In this comprehensive guide, we compare Nuclia and Supavec 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 Nuclia and Supavec, 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 Nuclia if: you value specialized for unstructured data
Choose Supavec if: you value 100% open source with no vendor lock-in
About Nuclia
Nuclia is ai search and rag-as-a-service for unstructured data. Nuclia is a RAG-as-a-Service platform that automatically indexes unstructured data from any source to deliver AI search, generative answers, and knowledge extraction with enterprise-grade security and multilingual support. Founded in 2019, headquartered in Barcelona, Spain, the platform has established itself as a reliable solution in the RAG space.
Overall Rating
81/100
Starting Price
$300/mo
About Supavec
Supavec is the open source rag as a service platform. SupaVec is an open-source RAG platform that serves as an alternative to Carbon.ai. Built on transparency and data sovereignty, it allows developers to build powerful RAG applications with complete control over their infrastructure, supporting any data source at any scale. Founded in 2024, headquartered in Remote, the platform has established itself as a reliable solution in the RAG space.
Overall Rating
84/100
Starting Price
Custom
Key Differences at a Glance
In terms of user ratings, both platforms score similarly in overall satisfaction. From a cost perspective, Supavec offers more competitive entry pricing. The platforms also differ in their primary focus: RAG Platform 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
Nuclia
Supavec
CustomGPTRECOMMENDED
Data Ingestion & Knowledge Sources
Indexes just about any unstructured data, in any language—PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, web pages, you name it. [Nuclia Documentation]
Runs OCR on images and converts speech in audio / video to text, so everything becomes searchable. [Nuclia Website]
Lets you ingest data programmatically via REST API, Python / JS SDKs, a CLI, or a Sync Agent for nonstop updates. [Nuclia Docs]
The Sync Agent watches connected repos (cloud drives, sitemaps, etc.) and auto-indexes any changes.
No one-click Google Drive or Notion connectors—you’ll script the fetch and hit the API yourself.
Because it’s open source, you can build connectors to anything—Postgres, Mongo, S3, you name it.
Runs on Supabase and scales sideways, chunking millions of docs for fast retrieval.
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
No-code widget generator lets you drop a search or Q&A panel onto your site in minutes. [Nuclia No-Code]
No one-click Slack or Teams bots out of the box, but the REST API / SDKs make custom bots easy.
Works with n8n and Zapier, so you can hook Nuclia into thousands of other services. [n8n Integration]
API-first philosophy means you can embed Nuclia search or Q&A into any channel you like.
Pure REST for retrieval and generation—no built-in widget or Slack bot.
You code the chat UI or Slack bridge, calling Supavec for answers.
No Zapier—webhooks and automations are DIY inside your app.
If it speaks HTTP, it can talk to Supavec—you just handle the front-end.
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.
Need more calls? Negotiate or self-host to ditch caps.
Storage isn’t metered—only query volume counts toward the plan.
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
Data lives in isolated Knowledge Boxes with disk encryption—never cross-trained between customers. [Privacy & Security]
Supports on-prem or private-cloud NucliaDB and local LLMs for strict residency. [On-Prem Option]
GDPR-compliant; no data is used to train global models unless you opt in.
Enterprise SSO and role-based access, with region pick (EU, etc.) for data zones.
Self-hosting keeps everything on your servers—great for tight compliance.
[Privacy note]
Hosted Supavec runs on Supabase with row-level security—each team’s data is fenced off.
No training on your docs—data stays yours.
Enterprises can go dedicated or on-prem for HIPAA/GDPR peace of mind.
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
Dashboard shows usage and token spend for indexing and queries.
Activity logs track who ingested or queried what—great for audits. [Management Docs]
Open APIs / CLI make it easy to send logs to Splunk, Elastic, or your favorite tool.
You control how Q&A events are logged when you build your own front end.
No dashboard baked in—log requests yourself or use Supabase metrics when self-hosting.
Hosted plan shows basic call counts; no transcript analytics out of the box.
Need deep insights? Wire up your own monitoring layer.
Designed to play nicely with external logging tools, not ship its own.
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
Docs, Slack community, and Stack Overflow keep devs productive. [Community]
Open-source pieces like NucliaDB and nuclia-eval ensure transparency.
LangChain integration, HF presence, and many samples foster a healthy dev scene.
Enterprise customers get personalized support—especially for on-prem or hybrid installs.
Community help via GitHub/Discord; paid plans unlock email or priority support.
[Docs]
Open-source means forks, PRs, and home-grown connectors are welcome.
Docs are lean—mostly endpoint references rather than big tutorials.
Code samples pop up in the community, but it’s not a huge library yet.
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.
Additional Considerations
More than just search—Nuclia covers AI search, Q&A, classification, and multi-language out of the box.
Great for replacing or boosting enterprise search across text, audio, and video with RAG.
Open-source core reduces lock-in and lets you extend or self-host if desired.
Very flexible platform—powerful, but may need extra ML / DevOps effort for advanced setups.
No vendor lock-in: transparent code, offline option, host wherever you like.
Focuses on core RAG—no SSO, dashboards, or fancy UI included.
Great for devs who want full control or must keep data in-house.
Conversation flow, advanced prompts, fancy UI—all yours to build.
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
No-code dashboard walks you through: create Knowledge Box → upload data → tune search → embed widget. [No-Code Intro]
Advanced sliders (retrieval strategy, prompt tweaks) may feel technical for absolute beginners.
Defaults work fine out of the gate, but power users can dive into embeddings, chunking, and more.
For full custom UI / branding, build on the API and craft the front end yourself.
No drag-and-drop dashboard—everything's via API or CLI.
Meant for code-first teams who'll bolt it into their own chat or workflow.
Self-hosters can craft custom GUIs on top, but Supavec keeps the slate blank.
If you want a business-user UI like CustomGPT, you'll layer that yourself.
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: API-first RAG platform with comprehensive multimodal indexing (text, audio, video, OCR) and model-agnostic architecture, balancing developer flexibility with no-code dashboard usability
Target customers: Development teams needing multimodal search across text/audio/video, organizations wanting model flexibility (OpenAI, Azure, PaLM, Cohere, Anthropic, Hugging Face), and companies requiring on-prem/hybrid deployment with open-source NucliaDB foundation
Key competitors: Deepset/Haystack, Vectara.ai, Azure AI Search, and custom RAG implementations using Pinecone/Weaviate
Competitive advantages: Comprehensive multimodal indexing (OCR for images, speech-to-text for audio/video), model-agnostic with "100% private generative AI" option, open-source NucliaDB for self-hosting and portability, Sync Agent for automated continuous indexing, n8n/Zapier integration for workflow automation, and GDPR compliance with isolated Knowledge Boxes never cross-training between customers
Pricing advantage: License + consumption model with granular control (base + indexing + queries + LLM calls); light usage stays cheap while scaling automatically; free trial available; best value for organizations wanting to control costs through usage optimization and on-prem deployment options
Use case fit: Ideal for enterprises with diverse content types requiring multimodal search (documents, audio, video), organizations prioritizing model flexibility without vendor lock-in, and companies needing hybrid/on-prem deployment with strict data residency requirements using open-source NucliaDB foundation
Market position: MIT-licensed open-source RAG API built on Supabase, offering lightweight alternative to Carbon.ai with self-hosting capability and minimal API surface
Target customers: Developers building custom RAG applications on budget, startups wanting to avoid RAG platform costs, and organizations requiring self-hosted solutions with Supabase infrastructure for data sovereignty
Key competitors: Carbon.ai, LangChain, SimplyRetrieve, and hosted RAG APIs like CustomGPT/Pinecone Assistant
Competitive advantages: MIT open-source license with no vendor lock-in, Supabase foundation for familiar infrastructure, model-agnostic with easy LLM swapping (GPT-3.5, GPT-4, self-hosted), REST API simplicity with straightforward endpoints, privacy-focused with self-hosting option keeping data on your servers, and minimal abstraction enabling deep customization
Pricing advantage: Free (MIT license) for self-hosting; hosted plans extremely affordable ($190/year Basic for 750 calls/month, $1,490/year Enterprise for 5K calls/month); best value for low-volume applications or teams with Supabase expertise wanting to avoid expensive RAG platforms; 40-90% cheaper than commercial alternatives
Use case fit: Perfect for developers wanting lightweight RAG backend without heavy frameworks, startups minimizing costs with self-hosting on existing Supabase infrastructure, and teams building custom chatbot front-ends needing simple REST API for retrieval without paying for unused dashboard features
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
Model-Agnostic Architecture: Supports OpenAI, Azure OpenAI, Google PaLM 2, Cohere, Anthropic Claude, and Hugging Face models - complete flexibility without vendor lock-in
Private GenAI Option: "100% private generative AI" mode keeps everything on Nuclia-hosted infrastructure for maximum data isolation
Hugging Face Integration: Drop in open-source or domain-specific models from Hugging Face for specialized use cases
Flexible Model Switching: Swap or blend models to optimize cost-vs-quality balance based on query complexity
Local Model Support: Self-hosted models require extra setup but provide complete control for sensitive deployments
Multi-Language Support: All models benefit from Nuclia's multilingual indexing covering virtually any non-pictogram language
Developer Freedom: Choose optimal LLM per query or Knowledge Box without architectural changes - true flexibility for AI applications
Model-agnostic architecture: Defaults to GPT-3.5 Turbo for cost-effectiveness, with full support for GPT-4, GPT-4-turbo, and any OpenAI-compatible models
Self-hosted model support: Bring your own LLM - compatible with self-hosted models like Llama, Mistral, or custom fine-tuned models via API endpoints
No model lock-in: Switch between models by changing configuration or prompt path in code without platform restrictions
No markup on AI costs: Users connect their own OpenAI API keys or self-hosted endpoints, paying providers directly without Supavec markup
Note: No built-in model routing: No automatic model selection or load balancing - developers must implement routing logic manually
Note: No prompt optimization layer: Plain RAG implementation without advanced prompt engineering or anti-hallucination guardrails
Quality dependency: Output quality rests entirely on chosen LLM and developer's prompt engineering skills
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
Quality-Based RAG: Focused on trusted, source-linked answers with comprehensive citation attribution for every response
Hybrid Search Engine: Combine semantic vector search with keyword matching for domain-precision retrieval
Customizable Chunking: Adjust chunk sizes, weighting, and segmentation strategies for optimal context windows
Configurable Retrieval: Fine-tune similarity thresholds, metadata filters, and ranking parameters for use case optimization
Knowledge Graph Extraction: Automatic entity and relationship extraction enriches corpus for better Q&A
Multimodal Indexing: OCR for images, speech-to-text for audio/video creates comprehensive searchable knowledge base
Open Architecture: NucliaDB open-source foundation provides transparency into retrieval mechanisms vs black-box competitors
Developer Control: Full API access for embeddings, chunking, retrieval strategies - not opaque proprietary systems
Standard RAG architecture: Document chunking with vector embeddings stored in Postgres pgvector extension for semantic search
Embedding generation: Automatic embedding creation during document upload using OpenAI embedding models or custom embedding endpoints
Vector search: Postgres vector search with cosine similarity for retrieval, handling millions of chunks efficiently
Re-indexing speed: Almost instant document re-embedding when updating or overwriting knowledge sources
Metadata support: Custom metadata tagging and filtering capabilities for organized knowledge management
Note: No advanced RAG features: No hybrid search (semantic + keyword), no reranking, no multi-query retrieval, no query expansion
Note: No hallucination detection: No built-in citation validation, factual consistency scoring, or confidence thresholds - developers must implement manually
Note: No retrieval parameter controls: Chunking strategy, similarity thresholds, and top-k configuration require code-level changes
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
Use Cases
Enterprise Search Replacement: Modernize legacy search with AI-powered semantic search across text, audio, video with RAG accuracy
Customer Support Knowledge: Internal Q&A systems for support teams needing fast, accurate answers from product documentation
Multimodal Content Discovery: Search across diverse content types - PDFs, videos, audio recordings, presentations with unified interface
Regulatory Compliance: GDPR-compliant knowledge retrieval for regulated industries requiring data residency and isolation guarantees
Developer RAG Backend: API-first RAG infrastructure for building custom AI applications without managing vector databases
Multilingual Organizations: Global companies needing search across multiple languages with consistent quality
Research & Analysis: Extract insights from large document collections with entity recognition and AI classification
On-Prem Deployments: Organizations requiring hybrid/on-prem with NucliaDB for strict data sovereignty requirements
Custom chatbot backends: Ideal for developers building custom chat interfaces needing simple RAG API without heavy platform overhead
Self-hosted knowledge retrieval: Perfect for organizations requiring data sovereignty with Supabase infrastructure for compliance (GDPR, HIPAA when self-hosted)
Budget-conscious RAG applications: Startups and small teams minimizing costs with MIT open-source license and affordable hosted plans ($190-$1,490/year)
Supabase-native projects: Teams already using Supabase can integrate Supavec seamlessly without additional infrastructure complexity
Developer-first RAG: Code-first teams wanting full control over RAG implementation, eschewing GUI dashboards for API-driven workflows
Not ideal for: Non-technical users requiring no-code interfaces, enterprises needing advanced RAG features (hybrid search, reranking), or teams requiring built-in analytics/monitoring
Not ideal for: Production applications requiring hallucination detection, citation validation, or confidence scoring without custom development
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
GDPR Compliant: EU-based with strict data protection - customer data never used to train global models unless opt-in
Data Isolation: Knowledge Boxes provide tenant separation with disk encryption - data never cross-trained between customers
On-Prem Deployment: Self-host NucliaDB and local LLMs for complete data residency and control
Private Cloud Options: Hybrid deployment with processing in Nuclia cloud but storage on-premise for data sovereignty
Enterprise SSO: Identity provider integration with role-based access control for organizational security
Regional Data Centers: EU and other region selection for compliance with local data residency laws
Zero Cross-Training: Explicit commitment that customer data never used to improve models for other customers
Encryption Standards: Data encrypted in transit and at rest with enterprise-grade security
Open-Source Transparency: NucliaDB source code available for security audits and verification
Self-hosting advantage: MIT license enables complete data sovereignty - all data stays on your servers for strict compliance requirements
[Privacy note]
Supabase security foundation: Row-level security (RLS) fences off each team's data when using hosted Supavec on Supabase infrastructure
No model training: Your documents never used for LLM training - data remains yours with zero retention by OpenAI or other providers
GDPR/HIPAA ready: Self-hosting enables GDPR and HIPAA compliance when deployed on compliant infrastructure - enterprises can go dedicated or on-premises
Encryption: Standard HTTPS encryption for API calls; at-rest encryption depends on hosting infrastructure (Supabase provides AES-256)
Note: No SOC 2 certification: Open-source project lacks formal SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, or other enterprise compliance certifications for hosted plans
Note: No built-in access controls: Authentication, authorization, and RBAC must be implemented by developers in their application layer
Note: Limited hosted security features: Hosted plans lack SSO/SAML, IP whitelisting, or advanced security controls without custom configuration
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: License + consumption (base subscription + usage-based costs for indexing, queries, and LLM calls)
Free Trial: Available for hands-on evaluation before committing to paid plans
Granular Cost Control: Pay for what you use - light usage stays cheap, heavy usage scales automatically with predictable costs
Token-Based Billing: Consumption measured in tokens for indexing and query operations with transparent pricing
On-Prem Economics: Self-hosting NucliaDB provides cost control for organizations with existing infrastructure
Multi-Tenant Scalability: Platform scales from small projects to massive multi-tenant deployments without architectural changes
No Hidden Costs: Transparent billing for all components - storage, indexing, queries, LLM usage clearly itemized
Enterprise Flexibility: Custom pricing available for large deployments with volume discounts and dedicated resources
Best Value For: Organizations wanting to control costs through usage optimization rather than fixed seat-based pricing
Open-source (Free): MIT-licensed for self-hosting - pay only your infrastructure costs (Supabase, server, storage) with unlimited API calls and no vendor fees
Hosted Free tier: 100 API calls per month for development and testing
[Pricing]
Basic Plan: $190/year ($15.83/month equivalent) - 750 API calls per month, hosted infrastructure, automatic backups, email support
Enterprise Plan: $1,490/year ($124.17/month equivalent) - 5,000 API calls per month, priority support, SLA guarantees, dedicated resources
No per-document charges: Storage not metered separately - only query volume counts toward plan limits
No user seat fees: Pricing based purely on API call volume, not team size or number of developers
Need more calls? Negotiate custom limits with hosted provider or self-host to eliminate caps entirely
Value proposition: 40-90% cheaper than commercial RAG platforms - Basic plan costs less than 1 month of competing platforms while providing annual service
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
Comprehensive Documentation: docs.nuclia.dev and docs.rag.progress.cloud with detailed guides, API references, and code examples
Active Community: Slack community, Stack Overflow support, and developer forums for peer assistance
Open-Source Resources: NucliaDB GitHub (710+ stars, AGPLv3) with transparent code and community contributions
LangChain Integration: Official integration with popular AI frameworks for developer ecosystem compatibility
Code Samples: Python and JavaScript SDK examples for common RAG workflows and use cases
Enterprise Support: Dedicated support for paid customers, especially for on-prem/hybrid installations
nuclia-eval Library: Open-source evaluation tools for RAG quality assessment and continuous improvement
API Documentation: Complete REST API reference with authentication, rate limits, and error handling guides
Quick Start Guides: Step-by-step tutorials for common scenarios from basic setup to advanced configurations
Documentation: Lean API reference docs focusing on endpoint usage with JavaScript code snippets - mostly technical rather than tutorial-heavy
[Docs]
Community support: GitHub Discussions and Discord for free tier and self-hosted users - community-driven help and troubleshooting
Email support: Paid plan users (Basic/Enterprise) get email support with priority levels based on tier
No dedicated CSM: No Customer Success Manager or account management even on Enterprise tier - support ticket-based
GitHub repository: Open-source code welcomes PRs, issues, and community contributions - active maintainer responses
Postman collection: API documentation includes Postman collection for quick testing and integration
Code samples: Community-contributed examples and integrations appearing in GitHub issues and Discord, but not extensive official library
Learning curve: Requires developer skills - no video tutorials, webinars, or certification programs like commercial platforms
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
Integration Effort: While flexible, connecting to business systems (CRM, helpdesk) requires developer work vs turnkey connectors
Best For Developers: Powerful platform for teams with technical resources, less suitable for non-coders wanting self-serve deployment
No GUI/dashboard: Everything via API or CLI - no business-user interface for content management, analytics, or configuration
Developer-only tool: Requires coding skills for setup, integration, and maintenance - non-technical teams cannot use without developer support
Basic RAG only: Standard retrieval-augmented generation without advanced features like hybrid search, query reranking, multi-query fusion, or query expansion
No observability built-in: No metrics dashboard, conversation analytics, or performance monitoring - must wire up your own logging layer
Manual hallucination handling: No built-in citation validation, confidence scoring, or factual consistency checks - developers must implement safeguards
Limited connectors: No one-click Google Drive, Notion, or cloud storage integrations - must script data fetching and API uploads manually
No conversation management: Stateless API calls without chat history, multi-turn context, or session management - build conversation layer yourself
Infrastructure knowledge required: Self-hosting requires Supabase, Postgres, and vector database expertise - not plug-and-play for non-DevOps teams
Minimal abstraction: Intentionally low-level API design provides control but requires more integration work than higher-level RAG platforms
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
Autonomous Retrieval Strategies: System automatically determines optimal retrieval strategies based on query complexity without manual configuration
Intelligent Query Routing: Routes queries to appropriate knowledge sources based on content type, metadata, and semantic understanding
Dynamic Response Generation: Adjusts response generation parameters based on context - answer length, detail level, citation density adapted per query
CrewAI Integration: Only RAG platform specifically designed to deliver reliable, scalable retrieval to AI agents - integrates with CrewAI for orchestrating autonomous AI agent teams
Multi-Agent Support: Enables creating AI teams where each agent has specific roles, tools, and goals with Nuclia providing knowledge retrieval backend
Python SDK Agent Workflows: Easy integration of AI agents into workflows through Nuclia's Python SDK unlocking intelligent automation possibilities
AI Search Copilot: Customizable LLM agents (AI copilots) interact through human-like conversation, behaving according to given goals - employee support, customer service, troubleshooting
Learning Capability: Agentic approach learns from user interactions to improve future performance through feedback loops
Automatic Context Adjustment: Dynamically manages context window utilization based on query complexity and available knowledge
MISSING FEATURES: NO lead capture, NO human handoff/escalation workflows, NO proactive alerting documented (monitoring exists, alerting unclear)
Stateless RAG Architecture: Pure retrieval and generation without built-in conversation state—developers implement multi-turn context and session management in application layer
Model-Agnostic Generation: Defaults to GPT-3.5 but supports GPT-4, self-hosted LLMs (Llama, Mistral), and any OpenAI-compatible models—no vendor lock-in for generation
Postgres Vector Search: Fast approximate nearest neighbor search using pgvector extension with cosine similarity—handles millions of chunks efficiently at enterprise scale
Metadata Filtering: Custom metadata tagging and filtering capabilities enabling organized knowledge management and multi-tenant architectures
Real-Time Re-Indexing: Almost instant document re-embedding when updating or overwriting knowledge sources—no lengthy reprocessing delays
REST API Foundation: Straightforward endpoints for file uploads, text uploads, and search with plain-JSON responses—easy integration from any programming language
Supabase Integration: Built on Supabase infrastructure leveraging PostgreSQL, Row-Level Security (RLS), and battle-tested backend for familiar deployment
LIMITATION - No Built-In Chat UI: API-only platform requiring developers to build custom chat interfaces—not a turnkey chatbot solution with widgets
LIMITATION - No Lead Capture: No built-in lead generation, email collection, or CRM integration capabilities—must be implemented at application layer
LIMITATION - No Human Handoff: No escalation workflows, live agent transfer, or fallback mechanisms—conversational features are developer responsibility
LIMITATION - No Multi-Channel Integrations: No native Slack, Teams, WhatsApp, or messaging platform connectors—developers build integration layer
LIMITATION - No Session Management: Stateless API design without conversation history tracking or multi-turn context retention—application must manage state
LIMITATION - No Advanced RAG: Missing hybrid search, reranking, knowledge graphs, multi-query retrieval, query expansion found in enterprise platforms
LIMITATION - No Observability Dashboard: No analytics, conversation metrics, or performance monitoring UI—must integrate external logging tools
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 Type: TRUE RAG-AS-A-SERVICE PLATFORM - Core mission is retrieval-augmented generation backend with managed infrastructure and API-first design
Agentic RAG Focus: Progress Agentic RAG (acquired June 2025) - specialized RAG platform with autonomous decision-making vs traditional manual RAG systems
Fully Managed Infrastructure: Hosted NucliaDB with automatic scaling, chunking, embedding, storage - no infrastructure management required
API-First Backend: Complete REST API + dual SDKs (Python/JavaScript) for programmatic knowledge base management and retrieval
Model-Agnostic Service: Supports OpenAI, Azure OpenAI, Google PaLM 2, Cohere, Anthropic, Hugging Face - switch providers without architectural changes
Open-Source Transparency: NucliaDB foundation (710+ GitHub stars, AGPLv3) provides visibility into retrieval mechanisms vs black-box platforms
Embeddable Widgets: No-code dashboard generates widgets for website deployment - not closed conversational marketing platform
Agent-Ready Infrastructure: Only RAG platform specifically designed for AI agent integration - CrewAI official integration, LangChain compatible
Comparison Alignment: Direct comparison to CustomGPT valid - both are RAG-as-a-Service with API access and managed infrastructure
Use Case Fit: Organizations prioritizing multimodal search (text/audio/video), semantic retrieval, generative Q&A, and AI agent knowledge backends
Hybrid Deployment: Cloud-managed service with on-prem NucliaDB option for strict data sovereignty - true RaaS flexibility
100% Private GenAI: Option to keep all processing on Nuclia infrastructure without third-party LLM exposure - unique RaaS feature
Platform Type: TRUE RAG-AS-A-SERVICE API - Lightweight MIT-licensed open-source RAG backend built on Supabase with self-hosting capability and minimal API surface
Core Mission: Provide transparent, open-source alternative to proprietary RAG services (Carbon.ai shutdown response) with full cost control and no vendor lock-in
Target Market: Developers building custom RAG applications on budget, startups minimizing costs with self-hosting, organizations requiring data sovereignty with Supabase infrastructure
RAG Implementation: Standard RAG architecture with document chunking, OpenAI embeddings, Postgres pgvector semantic search—focused on simplicity over advanced techniques
API-First Design: Pure REST API for retrieval and generation without GUI, widgets, or conversational features—intentionally minimal abstraction for developer control
Self-Hosting Advantage: MIT license enables complete on-premises deployment keeping all data on your servers—ideal for GDPR, HIPAA, data residency compliance
Managed Service Option: Cloud-hosted plans (Free: 100 calls/month, Basic: $190/year for 750 calls/month, Enterprise: $1,490/year for 5K calls/month) eliminate infrastructure management
Pricing Model: Free self-hosting (MIT license) or extremely affordable hosted plans—40-90% cheaper than commercial RAG platforms with no per-document charges or user seat fees
Data Sources: File uploads (PDF, Markdown, TXT) via REST API or raw text ingestion—NO pre-built Google Drive, Notion, or cloud storage connectors (manual scripting required)
Model Flexibility: Model-agnostic with GPT-3.5 default, GPT-4, or self-hosted LLM support—users connect own OpenAI API keys without Supavec markup on AI costs
Security Foundation: Supabase Row-Level Security (RLS) for multi-tenant data isolation, HTTPS encryption, AES-256 at-rest encryption—self-hosting enables GDPR/HIPAA compliance
Support Model: Community GitHub/Discord support for free tier, email support for paid plans—no dedicated CSMs, SLAs, or enterprise account management
Open-Source Ecosystem: Transparent code on GitHub welcoming PRs, forks, and community contributions—no proprietary components or vendor lock-in
LIMITATION - Developer-Only Platform: Requires coding skills for setup, integration, and maintenance—non-technical teams cannot use without developer support
LIMITATION - Basic RAG Features: Standard retrieval without hybrid search, reranking, knowledge graphs, multi-query fusion, or hallucination detection—advanced features require custom development
LIMITATION - No Turnkey Features: No GUI dashboard, conversation management, lead capture, analytics, or multi-channel integrations—pure RAG API requiring application layer development
Comparison Validity: Architectural comparison to full-featured chatbot platforms like CustomGPT.ai requires context—Supavec is lightweight RAG backend API vs complete no-code chatbot builder
Use Case Fit: Perfect for developers wanting lightweight RAG backend without heavy frameworks, startups minimizing costs with Supabase self-hosting, teams building custom chatbots needing simple REST API for retrieval without paying for unused dashboard features
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
After analyzing features, pricing, performance, and user feedback, both Nuclia and Supavec are capable platforms that serve different market segments and use cases effectively.
When to Choose Nuclia
You value specialized for unstructured data
Strong multilingual support (100+ languages)
SOC2 Type 2 and ISO 27001 compliant
Best For: Specialized for unstructured data
When to Choose Supavec
You value 100% open source with no vendor lock-in
Complete control over data and infrastructure
Strong privacy with Supabase RLS integration
Best For: 100% open source with no vendor lock-in
Migration & Switching Considerations
Switching between Nuclia and Supavec 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
Nuclia starts at $300/month, while Supavec 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 Nuclia and Supavec 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 11, 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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