription), and businesses requiring production-ready RAG without building ML infrastructure from scratch
Competitive Positioning: Bridges the gap between developer-first platforms (Cohere, Deepset) requiring heavy coding and no-code chatbot builders (Jotform, Kommunicate) lacking API depth - offers best of both worlds
Additional Considerations
Perfect for organizations that need a custom, mission-critical AI solution that integrates with legacy systems or runs complex multi-step workflows.
You own the delivered code and system, giving you ultimate flexibility to maintain or extend it later.
Custom development approach
Expect a higher initial investment and a longer rollout compared with off-the-shelf SaaS tools.
Laser-focused on secure RAG—keeps sensitive data out of third-party LLMs while preserving context.
On-prem option is a big win for highly regulated sectors needing total isolation.
The proprietary RARI metric proves you can mask aggressively without wrecking model accuracy.
Slashes engineering overhead with an all-in-one RAG platform—no in-house ML team required.
Gets you to value quickly: launch a functional AI assistant in minutes.
Stays current with ongoing GPT and retrieval improvements, so you’re always on the latest tech.
Balances top-tier accuracy with ease of use, perfect for customer-facing or internal knowledge projects.
No- Code Interface & Usability
Doesn't come with a ready-made no-code interface—any admin or user UI is built as part of the custom solution.
While the final UI can be polished and user-friendly, non-developers will generally need developer help for changes.
No drag-and-drop chatbot builder—Protecto provides a tech dashboard for privacy policy setup and monitoring.
UI targets IT and security teams, with forms and config panels rather than wizard-style chatbot tools.
Guided presets (e.g., HIPAA Mode) speed up onboarding for enterprises that need quick compliance.
Offers a wizard-style web dashboard so non-devs can upload content, brand the widget, and monitor performance.
Supports drag-and-drop uploads, visual theme editing, and in-browser chatbot testing.
User Experience Review
Uses role-based access so business users and devs can collaborate smoothly.
Competitive Positioning
Market position: Premium custom AI development agency specializing in bespoke RAG and AI agent solutions for enterprises with complex, mission-critical requirements
Target customers: Large enterprises and regulated industries (HIPAA, FINRA) needing fully customized AI solutions that integrate with legacy systems and proprietary infrastructure
Key competitors: Deviniti, Contextual.ai (enterprise RAG), Azure AI, OpenAI (enterprise offerings), and internal AI development teams
Competitive advantages: Model-agnostic flexibility, white-glove support with dedicated dev teams, full code ownership, on-prem/VPC deployment options for data sovereignty, and deep expertise across multiple AI platforms including Snowflake partnerships
Pricing advantage: Higher upfront investment than SaaS solutions but provides long-term ownership without recurring subscription costs; best value for organizations with unique, complex requirements that can't be met by off-the-shelf tools
Use case fit: Ideal when you need custom integrations with legacy systems, specialized multi-step workflows, domain-specific fine-tuning, or compliance requirements that demand on-premises deployment and full data control
Market position: Enterprise data security middleware specializing in PII/PHI masking for AI applications, not a chatbot platform but a security layer protecting RAG systems
Target customers: Regulated industries (healthcare, finance, government) needing GDPR/HIPAA/PCI compliance, enterprises using third-party LLMs with sensitive data, and organizations requiring on-premises deployment with complete data isolation
Key competitors: Presidio (Microsoft), Private AI, Nightfall AI, and custom data masking implementations using traditional DLP tools
Competitive advantages: Context-preserving masking maintaining 99% RARI (vs. 70% vanilla masking), asynchronous APIs handling millions/billions of records at scale, model-agnostic middleware working with any LLM (GPT, Claude, LLaMA), on-prem/private cloud deployment for strict data residency, proprietary RARI metric proving accuracy preservation, and integration with enterprise data stacks (Snowflake, Databricks, Kafka)
Pricing advantage: Enterprise pricing based on data volume and throughput with volume discounts; higher cost than general RAG platforms but essential for compliance; best value comes from preventing regulatory fines and enabling safe LLM adoption in regulated industries
Use case fit: Critical for regulated industries processing sensitive data (healthcare PII/PHI, financial records, government data), organizations using third-party LLMs that can't guarantee data isolation, and enterprises requiring context-preserving masking to maintain LLM accuracy while ensuring compliance (GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS)
Market position: Leading all-in-one RAG platform balancing enterprise-grade accuracy with developer-friendly APIs and no-code usability for rapid deployment
Target customers: Mid-market to enterprise organizations needing production-ready AI assistants, development teams wanting robust APIs without building RAG infrastructure, and businesses requiring 1,400+ file format support with auto-transcription (YouTube, podcasts)
Key competitors: OpenAI Assistants API, Botsonic, Chatbase.co, Azure AI, and custom RAG implementations using LangChain
Competitive advantages: Industry-leading answer accuracy (median 5/5 benchmarked), 1,400+ file format support with auto-transcription, SOC 2 Type II + GDPR compliance, full white-labeling included, OpenAI API endpoint compatibility, hosted MCP Server support (Claude, Cursor, ChatGPT), generous data limits (60M words Standard, 300M Premium), and flat monthly pricing without per-query charges
Pricing advantage: Transparent flat-rate pricing at $99/month (Standard) and $449/month (Premium) with generous included limits; no hidden costs for API access, branding removal, or basic features; best value for teams needing both no-code dashboard and developer APIs in one platform
Use case fit: Ideal for businesses needing both rapid no-code deployment and robust API capabilities, organizations handling diverse content types (1,400+ formats, multimedia transcription), teams requiring white-label chatbots with source citations for customer-facing or internal knowledge projects, and companies wanting all-in-one RAG without managing ML infrastructure
A I Models
Primary models: Model-agnostic approach supporting GPT-4, GPT-3.5, Claude 3.5, Gemini, Meta LLaMA 3.3, Qwen 2.5, Cohere, and open-source alternatives
Model selection: Custom selection determined during discovery phase with Azumo development team based on project requirements and use case
Fine-tuning capabilities: Domain-specific model fine-tuning using efficient, scalable techniques on curated and annotated datasets reflecting real business environments
Model switching: Not self-service - model configuration determined by professional services team during implementation
Provider relationships: Works with top LLM providers including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google DeepMind, Meta, DeepSeek, xAI, and Mistral
Model-Agnostic Middleware: Works with any LLM - GPT-4, Claude, LLaMA, Gemini, or custom models without requiring changes
Pre-Processing Layer: Masks sensitive data before it reaches LLM - not tied to specific model provider or architecture
LangChain Integration: Works with orchestration frameworks for multi-model workflows and complex AI pipelines
Context-Preserving Masking: Advanced algorithms maintain data utility for LLMs while protecting sensitive information (99% RARI vs 70% vanilla masking)
No Model Lock-In: Security layer independent of LLM choice - switch providers without changing Protecto configuration
Universal Compatibility: Designed for heterogeneous AI environments using multiple LLM providers simultaneously
Primary models: GPT-5.1 and 4 series from OpenAI, and Anthropic's Claude 4.5 (opus and sonnet) for enterprise needs
Automatic model selection: Balances cost and performance by automatically selecting the appropriate model for each request
Model Selection Details
Proprietary optimizations: Custom prompt engineering and retrieval enhancements for high-quality, citation-backed answers
Managed infrastructure: All model management handled behind the scenes - no API keys or fine-tuning required from users
Anti-hallucination technology: Advanced mechanisms ensure chatbot only answers based on provided content, improving trust and factual accuracy
R A G Capabilities
Vector databases: Integration with Pinecone, Weaviate, Qdrant, and other leading vector database solutions for domain-specific data handling
Chunking strategy: Semantic chunking breaks documents into meaningful sections by topic/intent rather than fixed-size pieces; chunk size depends on content type (paragraph-sized for FAQs, larger with overlap for narratives)
Retrieval methods: Advanced relevancy search with reranking to keep only most relevant context; optimization of retrieval components for high accuracy
Context window: Leverages 128k token context windows for large document processing and complex queries
Pipeline optimization: Complete RAG pipeline including chunking, embedding, vector search, reranking, and answer generation with citations
NOT A RAG PLATFORM: Protecto is data security middleware, not a retrieval-augmented generation platform
RAG Protection Layer: Detects and masks PII/PHI in documents before they enter RAG indexing pipelines
Real-Time Sanitization: Intercepts data flowing to/from RAG systems ensuring sensitive information never reaches vector databases or LLMs
Context Preservation: Maintains semantic meaning and relationships for accurate RAG retrieval despite masking sensitive data
Query-Time Security: Also masks sensitive data in user queries before RAG retrieval to prevent data leakage
Response Filtering: Post-processes RAG responses to ensure no masked PII/PHI appears in final outputs
Integration Point: Sits between data sources and RAG platforms as security middleware layer
Core architecture: GPT-4 combined with Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) technology, outperforming OpenAI in RAG benchmarks
RAG Performance
Anti-hallucination technology: Advanced mechanisms reduce hallucinations and ensure responses are grounded in provided content
Benchmark Details
Automatic citations: Each response includes clickable citations pointing to original source documents for transparency and verification
Optimized pipeline: Efficient vector search, smart chunking, and caching for sub-second reply times
Scalability: Maintains speed and accuracy for massive knowledge bases with tens of millions of words
Context-aware conversations: Multi-turn conversations with persistent history and comprehensive conversation management
Source verification: Always cites sources so users can verify facts on the spot
Enterprise applications: Custom ETL pipelines for proprietary systems, internal wiki integration, SharePoint connectors, multi-step reasoning agents, complex multi-agent systems
Ideal team sizes: Large enterprises with dedicated development teams; projects typically involve teams of 1-15 Azumo members working alongside client teams
Common implementations: Legacy system modernization, SQL Server to Azure migrations, health screening platforms, real-time AI agent assistance with CRM system integration and automated reporting
Deployment timeline: 12-18 month pilot phases common before company-wide rollout; implementations take longer than SaaS solutions but deliver mission-critical custom capabilities
Healthcare AI: HIPAA-compliant patient data analysis, clinical decision support, medical records processing with PHI masking
Financial Services: PCI DSS compliance for payment data, financial records analysis, customer service chatbots with sensitive data
Government & Defense: Classified information protection, citizen data privacy, secure AI deployment with strict data residency
Enterprise CPG: Safe LLM adoption for consumer packaged goods companies processing customer data at scale
Customer Support: Secure analysis of support tickets, emails, and transcripts containing PII for AI-powered insights
Data Analytics: Reviews ingestion with consumer PII, financial identifiers, and brand names masked for LLM analysis
Multi-Agent Workflows: Global enterprises managing data access across multiple AI agents with role-based visibility
Claims Processing: Insurance provider PHI protection for accurate, efficient claims processing with privacy-preserving RAG
Customer support automation: AI assistants handling common queries, reducing support ticket volume, providing 24/7 instant responses with source citations
Internal knowledge management: Employee self-service for HR policies, technical documentation, onboarding materials, company procedures across 1,400+ file formats
Sales enablement: Product information chatbots, lead qualification, customer education with white-labeled widgets on websites and apps
Documentation assistance: Technical docs, help centers, FAQs with automatic website crawling and sitemap indexing
Educational platforms: Course materials, research assistance, student support with multimedia content (YouTube transcriptions, podcasts)
Healthcare information: Patient education, medical knowledge bases (SOC 2 Type II compliant for sensitive data)
E-commerce: Product recommendations, order assistance, customer inquiries with API integration to 5,000+ apps via Zapier
SaaS onboarding: User guides, feature explanations, troubleshooting with multi-agent support for different teams
Security & Compliance
Certifications: HIPAA with Business Associate Agreement (BAA) capability, FINRA compliance for financial services, GDPR compliance for EU data protection
Deployment options: On-premise or VPC deployments for full data sovereignty and control; cloud-agnostic architecture
Encryption: Enterprise-grade encryption at rest and in transit; granular access controls and role-based permissions
Data retention: Custom data retention policies tailored to industry requirements and compliance mandates
Monitoring: Comprehensive logging and monitoring tied to client monitoring stacks (Splunk, CloudWatch, etc.) for real-time alerts and KPI-driven analytics
Vulnerability management: Continuous security scanning and threat detection for production systems
GDPR Compliance: Pre-configured policies, audit trails, and reporting for EU data protection regulation
HIPAA Compliance: Pre-built HIPAA policies, audit logs, BAA support, and PHI masking adhering to Safe Harbor standards
PCI DSS Compliance: Payment card data protection with context-preserving tokenization
PDPL Compliance: Pre-configured for Saudi Arabia Personal Data Protection Law
DPDP Compliance: India Digital Personal Data Protection Act support with regional policies
End-to-End Encryption: TLS in transit, encryption at rest for complete data protection pipeline
Role-Based Access Control: Privileged users can view unmasked data while others see safe tokens
Comprehensive Audit Logs: Every masking decision captured (what, when, why) for regulatory verification
Deployment Flexibility: SaaS, VPC, or on-prem options for strict data residency requirements
Zero Data Egress: On-prem deployment option ensures sensitive data never leaves organizational boundaries
Encryption: SSL/TLS for data in transit, 256-bit AES encryption for data at rest
SOC 2 Type II certification: Industry-leading security standards with regular third-party audits
Security Certifications
GDPR compliance: Full compliance with European data protection regulations, ensuring data privacy and user rights
Access controls: Role-based access control (RBAC), two-factor authentication (2FA), SSO integration for enterprise security
Data isolation: Customer data stays isolated and private - platform never trains on user data
Domain allowlisting: Ensures chatbot appears only on approved sites for security and brand protection
Secure deployments: ChatGPT Plugin support for private use cases with controlled access
Pricing & Plans
Pricing model: Bespoke project-based pricing with costs scaling by scope, complexity, and timeline; higher upfront investment than SaaS subscriptions
Minimum project size: $10,000+ minimum engagement; average hourly rate $25-49/hour
Project cost range: $4,200 to over $70,000 depending on complexity and requirements
Billing structure: Week-by-week exploratory pricing available for flexibility; custom enterprise agreements for long-term partnerships (average 3.2+ years)
Team composition: Clients work with teams of 1-15 members ensuring quality service and timely delivery
Value proposition: Full code ownership without recurring subscription costs; long-term investment for organizations with unique, complex requirements
Enterprise Pricing: Custom quotes based on data volume and throughput requirements
Free Trial Available: Test platform capabilities before commitment with hands-on evaluation
Volume-Based Discounts: Pricing scales with usage - better rates for higher data volumes
Pricing Factors: Number of records processed, API call volume, deployment model (cloud/on-prem), support level
Cost Justification: Prevents regulatory fines (GDPR €20M, HIPAA $1.5M) and enables safe LLM adoption in regulated industries
ROI Focus: Investment in compliance infrastructure vs cost of data breaches and regulatory penalties
Transparent Billing: Usage-based with predictable costs for budget planning at enterprise scale
No Public Pricing: Contact sales for custom quotes tailored to organizational needs and scale
Standard Plan: $99/month or $89/month annual - 10 custom chatbots, 5,000 items per chatbot, 60 million words per bot, basic helpdesk support, standard security
View Pricing
Premium Plan: $499/month or $449/month annual - 100 custom chatbots, 20,000 items per chatbot, 300 million words per bot, advanced support, enhanced security, additional customization
Enterprise Plan: Custom pricing - Comprehensive AI solutions, highest security and compliance, dedicated account managers, custom SSO, token authentication, priority support with faster SLAs
Enterprise Solutions
7-Day Free Trial: Full access to Standard features without charges - available to all users
Annual billing discount: Save 10% by paying upfront annually ($89/mo Standard, $449/mo Premium)
Flat monthly rates: No per-query charges, no hidden costs for API access or white-labeling (included in all plans)
Managed infrastructure: Auto-scaling cloud infrastructure included - no additional hosting or scaling fees
Support & Documentation
Support model: White-glove support with dedicated account manager and direct access to development team during and after deployment
Project management: Weekly meetings, backlog system, continuous engagement throughout project lifecycle and post-delivery assistance beyond original scope
Documentation: Custom documentation delivered with code including endpoint design, architecture diagrams, and implementation guides
Training: In-person training and knowledge transfer sessions with client teams; hands-over clear docs and code reviews on delivery
Response times: Direct communication with dedicated team; no formal SLAs but clients report high responsiveness and transparency
Community: No public community forum; support delivered through professional services engagement model
Enterprise-Grade Support: Dedicated account managers and SLA-backed assistance for large deployments
Comprehensive Documentation: REST API guides, Python SDK docs, step-by-step integration guides for data pipelines
Whitepapers & Best Practices: Security frameworks, compliance guides, and secure AI pipeline architectures
Integration Guides: Detailed documentation for Snowflake, Databricks, Kafka, LangChain, CrewAI, and model gateways
SIEM Integration: Hooks into security information and event management tools for real-time compliance monitoring
Professional Services: Implementation assistance, custom policy configuration, and security workflow design
Industry Partnerships: Active thought leadership and collaboration with compliance standards organizations
Training Resources: Guided presets (HIPAA Mode, GDPR Mode) for rapid onboarding and deployment
Documentation hub: Rich docs, tutorials, cookbooks, FAQs, API references for rapid onboarding
Developer Docs
Email and in-app support: Quick support via email and in-app chat for all users
Premium support: Premium and Enterprise plans include dedicated account managers and faster SLAs
Code samples: Cookbooks, step-by-step guides, and examples for every skill level
API Documentation
Active community: User community plus 5,000+ app integrations through Zapier ecosystem
Regular updates: Platform stays current with ongoing GPT and retrieval improvements automatically
Limitations & Considerations
Higher initial investment: Project-based pricing ($10,000+ minimum) significantly higher than SaaS alternatives; not suitable for small businesses or startups with limited budgets
Longer implementation timeline: Expect 12-18 month pilot phases before enterprise-wide rollout; implementations take weeks to months vs. hours for self-service platforms
Requires technical resources: Organizations need internal development teams to maintain and extend custom solutions post-delivery; not a turnkey solution
Services-driven approach: Model selection, configuration, and customization determined by Azumo team vs. self-service dashboard controls
Learning curve: Custom systems require significant onboarding and training for client teams to operate and maintain effectively
Not ideal for: Simple use cases that can be solved with off-the-shelf tools, organizations seeking rapid deployment without development resources, budget-constrained small businesses
NOT A RAG PLATFORM: Security middleware only - requires separate RAG/LLM infrastructure for complete AI solution
NO Chat UI: Technical dashboard for IT/security teams, not end-user chatbot interface
NO No-Code Builder: Configuration requires technical understanding - not wizard-style setup for non-technical users
Enterprise-Only Pricing: Higher cost than general RAG platforms but essential for compliance - best for regulated industries
Developer Integration Required: APIs and SDKs need coding expertise to integrate into existing data pipelines
Deployment Complexity: On-prem setup requires infrastructure planning and ongoing management vs simple SaaS
Additional Infrastructure: Organizations still need separate LLM, vector DB, and RAG platform beyond Protecto security layer
Use Case Specificity: Designed for sensitive data protection - unnecessary overhead for non-regulated use cases
Performance Overhead: Real-time masking adds latency - sub-second but requires consideration in high-throughput systems
Best For: Regulated industries (healthcare, finance, government) where compliance is non-negotiable, not general-purpose RAG applications
Managed service approach: Less control over underlying RAG pipeline configuration compared to build-your-own solutions like LangChain
Vendor lock-in: Proprietary platform - migration to alternative RAG solutions requires rebuilding knowledge bases
Model selection: Limited to OpenAI (GPT-5.1 and 4 series) and Anthropic (Claude, opus and sonnet 4.5) - no support for other LLM providers (Cohere, AI21, open-source models)
Pricing at scale: Flat-rate pricing may become expensive for very high-volume use cases (millions of queries/month) compared to pay-per-use models
Customization limits: While highly configurable, some advanced RAG techniques (custom reranking, hybrid search strategies) may not be exposed
Language support: Supports 90+ languages but performance may vary for less common languages or specialized domains
Real-time data: Knowledge bases require re-indexing for updates - not ideal for real-time data requirements (stock prices, live inventory)
Enterprise features: Some advanced features (custom SSO, token authentication) only available on Enterprise plan with custom pricing
After analyzing features, pricing, performance, and user feedback, both Azumo and Protecto are capable platforms that serve different market segments and use cases effectively.
When to Choose Azumo
You value highly skilled nearshore developers in same timezone
Extensive AI/ML expertise since 2016
Flexible engagement models (staff aug or project-based)
Best For: Highly skilled nearshore developers in same timezone
When to Choose Protecto
You value industry-leading 99% accuracy retention
Only solution preserving context while masking
3000+ enterprise customers already secured
Best For: Industry-leading 99% accuracy retention
Migration & Switching Considerations
Switching between Azumo and Protecto requires careful planning. Consider data export capabilities, API compatibility, and integration complexity. Both platforms offer migration support, but expect 2-4 weeks for complete transition including testing and team training.
Pricing Comparison Summary
Azumo starts at $100000/month, while Protecto begins at custom pricing. Total cost of ownership should factor in implementation time, training requirements, API usage fees, and ongoing support. Enterprise deployments typically see annual costs ranging from $10,000 to $500,000+ depending on scale and requirements.
Our Recommendation Process
Start with a free trial - Both platforms offer trial periods to test with your actual data
Define success metrics - Response accuracy, latency, user satisfaction, cost per query
Test with real use cases - Don't rely on generic demos; use your production data
Evaluate total cost - Factor in implementation time, training, and ongoing maintenance
Check vendor stability - Review roadmap transparency, update frequency, and support quality
For most organizations, the decision between Azumo and Protecto comes down to specific requirements rather than overall superiority. Evaluate both platforms with your actual data during trial periods, focusing on accuracy, latency, ease of integration, and total cost of ownership.
📚 Next Steps
Ready to make your decision? We recommend starting with a hands-on evaluation of both platforms using your specific use case and data.
• Review: Check the detailed feature comparison table above
• Test: Sign up for free trials and test with real queries
• Calculate: Estimate your monthly costs based on expected usage
• Decide: Choose the platform that best aligns with your requirements
Last updated: December 13, 2025 | This comparison is regularly reviewed and updated to reflect the latest platform capabilities, pricing, and user feedback.
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DevRel at CustomGPT.ai. Passionate about AI and its applications. Here to help you navigate the world of AI tools and make informed decisions for your business.
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