IgnitionRAG vs Azure AI Search + Foundry
Azure AI Search and Azure AI Foundry are a solid base for building your RAG if you are already on Azure. IgnitionRAG provides the assistant ready to use, with cited sources, hosted in France on OVH.
Azure AI Search (now presented as Foundry IQ) indexes and searches your content; Azure AI Foundry provides the models. Together, they let you build an enterprise RAG integrated with the Microsoft ecosystem. IgnitionRAG offers the assistant already assembled, connected in particular to Azure SharePoint, Tables and Blob.
Cost: an estimate
A production deployment on Azure adds search replicas, the model, embeddings and application hosting. Under our assumptions, in France Central: about €157 per month for 10 users (Basic with 2 replicas, gpt-4.1-mini, App Service B1) and about €758 per month for 50 users (S1 with 3 replicas). Estimates based on official prices on 14/10/2026, excluding development, maintenance and authentication. Microsoft documents 2 replicas for the read SLA and 3 for read-write. Authentication (Entra ID): not priced.
What you have to build yourself
A production document assistant is more than vector search. You need to configure indexers and skillsets, filter results according to each user's rights, display verifiable citations, develop the interface and authentication, isolate each client (15 indexes maximum on Basic, 50 on S1) and wire up monitoring. Each component has to be built, tested and maintained. IgnitionRAG ships them together: collections, answers that cite their sources, permissions, interface and monitoring.
When Azure is the better choice
If you already have an Azure contract, developers available and a need for tight integration with your directory and Microsoft tools, building on Azure is often the right choice. Your data stays in your subscription.
Your data on Azure, without building everything
IgnitionRAG connects to Azure SharePoint, Tables and Blob. And with the Agency/ESN licence, the platform can be deployed on the client's Azure, AWS or GCP, or with IgnitionAI, BYOK, with white-label, on quote. White-label is not included in Solo or Team.
At a glance
Official pages azure.microsoft.com (Foundry IQ / Azure AI Search) and the Azure Retail Prices API (francecentral region), checked on 14/10/2026. Replicas and SLA: learn.microsoft.com (2 replicas for the read SLA, 3 for read-write; URL checked on 17/10/2026, HTTP 200). Converted at the ECB reference rate of 13/10/2026: €1 = $1.1188 (ecb.europa.eu). $176 → ≈ €157; $848 → ≈ €758. Authentication (Entra ID): not priced. Estimate under stated assumptions: low = 10 users, 2,000 documents, 5,000 questions/month; realistic = 50 users, 20,000 documents, 25,000 questions/month; ~4,000 input tokens and ~400 output tokens per question. Development and maintenance not included.
| IgnitionRAG | Azure AI Search + Foundry (to build) | |
|---|---|---|
| Getting started | Ready-made platform: collections, chat, citations, connectors | Components to assemble and maintain |
| Price | Solo €59/month excl. VAT · Team €249/month excl. VAT, AI credits included | Production estimate: ≈ €157/month (10 users) to ≈ €758/month (50 users), excluding development |
| Model API key | None on SaaS (Solo, Team): AI credits included, no key to provide; BYOK with the Agency/ESN licence | Your keys and your model billing |
| Connected sources | Web (scraping), Azure (SharePoint, Tables, Blob), AWS S3 + MinIO, GitHub, Hugging Face; WhatsApp (Unipile, beta) | Azure indexers (Blob, SharePoint…) |
| Source citations | Included | To implement and display |
| Permissions and multi-organisation | Built in | Security filters and per-client indexes to design |
| Chat interface and authentication | Included | To develop; Entra ID |
| Hosting | France, OVH (SaaS); Agency/ESN licence: client's Azure, AWS or GCP, or with IgnitionAI | Your Azure subscription, region of your choice (e.g. France Central) |
| Agencies / ESN | Agency/ESN licence: deployment on the client's Azure, AWS or GCP, or with IgnitionAI, BYOK, white-label, on quote. Not in Solo or Team. | To build per client |
| Trial | 14-day free trial | Azure AI Search free tier (Free, 50 MB) |
FAQ
Is it cheaper to build it yourself?
In production, no: under our assumptions, an Azure AI Search + Foundry deployment comes to about €157 per month for a small team and €758 for 50 users, before development and maintenance. IgnitionRAG: Solo €59/month excl. VAT, Team €249/month excl. VAT, AI credits included.
When is it better to build it yourself?
If your organisation is already on Azure, with developers and a Microsoft contract, and you want to keep everything in your subscription.
Do I need a model API key with IgnitionRAG?
No for Solo and Team: AI credits are included. The Agency/ESN licence works with BYOK, with white-label, deployed on the client's Azure, AWS or GCP or with IgnitionAI, on quote. White-label is not included in Solo or Team.
Does IgnitionRAG work with WhatsApp?
Yes, via Unipile, in beta.
How can I try it?
Join early access: 14-day free trial.
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