Best Microsoft Copilot Alternative (2026) | Onyx vs Microsoft 365 Copilot
The open-source Microsoft Copilot alternative
Onyx connects your entire tool stack, not just Microsoft 365. Get reliable, permission-aware answers across 40+ tools with any LLM you choose.
| Feature | Onyx | Copilot |
|---|---|---|
| Integrated Company Knowledge | +33 more 40+ indexed enterprise connectors |
Microsoft 365 apps only 1 |
| Open-source & self-hostable | Yes | No |
| Model-agnostic (100+ LLMs) | Yes | Primarily OpenAI models, with Anthropic and Google options in select features |
| Transparent, predictable pricing | $20/user/month | $21-30/user + M365 license = $33.50-87/user |
| No oversharing security risk | Permission-aware from the start | Major oversharing concern 2 |
Copilot searches Word, Excel, Outlook, and Teams. If your team uses Slack, Google Drive, Confluence, Jira, or GitHub, those are invisible to it. Onyx indexes all of them continuously.
Copilot inherits SharePoint and OneDrive permissions as-is. In most orgs, these are over-permissioned: 72% of CISOs are concerned generative AI could result in a security breach (Metomic 2024 CISO Survey), and 16% of business-critical files are accessible to more people than intended (Concentric AI Data Risk Report). Copilot will surface that data to anyone who asks.
Pricing Comparison
Onyx
$20/user/month
Microsoft 365 Copilot
~$33.50-87/user/month
Try Business edition on our Cloud ($20/user/month). 14-day free trial. No credit card required.
Enterprise edition adds SLAs, dedicated support, and white-labeling.
$21-30/user Copilot fee (Business/Enterprise) plus a required M365 license ($12.50-$57/user). Copilot Studio agents billed separately. Annual commitment.
Total Cost of Ownership
Estimated annual cost comparison based on per-user pricing.
| Team size | 100 users | 10 | 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Onyx | $24,000 | $2,000 | $240,000 |
| Copilot | $66,000 | $5,000 | $660,000 |
Annual Savings
$42,000
64% less with Onyx
Detailed Comparison
Cross-Platform Search vs. Microsoft-Only
Onyx
Onyx connects to 40+ tools natively: Slack, Google Drive, Confluence, Jira, GitHub, Salesforce, Notion, HubSpot, and more. Every connector continuously syncs and indexes your data. Search works across your entire tech stack, not just one vendor's ecosystem.
Microsoft 365 Copilot
Copilot's strength is deep Microsoft 365 integration: it's embedded in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams. It has 100+ connectors via Microsoft Graph for non-Microsoft sources, but the experience outside Microsoft apps is significantly weaker. Partner-built connectors for Slack, Google Drive, etc. require additional setup and maintenance, and the retrieval quality through Graph connectors is inconsistent.
Which is Right for You?
Onyx is best for
- Teams using a mix of tools beyond Microsoft (Slack, Google Drive, Confluence, etc.)
- Organizations frustrated with Copilot's answer quality and looking for reliability
- Companies needing self-hosted or air-gapped deployment
- Cost-conscious teams. Onyx is significantly cheaper than Copilot + M365
- Security-conscious organizations concerned about oversharing risks
Microsoft 365 Copilot is best for
- Organizations 100% committed to the Microsoft ecosystem (M365, Teams, SharePoint, Azure)
- Teams primarily needing in-app AI assistance in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
- Companies that value meeting summarization (widely regarded as Copilot's strongest feature)
- Existing Power Platform users who want Copilot Studio for agent building
Frequently Asked Questions
- How is Onyx different from Microsoft Copilot?
- Can Onyx connect to Microsoft 365 data like Copilot does?
- Why is Copilot's answer quality so poor?
- Is Onyx cheaper than Microsoft Copilot?
- What about Copilot's oversharing problem?
Get Started Today
Start your 14-day free trial of Onyx (no credit card required)
- Secure: Enterprise-grade security and compliance. Flexible and secure deployment options.
- Open-Source: Deep customizability optimized for your use case, supported by a large Open-Source community.