kitio.aiElasticsearch vs Vald
A side-by-side look at pricing plans, free tiers, features, pros and cons, updated for 2026. Vald is completely free, while Elasticsearch is free trial.
At a glance
Best for
Category
Pricing model
Starting price
Free plan
Made by
Based in
Rating
Key features
- Vector embedding storage and search
- Elastic Agent Builder
- Kibana dashboards
- Jina AI search models
- Serverless, hosted or self-managed
- Observability and security use cases
- Distributed ANN search
- Asynchronous auto-indexing
- Index replication
- Automatic index backup
- Custom gRPC filters
- Multi-language SDKs
| Feature | Elasticsearch | Vald |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Search engine and vector database for AI apps and agents | Open-source distributed vector search engine for billions of vectors |
| Category | Models & APIs | Models & APIs |
| Pricing model | Free trial | Free |
| Starting price | See pricing page | Free |
| Free plan | No, trial available | Yes, fully free |
| Made by | Elastic | vdaas |
| Based in | Netherlands | – |
| Rating | No ratings yet | No ratings yet |
| Key features |
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Pricing compared
Vald is completely free, while Elasticsearch is free trial.
Free plan
Cheapest paid plan
Top plan
Free trial
Prices in USD, checked Nov 5, 2026 or later. Plans change often, so confirm on each tool's site before you buy.
Pros and cons
Elasticsearch
- Handles keyword and vector search together
- Three deployment options
- Mature ecosystem and tooling
- Pricing details are not clear on the page
- Cluster tuning takes expertise
- Broad product line can be confusing
Vald
- Free and open source
- Scales to billions of vectors
- Keeps serving while indexing
- Needs Kubernetes to run
- No managed cloud offering
- More setup than hosted vector databases
Which one should you choose?
Choose Elasticsearch if you want:
- Handles keyword and vector search together
- Three deployment options
- Mature ecosystem and tooling
Watch out: pricing details are not clear on the page.
Choose Vald if you want:
- Free and open source
- Scales to billions of vectors
- Keeps serving while indexing
Watch out: needs kubernetes to run.
Elasticsearch vs Vald FAQ
What is the difference between Elasticsearch and Vald?
Elasticsearch: Search engine and vector database for AI apps and agents. Vald: Open-source distributed vector search engine for billions of vectors. Both are models & apis tools.
Is Elasticsearch or Vald cheaper?
Vald is completely free, while Elasticsearch is free trial.
Do Elasticsearch and Vald have free plans?
Elasticsearch: No, trial available. Vald: Yes, fully free.
Who makes Elasticsearch?
Elasticsearch is made by Elastic, based in Netherlands.
Who makes Vald?
Vald is made by vdaas.
Which should I choose, Elasticsearch or Vald?
Choose Elasticsearch if you value handles keyword and vector search together and three deployment options. Choose Vald if you value free and open source and scales to billions of vectors.