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Instill Core vs Unstructured

Unlocking the full potential of your AI projects requires more than just making your data AI-ready—it demands a full-stack AI platform that handles everything from data processing to model deployment. Instill Core offers a robust, integrated solution designed to streamline AI workflows, ensuring your business can fully leverage unstructured data.

If you’re tired of dealing with fragmented tools, limited data observability, or slow time-to-market, it may be time to explore Instill Core. Below, we compare Instill Core vs. Unstructured to help you choose the best AI platform for your business needs and accelerate your AI journey.

Instill Core logoUnstructured logo
Instill CoreUnstructured
Development and Deployment
Build & Prototype Production-Ready Systems
Build & Prototype Production-Ready Systems✅ Designed to support production from day one, including prototyping and scaling.🚫 Limited to data preparation; requires additional tools for production-ready systems.
Cloud vs Local Deployment
Cloud vs Local Deployment✅ Supports cloud-native and local deployments seamlessly with infrastructure flexibility.🚫 Primarily designed for local deployment with limited cloud support.
Cloud-Native
Cloud-NativeCloud-native architecture with an ultra-fast Go backend for processing and scaling.🚫 Python-based workflows, which may limit performance for large-scale deployments.
Ease of Use Infrastructure
Ease of Use InfrastructureEasy to deploy, optimized for quick starts and scaling with minimal configuration.⚠️ Depends on use case, but may require more setup and custom configurations.
Ease of Use Model Serving
Ease of Use Model ServingBuilt-in model serving capabilities, allowing easy deployment and integration.🚫 Does not offer built-in model serving capabilities.
Customization and Flexibility
RAG Pipeline Customization
RAG Pipeline Customization✅ Full RAG pipeline support with extensive customization for AI workflows.⚠️ Requires additional integrations for full RAG and customization.
Customization with Modular Components
Customization with Modular Components✅ High customization with modular components, supporting a wide range of workflows and data types.⚠️ Medium customization through APIs.
Ease of integration
Ease of integrationAPI-ready by default, making integration into existing systems straightforward.✅ API-driven but may require more effort for integration depending on the use case.
Data Processing and Parsing
File Types Supported for High-Quality Parsing
File Types Supported for High-Quality Parsing✅ High-quality parsing for documents, images, audio, and video using AI-driven models.✅ High-quality parsing for documents.
Augmented Data Catalog for Unstructured Data
Augmented Data Catalog for Unstructured Data✅ Advanced cataloging for unstructured data with powerful search and metadata tools.🚫 No direct cataloging solution, focused on data preparation.
Spectrum of Unstructured Data Ingestion
Spectrum of Unstructured Data Ingestion✅ Supports ingestion of a wide variety of unstructured data, including text, video, audio, and more.✅ Supports ingestion of text and document data.
Pipeline and Observability
Observability of DAGs and Pipeline Executions
Observability of DAGs and Pipeline Executions✅ Full observability with detailed monitoring of DAGs and pipeline executions.🚫 No direct visual monitoring and observability of data pipeline executions.
Pricing and Licensing
Pay for One Service vs Many
Pay for One Service vs Many✅ Flexible pricing tailored to enterprise needs; includes a free tier for limited access.✅ Free tier available, but additional services often require third-party tools.
Full Source Code Availability
Full Source Code Availability✅ Source available on GitHub.✅ Source available on GitHub.
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Full-Stack GenAI: End-to-End Solution

Unstructured

Unstructured primarily focuses on the preprocessing stage of unstructured data, preparing it for AI consumption. While it provides high-quality data transformation, it lacks built-in features for model serving, pipeline orchestration, and generative AI capabilities. Users must depend on external tools to fully develop, test, and deploy AI models. This means businesses need to manage multiple services to achieve full-stack AI functionality, limiting its use as a complete AI platform.

Instill Core

Instill Core, on the other hand, is designed to offer an end-to-end solution for AI development. It is a full-stack platform, meaning that it handles not just the data ingestion but also model orchestration, pipeline management, and deployment. For companies looking to move from data ingestion to building full-fledged AI applications, Instill Core provides all the necessary tools, including support for RAG workflows (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) and generative AI applications. This approach simplifies the development of production-ready systems from day one, giving businesses a competitive edge with high levels of customization and seamless scaling for AI workflows.

Making Unstructured Data AI-Ready

Unstructured

Unstructured excels in data transformation, but it focuses heavily on specific file types like documents and images. Its chunking strategies—like 'basic', 'by_title', 'by_page', and 'by_similarity'—help break down unstructured data for easier AI consumption. However, it lacks the full pipeline integration needed for model deployment and real-time AI applications, meaning users will need to rely on additional tools for further AI processing and production.

Instill Core

Instill Core supports a full spectrum of data types—documents, images, audio, video, and web data—and can transform these into AI-ready formats effortlessly. Its augmented data catalog helps organize and manage unstructured data, ensuring that all relevant insights are accessible and actionable. By integrating data processing with built-in AI/ML capabilities, Instill Core ensures businesses can move swiftly from raw data to production-ready AI systems including API-ready infrastructure that enhances the ease of integration.

Deployment Options and Transparency

Unstructured

Unstructured is primarily focused on local deployments, limiting deployment options to self-hosted environments. This means businesses must handle infrastructure setup and maintenance, adding to the complexity and resource demands, especially for teams without dedicated DevOps resources.

Instill Core

Instill Core offers flexible deployment options including: a managed cloud service via Instill Cloud, perfect for businesses seeking a streamlined, low-maintenance solution; or a self-hosted option via GitHub repository, allowing for complete control over infrastructure in on-premises environments and added data security. This flexibility empowers businesses to choose between ease of management with the cloud option or deeper control with self-hosting.

Pricing

Unstructured

Unstructured employs a pay-per-page pricing model for its Serverless API, enhancing cost predictability and efficiency. The model features two primary strategies: the Fast Strategy, which costs $1 per 1,000 pages processed and is designed for low-latency use cases with structured documents, and the Hi-Res Strategy, priced at $10 per 1,000 pages, optimized for complex file types like PDFs and images. There is a Free Edition available but with limited usage.

Instill Core

Instill Core, through its fully managed public cloud service, Instill Cloud, provides a more transparent and scalable pricing model, starting with a free tier that includes 10,000 monthly credits. Paid tiers begin at $30/month for individuals and $80/month for teams, with all core features accessible across tiers. Pricing is based on usage limits rather than feature restrictions, allowing businesses to scale effectively without hidden costs.

Choose Instill Core or Unstructured?

Unstructured

Unstructured is good for businesses focused on data preprocessing with the technical capacity to integrate external tools for model building, pipeline orchestration, and deployment. It's best for those who only need high-quality data transformation but are prepared to assemble their AI infrastructure from multiple fragmented solutions.

Instill Core

Instill Core is ideal for organizations seeking a comprehensive and managed AI platform that simplifies the process of turning unstructured data into AI-ready formats. With tools for data orchestration, model deployment, and pipeline management, it's suited for businesses looking for a full-stack, end-to-end infrastructure to handle complex unstructured data and deliver AI-first applications.

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