Amazon Kendra
Amazon Kendra: A capable AWS search service with clear hourly pricing, but it is cloud-only and closed to new customers. Ranked #4 of 25 in AI Enterprise Search Software by our editors (9.0/10); pricing: 30-day trial; best for AWS teams wanting transparent enterprise search pricing.
At a glance
- Editor score9.0 / 10
- Pricing30-day trial
- Best forAWS teams wanting transparent enterprise search pricing
- Free planNo
- Paid from$0.32 usage-based
- Permission syncYes
- Facts checked21 Sep 2026
Where it wins
- Natural-language answers with extracted passages and citations
- ACL filtering, scheduled connectors, and semantic relevance tuning
- Retriever API supports retrieval-augmented generation workflows
Where it doesn't
- Cloud-only deployment
- No longer open to new customers
- Usage limits vary substantially by edition
Our verdict on Amazon Kendra
Amazon Kendra is a managed enterprise search service for organizations that need to find answers across structured and unstructured content. It combines machine learning, natural-language question answering, semantic ranking, FAQ matching, extracted passages, query autocompletion, and document-level access controls. Teams can search through web and API interfaces, while administrators can use search analytics, relevance tuning, and Visual Experience Builder with IAM Identity Center integration.
Pricing is usage-based rather than per-user. The Basic Developer Edition costs $1.125 per hour and supports up to 10,000 documents or 3 GB of extracted text, with 0.05 QPS and approximately 4,000 queries per day; it is designed for proof-of-concept solutions. The Basic Enterprise Edition costs $1.4 per hour and supports up to 100,000 documents or 30 GB of extracted text, with 0.1 QPS and approximately 8,000 queries per day for production workloads. The GenAI Enterprise Edition costs $0.32 per hour, supports up to 20,000 documents or 200 MB of extracted text, and includes a Retriever API for RAG workflows. A 30-day trial includes 750 hours during the first 30 days, excluding connector usage.
Its ecosystem fit is strongest for AWS-centered teams. Native connectors include Amazon S3, Amazon RDS, Amazon FSx, Atlassian Confluence Cloud and Server, Box, Microsoft SharePoint, Salesforce, ServiceNow, Google Drive, and Web Crawler, with scheduled synchronization and permission-aware filtering. Kendra suits teams seeking managed search, citations, analytics, and RAG retrieval without building those capabilities from scratch. It is a poor choice for organizations requiring on-premises deployment or new access, because AWS states that the product is no longer open to new customers.
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Amazon Kendra pricing
All 3 Amazon Kendra plans and prices →
Amazon Kendra fact sheet
| Free plan | No |
|---|---|
| Paid from | $0.32 usage-based |
| Source connectors | 5 |
| Permission sync | Yes |
| Answer citations | Yes |
| Deployment options | Cloud |
| Indexed content limit | 3 GB |
| Admin controls | Yes |
| Free trial | 30 days |
| Deployment | Cloud |
| Platforms | Web |
| Support | Docs |
| Built for | Mid-market, Enterprise (editorial estimate) |
| Integrations | 32+ integrations: Amazon S3, Amazon RDS, Amazon FSx, Atlassian Confluence Cloud, Atlassian Confluence Server, Box … See all → |
| Pricing | 30-day trial (source) |
| Website | aws.amazon.com |
| Facts checked | 21 Sep 2026 |
Amazon Kendra integrations
Amazon Kendra lists 32+ integrations on its own site — the 11 named here are the ones its pages call out.
- Amazon S3
- Amazon RDS
- Amazon FSx
- Atlassian Confluence Cloud
- Atlassian Confluence Server
- Box
- Microsoft SharePoint
- Salesforce
- ServiceNow
- Google Drive
- Web Crawler
See all Amazon Kendra integrations →
Alternatives to Amazon Kendra
- SinequaA governed search platform for large enterprises with complex information estates.9.4
- Mindbreeze InSpireA broad enterprise search platform for permission-aware answers across complex data estates.9.3
- CoveoA mature enterprise search platform with deep retrieval, personalization, and integration capabilities.9.2
See all Amazon Kendra alternatives →
Amazon Kendra vs the competition
- Amazon Kendra vs Sinequa
- Amazon Kendra vs Mindbreeze InSpire
- Amazon Kendra vs Coveo
- Amazon Kendra vs Elastic Search AI
- Amazon Kendra vs SWIRL AI Search
- Amazon Kendra vs SearchBlox SearchAI
Compare Amazon Kendra with any tool side by side →
Also Ranked In
Amazon Kendra is ranked in 3 of our directories.
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Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
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