IgnitionRAG vs n8n + vector database
n8n and a SaaS vector database let you assemble a custom RAG assistant. IgnitionRAG provides the assistant ready to use, with cited sources, hosted in France on OVH.
n8n (automation, €20 to €667/month billed annually) and a vector database such as Pinecone (free, then ≈ €18 or ≈ €45 minimum per month) or Qdrant Cloud (free tier, then usage-based) are excellent building blocks. With them, you build your own RAG pipeline. IgnitionRAG starts from a different premise: the assistant is already built, and you connect your sources.
Cost: an estimate
A production assistant built with n8n also needs a production vector database, a language model and embeddings. Under our assumptions, expect about €105 per month for 10 users (n8n Pro, Pinecone Standard at ≈ €45 minimum, gpt-4.1-mini) and about €1,169 per month for 50 users (n8n Business for SSO, Pinecone Enterprise at ≈ €447 minimum for the SLA). Estimates based on official prices on 14/10/2026, excluding development and maintenance. The free Pinecone or Qdrant tiers are for prototypes, not production. Paid Qdrant Cloud: not priced (no public unit price on the page reviewed).
What you have to build yourself
A production document assistant is more than vector search. You need ingestion (reading PDF and DOCX files, chunking, embeddings), source synchronisation, per-document permissions, verifiable citations, a chat interface, user authentication, isolation between clients and quality 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 n8n is the better choice
If your team already knows n8n, the assistant is just one step among other automations and you want to control every node, building with n8n is a solid choice. n8n also offers a hosted or embeddable chat and a self-hosted community edition.
Agencies and ESN
If you deploy for several clients, IgnitionRAG offers an Agency/ESN licence: deployment 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 n8n.io/pricing, pinecone.io/pricing, qdrant.tech/pricing, checked on 14/10/2026. n8n bills in euros; Pinecone and the model (Azure OpenAI) are published in USD. Converted at the ECB reference rate of 13/10/2026: €1 = $1.1188 (ecb.europa.eu). $20 → ≈ €18; $50 → ≈ €45; $62 → ≈ €55; $500 → ≈ €447; $562 → ≈ €502. Paid Qdrant Cloud: 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 | n8n + vector database (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: ≈ €105/month (10 users) to ≈ €1,169/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) | n8n nodes; sync and deletions to handle |
| Source citations | Included | To implement and display |
| Permissions and multi-organisation | Built in | To design (metadata, namespaces) |
| Chat interface and authentication | Included | n8n chat or UI to develop; auth to integrate |
| Hosting | France, OVH (SaaS); Agency/ESN licence: client's Azure, AWS or GCP, or with IgnitionAI | n8n Cloud: EU (Frankfurt); Pinecone/Qdrant: region depending on plan |
| 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 | n8n Cloud trial; Pinecone/Qdrant free tiers |
FAQ
Is it cheaper to build it yourself?
In production, no: under our assumptions, an n8n + Pinecone deployment comes to about €105 per month for a small team and €1,169 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 you already run n8n in production, have in-house skills and need automation that goes beyond answering from documents.
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.
Deploy AI agents that work for your company.
Connect authorized knowledge and tools, then put an agent to work where your team needs it.