CustomGPT vs RAGFlow

Make an informed decision with our comprehensive comparison. Discover which RAG solution perfectly fits your needs.

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Priyansh Khodiyar's avatar
Priyansh KhodiyarDevRel at CustomGPT.ai

Fact checked and reviewed by Bill Cava

Published: 01.04.2025Updated: 25.04.2025

In this comprehensive guide, we compare CustomGPT and RAGFlow 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 CustomGPT and RAGFlow, 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 CustomGPT if: you value industry-leading accuracy with 97% benchmark score
  • Choose RAGFlow if: you value truly open-source (apache 2.0) with 68k+ github stars - vibrant community

About CustomGPT

CustomGPT Landing Page Screenshot

CustomGPT is most accurate rag-as-a-service api for business. CustomGPT is the #1 benchmarked RAG platform that enables businesses to create powerful AI assistants trained on their specific data, offering industry-leading accuracy with reduced hallucinations and seamless integration capabilities. Founded in 2021, headquartered in Needham, Massachusetts, United States, the platform has established itself as a reliable solution in the RAG space.

Overall Rating
94/100
Starting Price
$99/mo

About RAGFlow

RAGFlow Landing Page Screenshot

RAGFlow is open-source rag orchestration engine for document ai. Open-source RAG engine with deep document understanding, hybrid retrieval, and template-based chunking for extracting knowledge from complex formatted data. Founded in 2024, headquartered in Global (Open Source), the platform has established itself as a reliable solution in the RAG space.

Overall Rating
80/100
Starting Price
Custom

Key Differences at a Glance

In terms of user ratings, CustomGPT in overall satisfaction. From a cost perspective, RAGFlow offers more competitive entry pricing. The platforms also differ in their primary focus: AI Chatbot versus RAG Platform. 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

Features
logo of customGPT logo
CustomGPT
logo of ragflow
RAGFlow
Data Ingestion & Knowledge Sources
  • 1,400+ file formats – PDF, DOCX, Excel, PowerPoint, Markdown, HTML + auto-extraction from ZIP/RAR/7Z archives
  • Website crawling – Sitemap indexing with configurable depth for help docs, FAQs, and public content
  • Multimedia transcription – AI Vision, OCR, YouTube/Vimeo/podcast speech-to-text built-in
  • Cloud integrations – Google Drive, SharePoint, OneDrive, Dropbox, Notion with auto-sync
  • Knowledge platforms – Zendesk, Freshdesk, HubSpot, Confluence, Shopify connectors
  • Massive scale – 60M words (Standard) / 300M words (Premium) per bot with no performance degradation
  • Deep document parsing – PDFs, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, images, scanned PDFs with OCR
  • Layout recognition – Template-based chunking preserving structure, sections, headings
  • External connectors – Confluence, AWS S3, Google Drive, Notion, Discord channels
  • Scheduled sync – Automated refresh for continuous ingestion from external sources
  • Elasticsearch backend – Handles unlimited tokens and millions of documents
Integrations & Channels
  • Website embedding – Lightweight JS widget or iframe with customizable positioning
  • CMS plugins – WordPress, WIX, Webflow, Framer, SquareSpace native support
  • 5,000+ app ecosystem – Zapier connects CRMs, marketing, e-commerce tools
  • MCP Server – Integrate with Claude Desktop, Cursor, ChatGPT, Windsurf
  • OpenAI SDK compatible – Drop-in replacement for OpenAI API endpoints
  • LiveChat + Slack – Native chat widgets with human handoff capabilities
  • ⚠️ No native integrations – No pre-built Slack, Teams, WhatsApp, Telegram
  • API-driven – RESTful conversation/query APIs for custom integrations
  • Reference chat UI – Demo interface included, can be embedded or customized
  • Ultimate flexibility – Integrate with any platform via API with engineering work
Core Chatbot Features
  • ✅ #1 accuracy – Median 5/5 in independent benchmarks, 10% lower hallucination than OpenAI
  • ✅ Source citations – Every response includes clickable links to original documents
  • ✅ 93% resolution rate – Handles queries autonomously, reducing human workload
  • ✅ 92 languages – Native multilingual support without per-language config
  • ✅ Lead capture – Built-in email collection, custom forms, real-time notifications
  • ✅ Human handoff – Escalation with full conversation context preserved
N/A
Customization & Branding
  • Full white-labeling included – Colors, logos, CSS, custom domains at no extra cost
  • 2-minute setup – No-code wizard with drag-and-drop interface
  • Persona customization – Control AI personality, tone, response style via pre-prompts
  • Visual theme editor – Real-time preview of branding changes
  • Domain allowlisting – Restrict embedding to approved sites only
  • Full source access – Modify Admin UI, styling, behavior at code level
  • White-labeling – Complete branding removal via code editing
  • Custom frontend – Build entirely custom chat using RAGFlow as backend
  • ⚠️ No point-and-click – UI changes require config/code editing
L L M Model Options
  • GPT-5.1 models – Latest thinking models (Optimal & Smart variants)
  • GPT-4 series – GPT-4, GPT-4 Turbo, GPT-4o available
  • Claude 4.5 – Anthropic's Opus available for Enterprise
  • Auto model routing – Balances cost/performance automatically
  • Zero API key management – All models managed behind the scenes
  • Model agnostic – OpenAI GPT-4/3.5, Claude 3, Gemini, Llama, Mistral
  • Local deployment – Ollama, Xinference, IPEX-LLM for complete offline
  • Chinese LLMs – Baichuan, Tencent Hunyuan, Baidu Yiyan, XunFei Spark
  • OpenAI-compatible – Any model with compatible API endpoints
  • ✅ No vendor lock-in – Swap providers freely
Developer Experience ( A P I & S D Ks)
  • REST API – Full-featured for agents, projects, data ingestion, chat queries
  • Python SDK – Open-source customgpt-client with full API coverage
  • Postman collections – Pre-built requests for rapid prototyping
  • Webhooks – Real-time event notifications for conversations and leads
  • OpenAI compatible – Use existing OpenAI SDK code with minimal changes
  • RESTful APIs – Document upload, parsing, datasets, conversation queries
  • Python interfaces – Library calls for programmatic control
  • Extensive docs – ragflow.io/docs with guides and examples
  • ⚠️ No packaged SDK – HTTP requests or direct module calls
  • ⚠️ Docker required – Self-hosted setup with technical expertise
Performance & Accuracy
  • Sub-second responses – Optimized RAG with vector search and multi-layer caching
  • Benchmark-proven – 13% higher accuracy, 34% faster than OpenAI Assistants API
  • Anti-hallucination tech – Responses grounded only in your provided content
  • OpenGraph citations – Rich visual cards with titles, descriptions, images
  • 99.9% uptime – Auto-scaling infrastructure handles traffic spikes
  • Hybrid retrieval – Full-text + vector + multiple recall with fused re-ranking
  • Grounded citations – Reduces hallucinations with source transparency
  • Deep document parsing – Layout recognition improves retrieval precision
  • Production-grade – Elasticsearch-backed for large datasets and fast queries
  • ✅ Community validated – 68K+ stars, many production deployments
Security & Compliance
  • SOC 2 Type II + GDPR – Regular third-party audits, full EU compliance
  • 256-bit AES encryption – Data at rest; SSL/TLS in transit
  • SSO + 2FA + RBAC – Enterprise access controls with role-based permissions
  • Data isolation – Never trains on customer data
  • Domain allowlisting – Restrict chatbot to approved domains
  • Complete data control – Self-hosted, data never leaves your infrastructure
  • On-premise deployment – Suitable for government/corporate secrets
  • Air-gapped option – Local LLMs eliminate external API exposure
  • User-configured encryption – TLS, VPN, OS-level disk encryption
  • ⚠️ No formal certifications – SOC 2, ISO 27001 via deployment config
Pricing & Plans
  • Standard: $99/mo – 10 chatbots, 60M words, 5K items/bot
  • Premium: $449/mo – 100 chatbots, 300M words, 20K items/bot
  • Enterprise: Custom – SSO, dedicated support, custom SLAs
  • 7-day free trial – Full Standard access, no charges
  • Flat-rate pricing – No per-query charges, no hidden costs
  • License: $0 – Apache 2.0 open-source, free to use and modify
  • Infrastructure costs – Cloud VMs, storage, networking paid by user
  • LLM API costs – Separate charges for OpenAI/Anthropic (eliminable with local)
  • Engineering costs – DevOps for installation, maintenance, updates
  • ⚠️ TCO variability – Can exceed SaaS for smaller deployments
Support & Ecosystem
  • Comprehensive docs – Tutorials, cookbooks, API references
  • Email + in-app support – Under 24hr response time
  • Premium support – Dedicated account managers for Premium/Enterprise
  • Open-source SDK – Python SDK, Postman, GitHub examples
  • 5,000+ Zapier apps – CRMs, e-commerce, marketing integrations
  • 68K+ GitHub stars – Largest open-source RAG community
  • Active Discord – Real-time help from users and maintainers
  • Rapid releases – Modern features often before commercial platforms
  • ⚠️ No SLA – Community support, no guaranteed response times
Observability & Monitoring
  • Real-time dashboard – Query volumes, token usage, response times
  • Customer Intelligence – User behavior patterns, popular queries, knowledge gaps
  • Conversation analytics – Full transcripts, resolution rates, common questions
  • Export capabilities – API export to BI tools and data warehouses
  • ⚠️ No built-in analytics – Basic admin stats only (doc counts, query history)
  • Logs – Console and file logs for operations and errors
  • External integration – Prometheus, Grafana, Datadog, Splunk compatible
  • Ultimate flexibility – Instrument with any monitoring stack
Use Cases
  • Customer support – 24/7 AI handling common queries with citations
  • Internal knowledge – HR policies, onboarding, technical docs
  • Sales enablement – Product info, lead qualification, education
  • Documentation – Help centers, FAQs with auto-crawling
  • E-commerce – Product recommendations, order assistance
  • Enterprise document analysis – Financial risk, fraud detection, investment research
  • Legal document processing – Structure preservation, citation tracking
  • Healthcare – Clinical decision support with strict data privacy
  • Government/defense – Classified analysis with air-gapped deployment
  • Research & development – Scientific papers, patents, literature review
Limitations & Considerations
  • Managed service – Less control over RAG pipeline vs build-your-own
  • Model selection – OpenAI + Anthropic only; no Cohere, AI21, open-source
  • Real-time data – Requires re-indexing; not ideal for live inventory/prices
  • Enterprise features – Custom SSO only on Enterprise plan
  • ⚠️ DevOps expertise required – Not for teams without container orchestration skills
  • ⚠️ No managed service – Self-hosted only, no SaaS option available
  • ⚠️ Maintenance burden – Docker updates, security patches, monitoring on user
  • ⚠️ No native channel integrations – API-driven custom development required
  • ⚠️ No built-in analytics – External tools (Prometheus, Grafana) required
  • Best for – Enterprises with DevOps; poor fit for rapid deployment needs
Core Agent Features
  • Custom AI Agents – Autonomous GPT-4/Claude agents for business tasks
  • Multi-Agent Systems – Specialized agents for support, sales, knowledge
  • Memory & Context – Persistent conversation history across sessions
  • Tool Integration – Webhooks + 5,000 Zapier apps for automation
  • Continuous Learning – Auto re-indexing without manual retraining
  • Multi-turn context – Session-based conversation API (v0.22+)
  • Grounded citations – Answers backed by source text chunks
  • Multi-lingual – Depends on chosen LLM, Chinese UI native
  • ⚠️ No lead capture – Requires custom frontend implementation
  • ⚠️ No analytics dashboard – Must integrate external tools
R A G Capabilities
  • GPT-4 + RAG – Outperforms OpenAI in independent benchmarks
  • Anti-hallucination – Responses grounded in your content only
  • Automatic citations – Clickable source links in every response
  • Sub-second latency – Optimized vector search and caching
  • Scale to 300M words – No performance degradation at scale
  • Hybrid retrieval – Full-text + vector + multiple recall with fused re-ranking
  • GraphRAG – Relationship-aware knowledge extraction across entities
  • RAPTOR – Hierarchical tree-organized retrieval structures
  • Template-based chunking – Document-type-specific strategies preserving structure
  • Code sandbox – Safe execution for complex analytical tasks
Competitive Positioning
  • Market position – Leading RAG platform balancing enterprise accuracy with no-code usability. Trusted by 6,000+ orgs including Adobe, MIT, Dropbox.
  • Key differentiators – #1 benchmarked accuracy • 1,400+ formats • Full white-labeling included • Flat-rate pricing
  • vs OpenAI – 10% lower hallucination, 13% higher accuracy, 34% faster
  • vs Botsonic/Chatbase – More file formats, source citations, no hidden costs
  • vs LangChain – Production-ready in 2 min vs weeks of development
  • Open-source freedom – Zero licensing costs, complete customization
  • Technical superiority – Hybrid retrieval often exceeds commercial accuracy
  • Data sovereignty – Self-hosted ensures complete data control
  • Innovation speed – GraphRAG, agentic workflows before many commercial platforms
  • ⚠️ DevOps required – Not for teams without technical resources
R A G-as-a- Service Assessment
  • Platform type – TRUE RAG-AS-A-SERVICE with managed infrastructure
  • API-first – REST API, Python SDK, OpenAI compatibility, MCP Server
  • No-code option – 2-minute wizard deployment for non-developers
  • Hybrid positioning – Serves both dev teams (APIs) and business users (no-code)
  • Enterprise ready – SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, WCAG 2.0, flat-rate pricing
  • Platform type – TRUE RAG PLATFORM (Open-Source Engine), NOT SaaS
  • Hybrid retrieval – Full-text + vector + re-ranking with deep document parsing
  • Model agnostic – Any LLM (OpenAI, local, custom) without vendor lock-in
  • Target users – Developer teams, enterprises with DevOps capabilities
  • ⚠️ Not for non-technical – Requires Docker, infrastructure management
A I Models
  • OpenAI – GPT-5.1 (Optimal/Smart), GPT-4 series
  • Anthropic – Claude 4.5 Opus/Sonnet (Enterprise)
  • Auto-routing – Intelligent model selection for cost/performance
  • Managed – No API keys or fine-tuning required
  • OpenAI – GPT-4, GPT-4o, GPT-4o-mini, GPT-3.5-turbo and all compatible
  • Anthropic – Claude 3.5 Sonnet, Claude 3 Opus, Claude 3 Haiku
  • Google – Gemini Pro and Gemini Ultra via Cloud integration
  • Local models – Ollama, Xinference, IPEX-LLM for complete offline
  • Open-source – Llama 2/3, Mistral, DeepSeek, WizardLM, Vicuna
No- Code Interface & Usability
  • 2-minute deployment – Fastest time-to-value in the industry
  • Wizard interface – Step-by-step with visual previews
  • Drag-and-drop – Upload files, paste URLs, connect cloud storage
  • In-browser testing – Test before deploying to production
  • Zero learning curve – Productive on day one
  • Admin UI (v0.22+) – Basic file upload, dataset management, connections
  • ⚠️ Not true no-code – Docker, OAuth config requires technical setup
  • Power user access – Analysts can maintain after developer setup
  • ⚠️ Single admin login – No RBAC by default, requires custom implementation
Customization & Flexibility ( Behavior & Knowledge)
  • Live content updates – Add/remove content with automatic re-indexing
  • System prompts – Shape agent behavior and voice through instructions
  • Multi-agent support – Different bots for different teams
  • Smart defaults – No ML expertise required for custom behavior
N/A
Pricing & Scalability
  • Standard: $99/mo – 60M words, 10 bots
  • Premium: $449/mo – 300M words, 100 bots
  • Auto-scaling – Managed cloud scales with demand
  • Flat rates – No per-query charges
N/A
Security & Privacy
  • SOC 2 Type II + GDPR – Third-party audited compliance
  • Encryption – 256-bit AES at rest, SSL/TLS in transit
  • Access controls – RBAC, 2FA, SSO, domain allowlisting
  • Data isolation – Never trains on your data
N/A
Support & Documentation
  • Documentation hub – Docs, tutorials, API references
  • Support channels – Email, in-app chat, dedicated managers (Premium+)
  • Open-source – Python SDK, Postman, GitHub examples
  • Community – User community + 5,000 Zapier integrations
N/A
Additional Considerations
  • Time-to-value – 2-minute deployment vs weeks with DIY
  • Always current – Auto-updates to latest GPT models
  • Proven scale – 6,000+ organizations, millions of queries
  • Multi-LLM – OpenAI + Claude reduces vendor lock-in
  • ✅ Open-source freedom – Zero licensing, complete customization
  • ✅ Modern RAG features – GraphRAG, RAPTOR, agentic workflows
  • ✅ Data sovereignty – Self-hosted, air-gapped operation possible
  • ⚠️ DevOps expertise required – Docker, infrastructure management
  • ⚠️ Maintenance burden – Updates, patches, monitoring, backups on user
  • ⚠️ No commercial SLA – Community support only
Advanced R A G ( Core Differentiator)
N/A
  • GraphRAG – Graph-based retrieval for relationship-aware knowledge extraction
  • RAPTOR – Recursive abstractive processing for tree-organized retrieval
  • Agentic workflows – Multi-step reasoning, tool use, code execution in sandbox
  • Hybrid search – Full-text + vector + ML re-ranking combined
  • ✅ 68K+ GitHub stars – Fastest-growing open-source RAG project (Octoverse 2024)

Final Thoughts

Final Verdict: CustomGPT vs RAGFlow

After analyzing features, pricing, performance, and user feedback, both CustomGPT and RAGFlow are capable platforms that serve different market segments and use cases effectively.

When to Choose CustomGPT

  • You value industry-leading accuracy with 97% benchmark score
  • Patented technology to reduce hallucinations
  • Easy no-code setup with powerful customization

Best For: Industry-leading accuracy with 97% benchmark score

When to Choose RAGFlow

  • You value truly open-source (apache 2.0) with 68k+ github stars - vibrant community
  • State-of-the-art hybrid retrieval with multiple recall + fused re-ranking
  • Deep document understanding extracts knowledge from complex formats (OCR, layouts)

Best For: Truly open-source (Apache 2.0) with 68K+ GitHub stars - vibrant community

Migration & Switching Considerations

Switching between CustomGPT and RAGFlow 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

CustomGPT starts at $99/month, while RAGFlow 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

  1. Start with a free trial - Both platforms offer trial periods to test with your actual data
  2. Define success metrics - Response accuracy, latency, user satisfaction, cost per query
  3. Test with real use cases - Don't rely on generic demos; use your production data
  4. Evaluate total cost - Factor in implementation time, training, and ongoing maintenance
  5. Check vendor stability - Review roadmap transparency, update frequency, and support quality

For most organizations, the decision between CustomGPT and RAGFlow 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: February 3, 2026 | This comparison is regularly reviewed and updated to reflect the latest platform capabilities, pricing, and user feedback.

See Also

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The most accurate RAG-as-a-Service API. Deliver production-ready reliable RAG applications faster. Benchmarked #1 in accuracy and hallucinations for fully managed RAG-as-a-Service API.

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Priyansh Khodiyar's avatar

Priyansh Khodiyar

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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