Kapa.ai vs Inkeep vs Kelu
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Three AI knowledge assistants for docs and support that teams often compare. On paper they share a lot: cited answers, a widget, bots, MCP servers and helpdesk features. The differences show up in retrieval details, which surfaces each one covers, and how each is priced. This matrix was checked against each vendor's own site.
Choose Kapa.ai if you need a SOC 2 Type II report and a long list of enterprise references today. Choose Inkeep if you also want to build your own AI agents with a visual builder or SDK. Choose Kelu if you want to start free and self-serve with a widget and an MCP server, then add Slack and Teams bots and AI in your helpdesk on the Pro plan.
At a glance
Kapa and Inkeep information comes from their own sites, docs and pricing pages. If you spot something outdated, contact us and we'll correct it.
How to think about the choice
Kapa has the deepest enterprise proof of the three. It is SOC 2 Type II certified and names customers such as OpenAI, monday.com, Logitech, Reddit and Netlify on its site. You can try it free for 14 days; after that, pricing goes through sales, as a platform fee plus a committed number of answers. Inkeep started as AI search for developer docs and is now also a platform for building AI agents, with a visual builder and a TypeScript SDK. It works with docs platforms such as Mintlify, Docusaurus and GitBook. Its managed docs AI, bots and MCP server are part of its Enterprise offering, priced through a demo. Kelu is the packaged product for teams who want to ship in an afternoon, not a quarter. It runs hybrid search, reranking and an enforced abstention gate. It covers Slack and Teams bots, MCP, a form deflector, and Support Ticket AI in Zendesk, Intercom, Freshdesk, Front and Linear, with a real free tier and a $99 Pro plan with no per-seat fees. The trade-off is enterprise credibility: we're newer, our SOC 2 Type II audit is still in progress, and our customer list is shorter. If that's a blocker for you, evaluate Kapa. If time-to-value and self-serve are the constraints, evaluate us.
Where each one is strongest
Kapa.ai — Enterprise buyers who need a SOC 2 report and named references. Developer-tool, hardware and semiconductor companies are well represented among its customers (Nordic Semiconductor, Silicon Labs, Espressif, Raspberry Pi). Also teams that need Discord or SharePoint content. Inkeep — Teams that want docs AI and custom AI agents from one vendor, and DevRel teams on Mintlify, Docusaurus or GitBook. Kelu — Any team that wants to try it on their own docs before talking to anyone; teams that need more than a widget (bots, MCP, AI inside the helpdesk) on one plan; teams whose knowledge lives across many sources; agencies running a workspace per client.
Got questions?
Frequently asked questions
Can I try Kapa or Inkeep before talking to sales?
Kapa has a 14-day free trial with no credit card; after that, pricing goes through sales. Inkeep's managed platform starts with a demo, though its agent framework is free to run yourself. Kelu has a free plan (100 questions/month, no credit card) with no end date, so you can index your docs and see cited answers in the widget without any sales conversation.
Is retrieval quality really different?
All three now combine keyword and vector search with reranking, cite their sources, and say when they don't know. Kelu adds an LLM query rewrite before search, fuses the two result lists with reciprocal rank fusion, and enforces abstention in code: when the sources don't cover a question, no excerpts reach the model and no citations are shown. Test all three on your own hardest questions: error codes, API names, and questions your docs don't answer.
What if I need enterprise credibility?
Kapa has the deepest enterprise proof today, including SOC 2 Type II certification. Kelu ships security controls (roles per workspace and knowledge base, PII masking, zero data retention, SSO with OIDC or SAML on Enterprise, a DPA), and its SOC 2 Type II audit is in progress. If your security review requires a SOC 2 report or named-brand references, evaluate Kapa alongside us and pick on the criteria that matter to your buying committee.
Which is best for internal knowledge (Notion + Confluence + policies)?
Kelu is built for it: 24 source types including OneDrive, Confluence, Notion, Google Drive and file uploads, and internal knowledge bases with no public surface that your team asks through Ask or an Internal MCP server. Kapa also offers internal projects and an internal assistant, and Inkeep's agents can search internal sources, so try each one on your own content.
Can I migrate from Kapa or Inkeep?
Yes. Reconnect the same sources (docs URLs, GitHub, Notion, Confluence) and swap the widget embed. Kelu can't add Slack, Discord or SharePoint as sources. See our dedicated /alternatives/kapa and /alternatives/inkeep pages for feature-by-feature comparisons.
See it on your own docs
Connect a source and get your first cited AI answer in under 5 minutes. Free plan, no credit card required.
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