#2 in AI Search & ResearchUpdated 2026-08

SWIRL

by Swirl Search · Federated enterprise search and MCP layer that leaves data in place

66.1 — BenchRank score out of 100

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Overview

SWIRL is a knowledge layer that runs in your own tenant and queries connected systems live instead of copying them into an index. It federates one search across 150+ sources, ranks and de-duplicates the results, and can produce cited RAG answers using any LLM, including on-prem models. Agents reach the same results through its MCP server or REST API.

Best for: Regulated enterprises wanting AI search over existing systems without copying data to a new index
Pricing: Annual platform licence: Departmental $24,000/year, Business $72,000/year and Enterprise from $150,000/year, plus a $12,000 60-90 day pilot credited to a first contract; the Semantic Cache add-on and OEM licensing (from $60,000/year plus revenue share) are priced separately.
Runs on: macOSSelf-hosted

Strengths and trade-offs

Strengths

Searches source systems in place - no second index or vector database
150+ connectors, including M365, Salesforce, iManage and Snowflake
First-class MCP server and REST API for agent access
Runs in your own tenant, with on-prem and air-gapped options

Trade-offs

Canonical answers and pinning sit in the Semantic Cache add-on, sold apart
Annual licence only, from $24K/year; no free or self-serve tier
You supply the LLM and the infrastructure it runs on
Full connector library and analytics start at the $72K Business edition

Pricing

Published plans from SWIRL’s own pricing page, in USD. Usage charges and add-ons may apply on top.

SWIRL pricing tiers, monthly rates in USD
Plan	Monthly	Includes
Departmental	—annual platform licence	$24,000 per year; one business unit or workspace Core connector pack (M365, SharePoint, Box and more) SSO included (Okta, Entra, Ping); MCP server and REST API Community and email support
Business	—annual platform licence	$72,000 per year; multiple business units or workspaces Full 150+ connector library AI-Yield analytics plus business console (boost, block, spotlight) Production agent/MCP access, standard SLA and priority support
Enterprise	Contact sales	$150,000+ per year, custom scope; unlimited business units FedRAMP, air-gapped or gov-cloud option On-prem or private-cloud deployment Premium SLA, named technical account manager, custom connectors

How this score is made up

Each dimension is scored out of 100 and combined into the headline score using fixed weights.

MCP support: 60 out of 100
API quality: 30 out of 100
Documentation: 90 out of 100
Agent friendliness: 100 out of 100
Pricing transparency: 85 out of 100
Changelog: 100 out of 100
Marketing site structure: 50 out of 100
Operational trust: 0 out of 100

Measured, but not part of the score

Useful to know, but not a mark for or against the product — so these do not affect the ranking.

Openness: 85 out of 100
Maintenance: 90 out of 100

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