The open-source alternative to Glean
Open-source AI agents for company data, with simpler self-hosted architecture, transparent pricing, auditable permissions, and the freedom to build your own connectors and workflows.
| Capability | Omni | Glean |
|---|---|---|
| Workplace AI agents and search | Open-source AI agents for company data | Enterprise AI search, assistant, and agents platform |
| Permission-aware answers | Auditable permission inheritance in your deployment | Permissions-enforced search and answers |
| Deployment and data control | Self-hosted, air-gapped, and fully self-operated | Vendor-operated SaaS or Cloud-Prem |
| Operational model | Simpler Postgres-based stack you operate directly | Glean manages infrastructure, upgrades, and support access |
| Custom connectors and extensibility | Build connectors, agents, and workflows in open source | Extend through APIs, SDKs, and managed connector patterns |
| Source-code control | Fork, audit, and modify the product | Closed-source commercial platform |
| Model and inference control | OpenAI-compatible endpoints, including self-hosted models | Model Hub with Glean-managed or customer-provided keys |
| Admin and security controls | SSO in Business; SCIM and audit logs in Enterprise | SSO, SCIM, RBAC, audit logs, and admin controls |
| Pricing and procurement | $0 self-host · $10/user/mo Business, published pricing | No public self-serve price; sales-led enterprise pricing |
| Time to first deployment | Self-serve deployment in ~1 hour | Provisioning and implementation timeline varies |
Workplace AI agents and search
Omni
Open-source AI agents for company data
Glean
Enterprise AI search, assistant, and agents platform
Permission-aware answers
Omni
Auditable permission inheritance in your deployment
Glean
Permissions-enforced search and answers
Deployment and data control
Omni
Self-hosted, air-gapped, and fully self-operated
Glean
Vendor-operated SaaS or Cloud-Prem
Operational model
Omni
Simpler Postgres-based stack you operate directly
Glean
Glean manages infrastructure, upgrades, and support access
Custom connectors and extensibility
Omni
Build connectors, agents, and workflows in open source
Glean
Extend through APIs, SDKs, and managed connector patterns
Source-code control
Omni
Fork, audit, and modify the product
Glean
Closed-source commercial platform
Model and inference control
Omni
OpenAI-compatible endpoints, including self-hosted models
Glean
Model Hub with Glean-managed or customer-provided keys
Admin and security controls
Omni
SSO in Business; SCIM and audit logs in Enterprise
Glean
SSO, SCIM, RBAC, audit logs, and admin controls
Pricing and procurement
Omni
$0 self-host · $10/user/mo Business, published pricing
Glean
No public self-serve price; sales-led enterprise pricing
Time to first deployment
Omni
Self-serve deployment in ~1 hour
Glean
Provisioning and implementation timeline varies
Where Omni stands out
Why teams choose Omni over Glean
Open source and extensible
Omni is open source software your team can shape around the way your company works. If a system matters to your company, you can connect it. If a connector needs a field, permission rule, sync behavior, or ranking tweak that only your environment needs, you can build it directly in the codebase you already run.
- Build custom connectors for internal apps and proprietary systems
- Modify retrieval, permissions, ranking, and model plumbing in code
- Keep your integrations even if your deployment model changes
Self-hosted, air-gapped, and simpler to operate
Omni is self-operated software you can deploy directly, inspect directly, and upgrade on your own schedule. For teams that want AI over company knowledge without a long procurement cycle or vendor-operated infrastructure path, the operating model is materially simpler: start with the Community edition, validate it in your own environment, and expand when the deployment is ready.
- Self-serve deployment and evaluation
- You control the upgrade cadence and maintenance windows
- Air-gapped, sovereign-cloud, and on-prem deployments are first-class
Lower, predictable cost
Omni's Business tier is published publicly at $10/user/month billed annually, with no seat minimum. The Community edition is free forever. You can evaluate Omni, deploy it, and run it in production before procurement becomes a blocker. That keeps early pilots small, clear, and easy to justify.
- Omni Community: $0, unlimited seats for self-hosted teams
- Omni Business: $10/user/mo annual, published publicly, no seat floor
- No minimum commitment required to start
Permissions you can audit
Omni's permission pipeline is open. You can read how ACLs are resolved per connector, how permissions are reconciled across source systems, and where the failure modes live. For security teams, that means permission behavior can be reviewed against your real ACL model before rollout. If your environment needs a fix or special case, the path is code, tests, and deployment under your control.
- Open, inspectable ACL reconciliation per connector
- Reproducible permission tests against your own data
- Fix path for edge cases in your environment
Model and inference control
Omni targets any OpenAI-compatible endpoint, including self-hosted Ollama or vLLM running on GPUs you own. If your security team mandates that inference stay inside your network, Omni supports that operating model. If you want to experiment with a new model next quarter, you change configuration and keep moving.
- Works with any OpenAI-compatible endpoint
- Self-hosted LLM support (Ollama, vLLM, llama.cpp) on your GPUs
- Swap models through configuration
Start small, expand later
Omni lets teams validate the full product path before a large rollout. Deploy the Community edition, add Business when SSO is required, and layer in Enterprise features such as SCIM, audit logs, and compliance controls when procurement or security requires them.
- Community edition deploys in ~1 hour
- Business upgrade keeps your deployment and data in place
- Enterprise features layer in without re-onboarding users
When to choose Glean
Glean can be the better fit when a vendor-operated platform and broad enterprise connector coverage matter more than data sovereignty, self-hosting control, transparent pricing, and source-level extensibility.
- You need the broadest catalog of prebuilt connectors today, including systems beyond Omni's current connector set
- You are comfortable with a vendor-operated deployment model, including Cloud-Prem running in your VPC
- You do not need air-gapped deployment or a fully self-operated stack
- You do not need to modify the product source code, build custom workflows, or fork the system
- You are comfortable with quote-based, sales-negotiated enterprise pricing