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AI · head to head

AI21 Labs vs Cognite Data Fusion

AI21 Labs logo

AI21 Labs

AI

Enterprise language AI solutions

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Cognite Data Fusion logo

Cognite Data Fusion

Energy

Industrial data platform that contextualises OT, IT and engineering data into an asset-centric knowledge graph

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only AI21 Labs has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: AI21 Labs the free allowance is $10 of credit lasting 7 days rather than an ongoing free tier; Cognite Data Fusion the platform is only as good as the contextualisation work, and that mapping effort is a consulting project that regularly costs more than the first-year subscription.
  • They diverge on capability: AI21 Labs covers Jamba models, Cognite Data Fusion covers Asset-centric data model.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which AI21 Labs and Cognite Data Fusion actually diverge.

Attributes where AI21 Labs and Cognite Data Fusion differ
AttributeAI21 LabsCognite Data Fusion
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelusage-basedquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsApi, CloudWeb, Cloud
CategoryAIEnergy
Founded2017Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in AI21 Labs

  • Jamba models
  • Long context
  • RAG engine
  • Writing tools
  • REST API
  • Amazon Bedrock
  • Cloud platforms
  • Api support

Only in Cognite Data Fusion

  • Asset-centric data model
  • Entity matching
  • P&ID parsing
  • 3D contextualisation
  • Cognite Atlas AI
  • Data workflows
  • Open SDKs
  • Extractors

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

AI21 Labs

  • Running long-context tasks on the Jamba model familynot Cognite Data Fusion
  • Building and optimising production AI agents with Maestronot Cognite Data Fusion
  • Routing between models to control cost and accuracynot Cognite Data Fusion
  • Long-horizon agentic tasks needing stateful workspacesnot Cognite Data Fusion

Cognite Data Fusion

  • An operator that wants engineers to find the drawing, the sensor trend and the last work order for a valve from one searchnot AI21 Labs
  • A company standardising asset data across sites so an analytics team can build once and deploy to many plantsnot AI21 Labs
  • An upstream operator building a production-optimisation model that needs sensor data joined to equipment metadatanot AI21 Labs
  • A team replacing a stalled internal data-lake project where nobody could reconstruct what the tag names meantnot AI21 Labs

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

AI21 Labs

  • The free allowance is $10 of credit lasting 7 days rather than an ongoing free tier
  • Jamba Large is $2 per million input tokens and $8 per million output, so output-heavy work costs four times as much as input
  • Volume discounts, private cloud hosting and higher rate limits require a custom plan
  • Standard rate limits are not published

Cognite Data Fusion

  • The platform is only as good as the contextualisation work, and that mapping effort is a consulting project that regularly costs more than the first-year subscription.
  • Pricing is consumption-based and unpublished, so costs move with data volume and usage patterns you cannot forecast well until a year in.
  • It does not replace your historian, your ERP or your maintenance system, so Cognite is an additional recurring cost layered on systems you still pay for.
  • The reference base and data model lean heavily towards Norwegian and wider oil, gas and process industries; discrete manufacturing fit is weaker and the local partner network thinner outside energy.
  • Getting value out requires in-house Python and data engineering skill; organisations without a data team end up dependent on Cognite professional services for every new use case.

Pricing, plan by plan

AI21 Labs

Free
  • Free TrialFree
    • 10 USD credits
    • 7-day trial period
    • No credit card required
  • Pay As You Go$undefined/mo
    • Usage-based pricing model
    • Access to all Foundation model APIs and SDK
    • Unlimited seats
  • Custom Plan$undefined/mo
    • Volume discounts on token pricing
    • Premium API rate limits
    • Private cloud hosting option

Cognite Data Fusion

On request
  • Cognite Data Fusion$undefined/year
    • Consumption-based pricing on data volume, compute and users
    • Available through cloud marketplaces with private offers
    • Contextualisation and onboarding quoted as a separate engagement

Which should you pick?

Choose AI21 Labs if

  • You need jamba models.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Api, Cloud.
  • You also want long context.
AI21 Labs review

Choose Cognite Data Fusion if

  • You need asset-centric data model.
  • You work on Web, Cloud.
  • You also want entity matching.
Cognite Data Fusion review

Questions people ask

Is AI21 Labs or Cognite Data Fusion better?
Neither clearly leads. AI21 Labs starts at Free and Cognite Data Fusion at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, AI21 Labs or Cognite Data Fusion?
AI21 Labs has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for AI21 Labs and On request for Cognite Data Fusion.
Does AI21 Labs or Cognite Data Fusion run on more platforms?
AI21 Labs runs on Api, Cloud. Cognite Data Fusion runs on Web, Cloud.
Can I use AI21 Labs for free?
Yes. AI21 Labs has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Cognite Data Fusion starts at On request.
What is AI21 Labs best used for?
AI21 Labs is most often used for running long-context tasks on the jamba model family, building and optimising production ai agents with maestro, routing between models to control cost and accuracy, long-horizon agentic tasks needing stateful workspaces. Of those, running long-context tasks on the jamba model family and building and optimising production ai agents with maestro are not what Cognite Data Fusion is typically brought in for.
What can AI21 Labs do that Cognite Data Fusion cannot?
AI21 Labs covers Jamba models, Long context, RAG engine, Writing tools. Cognite Data Fusion covers Asset-centric data model, Entity matching, P&ID parsing, 3D contextualisation.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

AI21 Labs: How much do AI21's Jamba Mini and Jamba Large models cost?

Jamba Mini costs $0.2 per 1M input tokens and $0.4 per 1M output tokens. Jamba Large is priced at $2 per 1M input tokens and $8 per 1M output tokens. Both models use usage-based billing with no monthly minimums.

Source
Cognite Data Fusion: Is Cognite a historian?

No. It reads from historians such as PI System and adds context. You still need the historian underneath.

AI21 Labs: Does AI21 offer a free trial?

Yes, AI21 provides a free trial with 10 USD in credits for 7 days, no credit card required. The trial grants access to all Foundation models via API and SDK.

Source
Cognite Data Fusion: How is it priced?

Consumption-based on data, compute and users, quoted per customer. Nothing is published.

AI21 Labs: How do AI21's custom plans and volume discounts work?

Custom plans with volume discounts are available for enterprises but require contacting sales. These plans can include premium API rate limits, private cloud hosting, priority support, dedicated account managers, and expert consultancy.

Source
Cognite Data Fusion: How long does a deployment take?

First useful graph in a few months is realistic; full plant contextualisation across a site is typically a year or more.

AI21 Labs: What does AI21 mean by 30% token efficiency savings?

AI21 claims their tokenization delivers approximately 30% more text per token compared to other providers, which can reduce effective costs by roughly 30%. This applies primarily to English-language text averaging 1 word or 6 characters per token.

Source
Cognite Data Fusion: Can we do the contextualisation ourselves?

Technically yes, the SDKs and matching tools are open, but most customers use Cognite or a partner for the first site.

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