An Onyx alternative
you don't have to host yourself
Managed RAG-as-a-service
Onyx is open-source enterprise search you deploy on your own infrastructure -- Docker, Vespa, PostgreSQL, Redis, and your own LLM keys. Context Link gives your team the same core benefit, AI that knows your business, inside ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Copilot. No servers, no DevOps, no infrastructure to babysit.
Key Differences
Onyx is self-hosted enterprise search that needs Docker, 12+ CPU cores, 24 GB RAM, and ongoing DevOps to maintain
Context Link is fully managed -- no servers, no containers, no infrastructure to break at 2 a.m.
Onyx asks your team to work inside its own chat UI. Context Link runs inside ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Copilot
Onyx requires you to bring your own LLM API keys. Context Link works with the AI subscriptions your team already has
Connect Notion, Google Docs, Google Drive, email, Basecamp, websites, and uploaded files in minutes -- not hours of Docker configuration
Use Your Existing AI
Get Context
· ChatGPT
Get Context
· Claude
With Your Existing Knowledge Sources
Basecamp
Which Should You Choose?
Onyx and Context Link both give AI access to your company knowledge. They take fundamentally different approaches to getting there.
Choose Onyx If...
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You have a developer or DevOps engineer who can deploy and maintain a multi-container Docker stack
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Data sovereignty is non-negotiable -- you need everything on your own servers, no exceptions
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You want to customize the search pipeline, fork the code, or build on top of the platform
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You need enterprise connectors like Salesforce, Jira, Confluence, or ServiceNow
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You're comfortable managing LLM API keys, model servers, and infrastructure costs separately
Choose Context Link If...
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You're a team of 3-200 that uses AI every day and doesn't have DevOps capacity
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You want your AI to know your docs without adopting another app -- just better context inside ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or Copilot
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You need to connect Notion, Google Docs, Google Drive, email (Gmail, Outlook, Zoho, Fastmail, IMAP), Basecamp, websites, or uploaded files
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You want to be set up today, not after a week of Docker troubleshooting
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You want AI-owned Memories -- living documents your team's AI can save, retrieve, and update over time
Feature Comparison
|
Capability
|
Onyx
|
Context Link
|
|---|---|---|
| Where you work | Onyx's own chat UI (or Slack integration) | Inside ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot -- the AI tools you already use |
| AI model | Bring your own -- OpenAI, Anthropic, or self-hosted (you manage API keys and costs) | Model-agnostic -- works across any AI tool your team already pays for |
| Connectors | 48 connectors, enterprise-focused (Confluence, Jira, Salesforce, Slack, Google Drive, etc.) | Notion, Google Docs, Google Drive, email (Gmail, Outlook, Zoho, Fastmail, IMAP), Basecamp, any website, uploaded files (PDFs, Word, Markdown) |
| Setup time | Hours to days (Docker deployment, OAuth config, LLM setup, infrastructure provisioning) | Minutes (self-serve, no IT needed) |
| Pricing | Free self-hosted (but you pay for infrastructure ~$150+/mo + LLM API costs) or $20/user/mo cloud + LLM costs | SMB-friendly per-seat pricing, all-inclusive, no hidden infrastructure costs |
| Team size | Built for enterprise teams with IT support | Built for teams of 3-200 |
| Memories (writable AI docs) | No equivalent -- read-only search over existing documents | AI-owned living documents under /slash routes -- save brand voice, approved claims, canonical facts |
| Best for | Teams with DevOps capacity who need full control over their search infrastructure | Giving your team's AI accurate company context, instantly, inside the tools they already use |
The Real Differentiation
Onyx
Onyx is a genuine open-source RAG platform with serious engineering behind it. It connects to 48 enterprise tools, supports any LLM, and gives you full control over your data. But 'full control' comes with real costs: you need Docker, PostgreSQL, Vespa, Redis, model servers, and someone to keep it all running. The baseline deployment needs 12 CPU cores and 24 GB of RAM. Users have reported Vespa consuming 42 GB on a 64 GB machine. For a 10-person marketing team, that's a lot of infrastructure for 'AI that knows our docs.'
Context Link
Context Link takes the opposite approach. Instead of giving you infrastructure to manage, it gives you a managed service that runs inside the AI tools your team already uses -- ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot. Connect your knowledge sources once (Notion, Google Docs, Google Drive, email, Basecamp, websites, uploaded files) and any team member retrieves context with 'get context on {topic}'. No servers, no Docker compose files, no 3 a.m. alerts when Vespa runs out of memory. Plus, Memories let you save canonical facts, brand voice, and approved claims as AI-owned living documents.
Onyx gives you infrastructure to manage. Context Link gives you a service to use.
Meet your team where they already work
Your team stays on the best AI tools for them — ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot. Context Link upgrades every conversation with your company's actual knowledge. Easy adoption, zero workflow disruption.
(ChatGPT)
(Claude)
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What Onyx Does Well
Onyx is a real product built by a strong team (YC W24, backed by Khosla Ventures and First Round Capital, used by Netflix and Ramp). If you have the infrastructure capacity, these strengths genuinely matter.
Genuinely open source
The Community Edition is MIT-licensed. You can read every line of code, fork it, modify it, and run it entirely on your own servers. For teams with strict open-source requirements or regulatory constraints, this transparency is valuable.
Full data sovereignty
Self-hosted means your data never leaves your infrastructure. For defense contractors, financial services, healthcare, or anyone with strict data residency requirements, this is a real differentiator.
Model agnostic
Onyx works with OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, or self-hosted models via Ollama and vLLM. No vendor lock-in on the AI model layer -- you pick what works for your use case and budget.
48 enterprise connectors
Confluence, Jira, Salesforce, Slack, Google Drive, SharePoint, Zendesk, HubSpot, and many more. If your knowledge lives in enterprise tools, Onyx probably has a connector for it.
Permission-aware search
Onyx inherits access controls from your source systems. Users only see documents they're authorized to see -- important for organisations where not everyone should access everything.
What Context Link Does Differently
No infrastructure to manage
Context Link is fully managed RAG-as-a-service. No Docker, no Vespa, no PostgreSQL, no Redis, no model servers. We handle indexing, chunking, embeddings, and retrieval so your team can focus on their actual work.
No new app to adopt
Runs inside ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Copilot. Your team doesn't change their workflow -- they just get better context in the AI tools they already use every day.
No LLM keys to manage
Onyx requires you to bring your own LLM API keys and manage that cost separately. Context Link works with whatever AI subscription your team already has -- ChatGPT Plus, Claude Pro, Copilot. No separate API keys, no token budgets to track.
Connect the sources SMBs actually use
Notion, Google Docs, Google Drive, email (Gmail, Outlook, Zoho, Fastmail, custom domains via IMAP), Basecamp, any website via sitemap, uploaded files (PDFs, Word docs, Markdown). Onyx's connectors skew enterprise (Confluence, Jira, Salesforce) -- Context Link connects to the tools small teams run on.
Minutes to value
Connect your sources and start retrieving context the same day. No Docker troubleshooting, no OAuth configuration debugging, no waiting for Vespa to finish indexing. One person can set this up on a Tuesday afternoon.
Memories -- AI-owned living documents
Save brand voice, approved claims, product facts, and canonical definitions to /slash routes. One source of truth that every team member's AI can access and update. Onyx is read-only search -- it has no concept of writable AI memory.
SMB-friendly pricing
Built for teams of 3-200. No infrastructure costs to estimate, no LLM API bills to track separately, no 'free but actually $150/month in cloud compute' surprises.
Compounds over time
Every connected source and saved Memory makes every future AI conversation more accurate. Your AI gets smarter about your business the more you use it -- a compounding loop of better context, better outputs, better refinements.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Context Link a direct replacement for Onyx?
Onyx is free and open source. Why would I pay for Context Link?
What about Onyx's cloud plan at $20/user/month?
Can I use Context Link with ChatGPT AND Claude?
Onyx has 48 connectors. Does Context Link have enough?
How long does it take to set up?
What are Memories?
What about data sovereignty? Onyx lets me keep data on my own servers.
The Bottom Line
Onyx
Onyx is a serious open-source RAG platform backed by YC, Khosla Ventures, and First Round Capital. If you have a developer who can manage Docker deployments, need full data sovereignty, or want to customize the search pipeline at the code level, Onyx gives you that control.
Context Link
Context Link is managed RAG-as-a-service for teams of 3-200. It runs inside the AI tools you already use, connects to the knowledge sources you already have, sets up in minutes -- not hours -- and doesn't ask you to run servers or manage API keys.
Quick Decision Guide
I need full data sovereignty and the ability to customize the RAG pipeline at the code level
Onyx is the right choice
I want my team's AI to know our company docs without deploying infrastructure or adopting another app
Context Link is the right choice
I don't have a developer to maintain Docker containers, Vespa, and model servers
Context Link is the right choice
Give Your AI the Context It's Missing
Starter
- Search all your sources by meaning, not keywords
- Works with ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot & Gemini
- Connect Google Drive, Notion, files, email, websites & more
- Save AI outputs as reusable memories under any /slash
- Private links with PIN protection
Pro
- Everything in Starter
- Connections auto re-sync every 48 hours
- Higher source & page limits
- Team support
No credit card required. No servers to provision. No Docker needed.
