What are the main differences between SimplyRetrieve and Stonly?

SimplyRetrieve excels in Completely free and open source and Strong privacy focus - fully localized, scoring 82/100 in user ratings with 86% accuracy. Stonly leads in Exceptional ease of use - 4.8/5 G2 rating with intuitive visual editor praised in 32 reviews and Deep help desk integrations - bidirectional Zendesk, Salesforce, Freshdesk, ServiceNow connections with 96/100 overall rating and 71% accuracy. Key technical difference: SimplyRetrieve focuses on Retrieval-Centric Generation (RCG) while Stonly emphasizes Interactive step-by-step guides with decision trees. Pricing differs by $249/month.

Which is better for enterprises: SimplyRetrieve or Stonly?

Stonly offers SOC 2 compliance for enterprise security. HIPAA compliance is available in SimplyRetrieve. For scalability, both offer cloud-based deployment options. Stonly leads with 96/100 enterprise readiness score (92/100 enterprise features).

How much does SimplyRetrieve cost vs Stonly?

SimplyRetrieve starts at custom pricing/forever (open-source model), while Stonly begins at $249/monthly (enterprise model). Both offer free tiers to get started. This represents a significant price difference of $249/month. See our detailed pricing breakdown for complete tier comparisons.

Can I migrate from SimplyRetrieve to Stonly?

Migration from SimplyRetrieve to Stonly typically requires API-based data export/import, which Stonly provides. Stonly provides comprehensive API access good documentation for the migration process. Estimated migration time: 1-2 days for cloud setup. Contact Stonly support for migration assistance and best practices.

What integrations do SimplyRetrieve and Stonly support?

SimplyRetrieve integrates with Hugging Face models, Gradio, PyTorch, FAISS, Various open-source LLMs (6 integrations total). Stonly supports Zendesk (deep bidirectional integration), Salesforce Service Cloud, Freshdesk, ServiceNow, Zapier webhooks (form submissions, guide completions) (9 integrations available). Both offer REST APIs for custom integrations. Stonly provides 50% more integrations, with webhook support for real-time data sync.

What are the main differences between SimplyRetrieve and Stonly?

SimplyRetrieve offers strong capabilities, scoring 0/100 in user ratings. Stonly provides unique strengths with 0/100 overall rating. Key technical difference: SimplyRetrieve focuses on advanced features while Stonly emphasizes specialized capabilities.

Which is better for enterprises: SimplyRetrieve or Stonly?

Both platforms provide enterprise-grade security. HIPAA compliance varies - contact vendors for details. For scalability, both offer cloud-based deployment options. Stonly leads with strong/100 enterprise readiness score.

How much does SimplyRetrieve cost vs Stonly?

SimplyRetrieve starts at custom pricing/month (subscription model), while Stonly begins at contact sales/month (subscription model). Both require paid plans. Pricing is relatively comparable. See our detailed pricing breakdown for complete tier comparisons.

Can I migrate from SimplyRetrieve to Stonly?

Migration from SimplyRetrieve to Stonly typically requires manual data transfer since API access may be limited. Stonly offers standard documentation for the migration process. Estimated migration time: 1-2 days for cloud setup. Contact Stonly support for migration assistance and best practices.

What integrations do SimplyRetrieve and Stonly support?

SimplyRetrieve integrates with (multiple platforms). Stonly supports (various tools). API availability varies by plan. Integration coverage is comparable.

SimplyRetrieve vs Stonly

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

More about Stonly More about SimplyRetrieve Get Started Today

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 SimplyRetrieve and Stonly 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 SimplyRetrieve and Stonly, 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 SimplyRetrieve if: you value completely free and open source
Choose Stonly if: you value exceptional ease of use - 4.8/5 g2 rating with intuitive visual editor praised in 32 reviews

About SimplyRetrieve

SimplyRetrieve is lightweight retrieval-centric generative ai platform. SimplyRetrieve is an open-source tool providing a fully localized, lightweight, and user-friendly GUI and API platform for Retrieval-Centric Generation (RCG). It emphasizes privacy and can run on a single GPU while maintaining clear separation between LLM context interpretation and knowledge memorization. Founded in 2019, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, the platform has established itself as a reliable solution in the RAG space.

Overall Rating

82/100

Starting Price

Custom

About Stonly

Stonly is interactive knowledge base platform with enterprise ai-powered answers. Stonly is a customer support knowledge management platform with embedded AI capabilities focused on interactive step-by-step guides and help desk agent assistance. Its AI Answers feature (Enterprise-only add-on) achieves 71% self-serve success rates, but it's fundamentally a knowledge base platform with AI features—not a pure RAG-as-a-Service solution. Founded in 2017, headquartered in San Francisco, CA, the platform has established itself as a reliable solution in the RAG space.

Overall Rating

96/100

Starting Price

$249/mo

Key Differences at a Glance

In terms of user ratings, Stonly in overall satisfaction. From a cost perspective, SimplyRetrieve starts at a lower price point. The platforms also differ in their primary focus: RAG Platform versus Knowledge Management. 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

SimplyRetrieve	Stonly	CustomGPTRECOMMENDED
Data Ingestion & Knowledge Sources
File-Based Workflow – Drop PDFs, DOCX, PPTX, HTML into folder and embed via script GUI Knowledge Editor – Add documents on-the-fly through basic interface Manual Processing – ⚠️ No web crawler or automatic refresh capabilities Local Storage – ✅ All data stays on your machine for air-gapped deployments	✅ PDF uploads & public website crawling – Zendesk help center content indexing supported ✅ Proprietary interactive guide format – Primary content model with visual editor ⚠️ No cloud storage integrations – Missing Google Drive, Dropbox, Notion, SharePoint, YouTube Content limits: Basic (5 guides, 400 views/mo), Small Business (unlimited, 4K views/mo), Enterprise (custom)	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
Integrations & Channels
Local Gradio GUI – Python scripts for queries with no pre-built channels No Native Integrations – ⚠️ No Slack, Teams, or website widgets out-of-box Custom Wrappers Required – Build your own connectors to forward messages	✅ Deep help desk integrations – Zendesk, Salesforce Service Cloud, Freshdesk, ServiceNow ✅ Zapier integration – Webhook triggers for form submissions and completions ✅ Analytics integrations – Segment, Google Analytics ⚠️ No messaging integrations – Missing Slack, WhatsApp, Telegram, Microsoft Teams	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
Core Chatbot Features
Open-Source RAG Bot – Runs on local LLMs with streaming responses Single-Turn Q&A – ⚠️ Limited multi-turn conversation and long-term memory Retrieval Tuning Module – Transparency layer showing answer construction process Basic Interactions – No lead capture or human handoff features	✅ Interactive step-by-step guides – Visual flow builder with branching logic ✅ Decision trees and checklists – Task management with progress tracking ✅ Contact forms and lead capture – Integrated customer information collection ✅ Multi-language support – Auto-translation on Enterprise plan	✅ #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
Customization & Branding
Plain Gradio Interface – Minimal theming with developer-focused design Source Code Customization – Tweak code or build custom front-end for branding	✅ Visual no-code editor – Intuitive interface for guides, decision trees, forms ✅ CSS customization on all paid plans – White-labeling Enterprise only ✅ Small learning curve – Users create guides in under 30 minutes ⚠️ Cannot edit on mobile devices – Desktop-only guide creation	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
L L M Model Options
WizardVicuna-13B Default – Instruction-tuned open-source model included Hugging Face Compatible – Swap any model with sufficient GPU resources Full Local Control – ✅ No external APIs or cloud dependencies Model Limitations – ⚠️ Smaller models won't match GPT-4 depth	⚠️ Undisclosed proprietary LLM – No model selection or transparency on provider ✅ AI Profiles (20) & Custom Instructions (100) – Define tone, boundaries, behavior ✅ Guided AI Answers – Predefined responses for sensitive scenarios bypass AI ✅ Knowledge-grounded approach – Anchored responses reduce hallucinations vs generic chatbots	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
Developer Experience ( A P I & S D Ks)
Python Script Interface – No formal REST API or SDK Subprocess Integration – Call scripts directly or build custom wrapper Open Source Access – ✅ Full code access for modification	✅ REST API – User provisioning, content management, widget control ✅ Mobile SDKs (Enterprise only) – iOS, Android, React Native, Flutter ⚠️ No Python/Node.js SDKs – No GraphQL, OpenAPI specs, or API sandbox	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
Performance & Accuracy
Slower Inference – ⚠️ 3-10+ seconds per reply on single GPU Decent Accuracy – Good when relevant docs found, struggles with complexity FAISS Vector Search – Fast retrieval using Facebook's library	✅ 71% self-serve success rate – Company data with AI Answers feature ✅ 70-76% ticket reduction – Documented in case studies ✅ 99.9% uptime claimed – No published SLA or response time details ⚠️ Flow reports update every 15 min – Not real-time analytics	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
Customization & Flexibility ( Behavior & Knowledge)
Deep Parameter Control – Tweak retrieval params, system prompts, knowledge weighting Embedding Model Swap – Replace multilingual-e5-base with alternatives Pipeline Modification – ✅ Full source access for custom logic	✅ CSS and HTML customization – Change layout and look with custom code ✅ Intuitive no-code tools – Easy customization without coding for basics ✅ Personalized content – Use customer data for targeted experiences ✅ Rich media support – Images, GIFs, videos, annotations	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
Pricing & Scalability
MIT Licensed – ✅ Completely free with no subscription fees Infrastructure Costs – Pay only for GPU hardware or cloud servers Manual Scaling – ⚠️ Spin up and manage your own hardware	Basic (Free): 5 guides, 400 views/mo, 1 seat, single language Small Business ($249/mo, $199/mo annual): Unlimited guides, 4K views/mo, 5 seats, CSS customization Enterprise (~$39K/year avg): Custom views, unlimited seats, AI Answers add-on, Mobile SDKs, SAML SSO ⚠️ Overage pricing escalates – +15K views = $200/mo, auto-upgrade after 2 months	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
Security & Privacy
100% Local Execution – ✅ Perfect for sensitive data and air-gapped environments No External Transmission – All processing stays on-premises DIY Security – ⚠️ No built-in auth, you implement access controls	✅ SOC 2 Type 2, GDPR, HIPAA, ISO 27001 – PCI, CSA Star Level 1 compliant ✅ Trust Center – trust.stonly.com with security documentation, subprocessor lists ✅ SAML 2.0 SSO (Enterprise) – IP allowlisting, advanced RBAC, 2FA	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
Observability & Monitoring
Analysis Tab – Shows retrieved docs and query construction process Console Logging – Basic logs printed to terminal No Dashboard – ⚠️ Add your own monitoring for stats	✅ Insights Dashboard – Views, visitors, bounce rates, drop-off analysis ✅ NPS surveys (all plans) – CSAT and CES Enterprise only ✅ Data export – Segment, Zapier, Google Analytics integration	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
Support & Ecosystem
Community-Driven – GitHub issues and lightweight documentation Research Foundation – Academic paper (arXiv 2308.03983) on RCG approach No Paid Support – ⚠️ No SLA or enterprise help desk	✅ 4.8/5 G2 rating (132 reviews) – Ease of use praised in 32 reviews ✅ Email and chat support – Dedicated support on Enterprise plan ✅ Pre-built templates – Quick onboarding, guides created in under 30 minutes	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
A I Models
WizardVicuna-13B – Default uncensored instruction-tuned model Any Hugging Face Model – Llama 2, Falcon, Mistral with GPU capacity No Vendor Lock-In – ✅ Complete flexibility without API limits Performance Trade-Off – ⚠️ Open models slower than managed cloud APIs	⚠️ Undisclosed Proprietary LLM – No model selection or transparency ✅ AI Profiles (20) & Custom Instructions (100) – Define tone and boundaries ✅ Guided AI Answers – Predefined responses for sensitive scenarios ✅ Knowledge-grounded approach – Anchored responses reduce hallucinations	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
R A G Capabilities
Retrieval-Centric Generation – Research-backed approach separating LLM from knowledge memorization Mixtures-of-Knowledge-Bases – Multiple knowledge bases with intelligent routing Explicit Prompt-Weighting – Control retrieved content influence on answers Retrieval Transparency – ✅ Visual debugging showing document selection FAISS Search – Fast approximate nearest neighbor retrieval	✅ AI Answers (Enterprise add-on) – Grounded in guides, websites, PDFs ✅ 71% self-serve success rate – Confidence-based fallback to ML search ⚠️ Limited data sources – No Google Drive, Dropbox, Notion, SharePoint, YouTube ⚠️ Manual content updates – No automatic syncing from external sources	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
Use Cases
Air-Gapped Environments – ✅ Defense, classified research requiring offline operation Healthcare PHI Compliance – HIPAA organizations needing 100% data isolation RAG Research – Developers learning internals with full transparency Zero-Cost RAG – Teams with GPU infrastructure avoiding subscriptions Data Sovereignty – Strict data residency preventing cloud processing	✅ Customer support ticket deflection – 70-76% reduction through interactive guides ✅ Deep help desk integration – Zendesk, Salesforce, Freshdesk, ServiceNow workflows ✅ Interactive onboarding – Step-by-step guides, decision trees, checklists ✅ Multi-language support – Auto-translation for global teams (Enterprise)	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
Security & Compliance
Complete Data Isolation – ✅ Ideal for classified, PHI, PII data No Third-Party APIs – Zero external calls to cloud providers Open-Source Auditing – Full code transparency for security reviews Self-Managed Security – ⚠️ You control all security layers	✅ SOC 2 Type 2, GDPR, HIPAA, ISO 27001 – PCI, CSA Star Level 1 ✅ Trust Center – trust.stonly.com with documentation, subprocessor lists ✅ SAML 2.0 SSO (Enterprise) – IP allowlisting, advanced RBAC, 2FA ⚠️ Data residency not documented – May limit certain jurisdiction deployments	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
Pricing & Plans
MIT License – ✅ Free with no subscription or API charges GPU Costs Only – Hardware or cloud compute are sole expenses Unlimited Queries – No per-request pricing or rate limits	Basic (Free): 5 guides, 400 views/mo, 1 seat, single language Small Business ($249/mo, $199/mo annual): Unlimited guides, 4K views/mo, 5 seats, CSS customization Enterprise (~$39K/year avg): Custom views, unlimited seats, white-label, SAML SSO, Mobile SDKs ⚠️ Overage pricing: +15K views = $200/mo, auto-upgrade after 2 consecutive months	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
Support & Documentation
GitHub Repository – Code, docs, and examples at RCGAI/SimplyRetrieve Academic Paper – arXiv 2308.03983 explaining RCG architecture Community Support – GitHub Issues for troubleshooting No Paid Support – ⚠️ Community-driven only, no SLAs	✅ 4.8/5 G2 rating (132 reviews) – Ease of use praised consistently ✅ Email and chat support – Dedicated support on Enterprise plan ✅ Pre-built templates & tutorials – Guides created in under 30 minutes	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
Limitations & Considerations
Developer-Only Tool – ⚠️ Requires Python, GPU, and technical expertise GPU Infrastructure Required – ⚠️ Dedicated hardware or cloud GPU needed Basic UI – Gradio interface needs custom front-end for production Manual Scaling – ⚠️ No auto-scaling, you manage load balancing No Enterprise Features – Missing multi-tenancy, user management, analytics Slower Inference – ⚠️ 3-10+ seconds vs sub-second cloud APIs	⚠️ NOT a RAG-as-a-Service platform – Knowledge base tool with embedded AI ⚠️ AI Answers Enterprise-gated – ~$39K/year, not available on $249/mo tier ⚠️ Limited data sources – PDF, web, Zendesk only; no cloud storage ⚠️ No messaging integrations – Missing Slack, WhatsApp, Telegram, Microsoft Teams Not ideal for: Pure RAG API, multi-tenant SaaS backends, model customization needs	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
Core Agent Features
Retrieval-Centric Generation – Research approach separating reasoning from knowledge Retrieval Tuning Module – ✅ Developer transparency showing document selection Knowledge Base Mixing – Route queries across multiple sources Single-Turn Focus – ⚠️ Limited multi-turn conversation memory No Chatbot UI – ⚠️ Gradio for developers only No Production Features – ⚠️ No lead capture, handoff, or multi-channel support	✅ Knowledge-grounded responses – Verified structured knowledge prevents hallucinations ✅ AI Agent Assist – Summarizes tickets, suggests paths, drafts responses ✅ Process automation – Define workflows linked to back-office tools ✅ 71% self-serve success rate – Personalized knowledge adapts to needs	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
R A G-as-a- Service Assessment
NOT RAG-AS-A-SERVICE – Open-source research project for local experimentation Academic Foundation – Published research tool from RCGAI (arXiv 2308.03983) Self-Hosted Only – ⚠️ No managed infrastructure, APIs, or SLAs Developer-First Design – Python with GPU infrastructure requirements 100% Local Execution – ✅ Perfect for air-gapped and classified environments No Service Features – ⚠️ No auth, multi-tenancy, analytics, or SaaS conveniences	⚠️ NOT a RAG-as-a-Service platform – Knowledge base tool with embedded AI ⚠️ Limited data sources – PDF, public web, Zendesk only ✅ Strong hallucination controls – Grounded in structured content Best for: Customer support ticket deflection, not flexible RAG backends	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
Competitive Positioning
Market Position – MIT open-source local RAG for on-premises deployment Target Customers – Developers experimenting locally, strict data isolation orgs Key Competitors – LangChain, LlamaIndex, PrivateGPT, LocalGPT Advantages – ✅ Free MIT license, 100% local, full model control Best For – Offline environments, GPU infrastructure teams, zero cloud costs	✅ Unique interactive guide format – Structured support content vs free-form chat ✅ 70-76% ticket reduction – 71% self-serve success rate documented vs CustomGPT: Different categories (knowledge base vs RAG-as-a-Service) Target: Support teams using Zendesk/Salesforce, not RAG developers	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
Core Knowledge Base Features
N/A	✅ Interactive step-by-step guides – Visual flow builder with branching logic ✅ Decision trees, checklists, forms – Contact forms and lead capture ✅ Content versioning – Side-by-side comparison, instant restore (Business+) ✅ Multi-language support – Auto-translation on Enterprise plan	N/A
A I Answers Feature ( Enterprise Only)
N/A	⚠️ Enterprise add-on only – Not included in Small Business plan ✅ Generative AI grounded – Anchored in Stonly guides, websites, PDFs ✅ Confidence-based fallback – Switches to ML-powered search when confidence low ✅ 71% self-serve success rate – Hallucination reduction through knowledge-grounding	N/A
No- Code Interface & Usability
N/A	✅ 4.8/5 ease of use rating – Visual drag-and-drop editor, no coding required ✅ Small learning curve – Non-technical teams productive quickly ✅ Pre-built templates – Common scenarios covered for faster creation	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
Additional Considerations
N/A	⚠️ Limited UI customization – Cannot fully match specific brand requirements ⚠️ No offline access – Requires internet connectivity for guide availability ⚠️ Performance degradation with large guides – Scalability concerns with complexity ⚠️ View-based pricing – Additional fees for exceeding 4K views/mo	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

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Final Thoughts

Final Verdict: SimplyRetrieve vs Stonly

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

When to Choose SimplyRetrieve

You value completely free and open source
Strong privacy focus - fully localized
Lightweight - runs on single GPU

Best For: Completely free and open source

When to Choose Stonly

You value exceptional ease of use - 4.8/5 g2 rating with intuitive visual editor praised in 32 reviews
Deep help desk integrations - bidirectional Zendesk, Salesforce, Freshdesk, ServiceNow connections
Strong compliance - SOC 2 Type 2, GDPR, HIPAA, ISO 27001, PCI, CSA Star Level 1

Best For: Exceptional ease of use - 4.8/5 G2 rating with intuitive visual editor praised in 32 reviews

Migration & Switching Considerations

Switching between SimplyRetrieve and Stonly 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

SimplyRetrieve starts at custom pricing, while Stonly begins at $249/month. 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 SimplyRetrieve and Stonly 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 16, 2026 | This comparison is regularly reviewed and updated to reflect the latest platform capabilities, pricing, and user feedback.

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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.

SimplyRetrieve vs Stonly