Your customer experience is the most important software your company runs. It is the direct relationship with the people who pay you. It should be personalized to your business, built around your workflows, and owned by you - not rented from a vendor who controls the runtime, the data, and the exit terms.

Most AI CX platforms treat this differently. They sell access to a black box: proprietary models you cannot inspect, customer data you cannot export, and agent behavior you cannot fully control. When the contract renews, your switching cost is so high that the vendor sets the terms.

We think that is wrong. Customer experience software should be open, auditable, and yours. You should be able to see exactly what your AI says and why. You should be able to change its behavior without filing a vendor ticket. And if you decide to leave, you should take everything with you - the code, the data, every integration - because you paid for it and it was built for your business.

This page is a side-by-side comparison of Sierra AI, Decagon AI, and OpenNash CX. What each platform does, what it costs, who owns the data, and what happens when you want to leave.

We are biased - OpenNash CX is our product. We are also honest about where Sierra and Decagon are strong. Use this page to make a better decision, not just our decision.

Full Feature Comparison

Sierra AI Decagon AI OpenNash CX
Pricing Outcome-based, $150K+/yr + $50-200K setup ~$50K platform fee + usage, $100-580K/yr total $7,995/mo flat. Everything included.
Data ownership Sierra owns the infrastructure. Vendor lock-in. Decagon owns the infrastructure. Vendor lock-in. We manage, you own everything - code, data, infra. Zero switching cost.
Transparency Proprietary "constellation" of 15+ models. Limited visibility, black box. "Self-improving" agents. Limited visibility, black box. Inspectable prompts, version-controlled procedures, your database. Easy to self-improve.
Voice Available across channels Voice 2.0 with outbound calling, 65% latency improvement Switchable voice AI engines over enterprise telephony
Text channels Chat, SMS, WhatsApp, email, ChatGPT Chat, email Webchat, email, WhatsApp, Telegram, FB Messenger, Instagram DM, Line, TikTok, Slack, SMS
Cross-channel memory Agent Data Platform - memory on Sierra's infrastructure Cross-channel memory - on Decagon's infrastructure Three-tier living profile, structured fields, freeform memory - in your database
Human handoff Live Assist (basic, no copilot) No native handoff - requires Zendesk/Salesforce Native agent workspace with full AI context
Integrations Enterprise integrations, pro services for custom work API integration, roadmap-dependent 1,000+ native. Custom builds included, no extra cost.
Compliance certs SOC 2, ISO 27001, ISO 42001, HIPAA, GDPR, EU AI Act SOC 2, HIPAA Full audit trail, model transparency, version-controlled procedures
Builder tools Agent Studio (no-code) + Agent SDK (TypeScript) Agent Operating Procedures (natural language) Human-readable procedures, admin interface, version-controlled config
Industries Financial services, healthcare, telecom, media, travel, retail, technology Fintech, SaaS, e-commerce Any industry - financial services, healthcare, legal, retail, technology, professional services
Implementation Weeks to months, $50-200K setup Weeks to months, self-serve + Decagon University Days to weeks, fully managed onboarding included
Contract Annual lock-in Annual lock-in Month-to-month, pause anytime

Pricing: What You Actually Pay

Sierra: Outcome-Based Pricing

Sierra charges per successful resolution. On the surface, this feels aligned - you only pay when the AI solves a problem. In practice, three issues surface:

  • Who defines "resolution"? Sierra does. If the AI sends a response and the customer does not reply within a window, that can count as resolved. A frustrated customer who gave up and called your office instead? Resolved.
  • Costs scale unpredictably. A seasonal spike in support volume - holiday rush, product launch, service outage - means your AI bill spikes too, exactly when you can least afford surprises.
  • The floor is high. Annual contracts reportedly start around $150K with setup fees ranging from $50K to $200K.

Sierra works with large consumer brands like Rocket Mortgage, SoFi, Wayfair, SiriusXM, and Gap. Their pricing reflects that market: enterprise budgets with enterprise sales cycles.

Decagon: Platform Fee Plus Usage

Decagon layers usage-based billing on top of an estimated ~$50K annual platform fee. Per-conversation rates run roughly $0.99 per interaction, with per-resolution pricing available at higher rates. Total annual contracts typically range from $100K to $580K depending on volume.

The hidden cost: Decagon has no native human handoff. When the AI cannot resolve an issue, you need Zendesk, Salesforce Service Cloud, or another helpdesk platform running alongside it. That is a second contract, a second integration surface, and a second vendor relationship. Real-world total cost is often 2-3x the Decagon sticker price.

OpenNash CX: $7,995/Month, Everything Included

Flat monthly retainer. No per-resolution metering. No setup fees. No integration surcharges. No overage billing.

What $7,995/month covers:

  • Unlimited requests - no per-resolution or per-conversation billing
  • Custom AI agents built for your business
  • 1,000+ native integrations plus any custom integration you need
  • Voice, SMS, webchat, and 10+ messaging channels
  • Ongoing maintenance, optimization, and new features
  • Full data ownership - you own the code, data, and infrastructure

Your cost does not change because your customers had a busy week.

Example: 12-Month Cost Comparison

A company handling 10,000 customer interactions per month:

Cost component Sierra (est.) Decagon (est.) OpenNash CX
Platform / setup $50-200K ~$50K $0
Annual usage $100-150K+ $50-120K+ $0 (included)
Helpdesk (human handoff) Included $15-50K (Zendesk/Salesforce) $0 (included)
Custom integrations $25-75K (pro services) Roadmap-dependent $0 (included)
Year 1 total $175-425K+ $115-220K+ $95,940

Exact numbers vary by scope and vendor negotiation. The structure is what matters: outcome-based and usage-based pricing creates unpredictable costs that scale against you. A flat retainer does not.

Data Ownership and Vendor Lock-In

This is the most important section on this page. Features change. Pricing changes. Ownership is structural.

The Exit Test

If you cancel your AI support vendor today, what do you still have on day 31?

  • Sierra: Your agent logic, customer memory, conversation history, and integrations all live on Sierra's infrastructure. Sierra's Agent Data Platform accumulates personalization data that deepens the lock - the more memory Sierra holds, the harder it becomes to leave. Every change to your agent's behavior requires their team on their timeline.
  • Decagon: Same structural lock-in. Agent Operating Procedures and conversation data live on Decagon's platform. Their Decagon Duet feature introduces "self-improving" agents that modify behavior without your explicit approval - creating drift that is hard to audit and harder to replicate elsewhere.
  • OpenNash CX: You keep everything. The software, the database, the conversation history, every integration. There is nothing to export because there is nothing locked away.

How OpenNash Ownership Works

OpenNash CX is a single-tenant system. We build it, deploy it, and manage it on your behalf. You own the result.

Think of it like hiring a contractor to build your house - they do the work, but you hold the deed. Ongoing maintenance, updates, and new features are all included in your monthly retainer. But if you stop working with us, everything stays with you.

  • Tenant-scoped from the ground up. Your data is isolated at the schema level, not filtered at query time. No shared infrastructure, no data mingling.
  • Your customer identity lives in your database. Voice, telephony, and messaging providers are replaceable execution layers. Your customer data stays where it is regardless of provider changes.
  • Procedures are version-controlled. Your agent's behavior is defined in human-readable files, tracked in git, auditable at any point. Change a procedure, see results immediately - no vendor ticket required.
  • Credentials are tenant-scoped. Your API keys, OAuth tokens, and integration connections are stored under your organization - not shared.

AI Transparency

Sierra: Powerful but Opaque

Sierra runs a proprietary "constellation" of purpose-built models behind AgentOS. You cannot see which model handled a specific interaction, what reasoning path it followed, or why it chose one response over another. The runtime model selection is a black box.

Their Agent Studio gives non-technical teams a no-code builder, and the Agent SDK gives engineers TypeScript-based development with CI/CD tooling. These are real capabilities for building and testing agents. But once deployed, the runtime behavior is opaque - you test against it, you do not inspect it.

Sierra holds SOC 2, ISO 27001, ISO 42001, HIPAA, GDPR, and EU AI Act certifications. For compliance-driven industries, the certifications are strong. The question is whether your auditors need to see inside the model, not just see the certificate.

Decagon: Self-Improving Means Self-Modifying

Decagon's Agent Operating Procedures (AOPs) are a smart idea - natural language business logic instead of brittle decision trees. But their Decagon Duet feature introduces "self-improving agents" that modify their own behavior. In a compliance context, "the AI decided to change how it responds" is not an acceptable answer.

Multiple users have described the platform as a "black box" where agent behavior becomes difficult to modify or audit once configured.

OpenNash CX: Inspectable by Design

  • Full prompt visibility. Every system prompt, procedure, and capability injection is human-readable and version-controlled. Diff what your agent says today versus last month.
  • Complete audit trail. Every agent decision, tool call, escalation, and outcome is logged in your database - queryable, exportable, archivable.
  • Model transparency. You see exactly which LLM handled each interaction. Change models, pin versions, or evaluate alternatives.
  • Easy to self-improve. See a bad response, fix the procedure, deploy immediately. Your team gets better at AI operations over time instead of waiting on vendor engineering for every change.
  • Durable audit records. Every webhook, background job, and voice session is tracked with retry management and latency breakdowns.

Channels and Cross-Channel Memory

Sierra

Sierra's Experience SDK deploys a single agent across chat, SMS, WhatsApp, email, voice, and ChatGPT. "Build once, deploy anywhere" is a real strength, and their channel breadth is among the widest in the market.

The limitation: "anywhere" means anywhere Sierra supports. Adding unsupported channels requires waiting on their roadmap. The unified runtime also means limited per-channel optimization - your voice agent and chat agent share the same behavior model.

Decagon

Decagon's Voice 2.0 brought 65% latency improvements and outbound calling with branded caller IDs. Cross-channel memory means customers who switch channels do not repeat themselves.

Channel coverage is narrower than Sierra or OpenNash - primarily chat, email, and voice. Channel customization is constrained by the same architecture that limits visibility elsewhere.

OpenNash CX

Shared core for identity, memory, knowledge, and outcomes - but each channel has its own independent, replaceable runtime.

Voice: Switchable engine architecture over enterprise telephony. Switch voice providers from the admin panel without migration or downtime. Built-in guardrails: call duration limits, per-caller rate limits, spend caps.

Text: Webchat, email, WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook Messenger, Instagram DM, Line, TikTok, and Slack out of the box.

SMS: Built-in opt-in/opt-out compliance (STOP/START), per-contact rate limits, spend guardrails.

Cross-channel memory: Three-tier architecture - a living narrative profile rewritten after every conversation, structured fields (name, language, timezone, consent, lead status), and freeform key-value memory. All in your database.

Human Handoff

Every AI agent fails sometimes. The measure of a platform is how gracefully it handles failure.

Sierra offers Live Assist for basic human escalation, but there is no agent-assist copilot. When a human takes over, they start with limited context about what the AI already tried.

Decagon has no native human handoff. When the AI reaches its limit, the customer routes to a separate helpdesk (Zendesk, Salesforce). Two platforms, two contracts, and the customer experience fractures at the highest-stakes moment.

OpenNash CX provides a native agent workspace. When the AI escalates, the human agent sees the full transcript, customer memory profile, tool calls, and resolution attempts. No separate platform. No context loss. Agents can pause the AI mid-conversation to take over manually at any point.

Integrations

Sierra has strong integrations with major enterprise platforms. Custom integrations require a professional services engagement - additional scope, cost, and timeline. Because Sierra uses a forward-deployed model, you are dependent on their engineering bandwidth.

Decagon's AOP framework gives flexibility in connecting systems. But new integrations not on their roadmap mean waiting.

OpenNash CX ships with 1,000+ native integrations and we will build any custom integration you need - included in your retainer at no additional cost. Target SLA: any new integration scoped, built, and deployed within two weeks. Integrations are tenant-scoped with runtime toggles - enable or disable from the admin panel without redeployment.

Categories covered: helpdesk, telephony, CRM, knowledge management, payments, commerce, logistics, operations, data platforms, and communication tools.

Industry Coverage

Sierra

Sierra explicitly serves financial services, healthcare, telecommunications, media, travel and hospitality, retail and consumer goods, and technology. Their customer base includes Rocket Mortgage, SoFi, SiriusXM, Sutter Health, Wayfair, Gap, Discord, DIRECTV, Rivian, Redfin, ADT, CLEAR, WeightWatchers, and Deliveroo.

Sierra is strongest in high-volume consumer brands where outcome-based pricing aligns with large interaction counts and straightforward resolution definitions.

Decagon

Decagon has focused primarily on fintech, SaaS, and e-commerce. Their self-serve AOP model appeals to technical CX teams in these verticals.

OpenNash CX

OpenNash CX serves any industry where customer relationships are high-value and agent decisions need to be auditable:

  • Financial services - banks, lenders, fintechs where compliance review matters
  • Healthcare - patient communication with HIPAA-adjacent requirements
  • Legal - law firms where every client interaction is potentially discoverable
  • Retail and e-commerce - order management, returns, product support
  • Technology and SaaS - technical support, onboarding, account management
  • Professional services - CPAs, consultants, RIAs where client trust is the product
  • Travel and hospitality - booking management, loyalty programs, service recovery

The architecture is industry-agnostic. The difference is that you own the system, so it adapts to your compliance and operational requirements rather than the other way around.

Implementation

Sierra: Enterprise onboarding with $50K-$200K setup fees implies weeks to months. Their forward-deployed model means Sierra handles technical complexity, but also means you depend on their team's capacity. Agent Studio is no-code, but advanced agents often require the TypeScript SDK.

Decagon: Implementation stretches into weeks or months. The AOP framework needs careful configuration. Decagon University (their training and certification program) exists because there is a real learning curve.

OpenNash CX: Onboarding targets days to weeks. Because we fully manage the build and deployment, you get expert implementation without DIY complexity.

The first week:

  1. Day 1-2: We deploy your instance, configure your base prompt, upload knowledge files
  2. Day 3-4: Connect voice, SMS, and webchat channels
  3. Day 5-7: Enable integrations, test conversations, tune procedures

Optimization is continuous and included in the retainer.

Who Should Choose What

Choose Sierra if:

  • You are a large consumer brand (10M+ interactions/year) with $150K+ annual budget
  • You want a fully managed service and do not need to inspect runtime model decisions
  • Your channels are primarily chat and messaging with voice as secondary
  • You are comfortable with annual lock-in and vendor dependency
  • You need established enterprise compliance certifications (SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, GDPR)

Choose Decagon if:

  • You have a technical CX team comfortable configuring agent logic in natural language
  • You are in fintech, SaaS, or e-commerce with straightforward support workflows
  • You already have a separate helpdesk platform for human handoff
  • You prefer self-serve configuration over managed services

Choose OpenNash CX if:

  • You need to own your customer data, agent code, and infrastructure
  • You want a fully managed service that builds and optimizes the system on your behalf
  • You need voice, SMS, and 10+ text channels with independent optimization per channel
  • You want predictable costs: $7,995/month, everything included
  • Human handoff with full context is a requirement
  • You want inspectable prompts and auditable agent decisions
  • You need custom integrations without professional services fees
  • You are in an industry where compliance, data ownership, or audit trails matter

How to Evaluate Any CX Platform

Regardless of which platform you are considering, these are the five questions that matter most:

  1. Total cost over 12 months. Include setup fees, usage variability, helpdesk costs for human handoff, and custom integration work. Ask the vendor for a worst-case estimate, not just the base price.
  2. Who owns the system and data. Ask specifically: if we cancel, what do we take with us? Where does conversation history live? Can we export agent logic in a portable format?
  3. What happens when AI fails. How does the human handoff work? Is it native or does it require a separate platform? What context does the human agent get?
  4. How fast can your team change behavior. Can you modify agent procedures without filing a vendor ticket? What is the turnaround time for a behavior change?
  5. Whether the stack survives a vendor breakup. If the vendor raises prices, gets acquired, or shuts down, what is your migration path?

The right answer to these questions depends on your industry, scale, and risk tolerance. The important thing is to ask them before signing anything.

Next Steps

If you are evaluating CX platforms, here is what we recommend:

  • Read the contracts. Pay attention to data ownership clauses, renewal terms, and what happens when you cancel.
  • Run a TCO analysis. Use the cost framework above to estimate real 12-month costs for each vendor you are considering.
  • Ask for a live demo, not a slide deck. Any vendor who will not show you the actual system running real conversations is selling you a future, not a product.

If you want to see how OpenNash CX works in practice, we will show you the actual system - not a demo environment. Contact us at [email protected] or book a 30-minute walkthrough.

$7,995/month. No annual contract. No setup fees. You own everything.