kitio.aiWeaviate vs Chroma
A side-by-side look at pricing plans, free tiers, features, pros and cons, updated for 2026. Weaviate has the lower starting price: about $45 a month, against $250 for Chroma.
At a glance
Best for
Category
Pricing model
Starting price
Free plan
Made by
Based in
Rating
Key features
- Hybrid vector and keyword search
- Built-in vectorizer modules
- Multi-tenancy
- Generative search
- Weaviate Cloud
- Simple Python and JS API
- Built-in embeddings
- Metadata filtering
- Full-text search
- Chroma Cloud
| Feature | Weaviate | Chroma |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Open-source vector database with hybrid search and built-in vectorizers | Open-source embedding database for building RAG apps quickly |
| Category | Models & APIs | Models & APIs |
| Pricing model | Freemium | Freemium |
| Starting price | $45/mo | $250/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Made by | Weaviate | Chroma |
| Based in | Netherlands | United States |
| Rating | No ratings yet | No ratings yet |
| Key features |
|
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Pricing compared
Weaviate has the lower starting price: about $45 a month, against $250 for Chroma.
Free plan
Cheapest paid plan
Top plan
Free trial
3 plans
Free
Free
- 1 cluster, 100K objects
- 1 GB memory, 10 GB disk
- Basic support
Flex
$45/mo
- Starting price, pay-as-you-go
- Shared cloud cluster
- RBAC, 99.5% uptime
Premium
Contact sales
- Prepaid contract
- Shared or dedicated deployment
- Up to 99.95% uptime
3 plans
Starter
Free
- Plus usage, $5 free credits
- 10 databases
- 10 team members
Team
$250/mo
- Plus usage, $100 credits
- 100 databases
- 30 team members
- SOC II, Slack support
Enterprise
Contact sales
- Configurable billing
- Volume-based discounts
Prices in USD, checked Oct 28, 2026 or later. Plans change often, so confirm on each tool's site before you buy.
Pros and cons
Weaviate
- Strong hybrid search
- Open source and self-hostable
- Good multi-tenant support
- Memory-hungry at scale
- Cloud pricing changed often
- Schema concepts to learn
Chroma
- Very easy to start
- Default in many tutorials
- Free open-source version
- Fewer enterprise features
- Large-scale tuning is limited
- Cloud product is newer
Which one should you choose?
Choose Weaviate if you want:
- Strong hybrid search
- Open source and self-hostable
- Good multi-tenant support
Watch out: memory-hungry at scale.
Choose Chroma if you want:
- Very easy to start
- Default in many tutorials
- Free open-source version
Watch out: fewer enterprise features.
Weaviate vs Chroma FAQ
What is the difference between Weaviate and Chroma?
Weaviate: Open-source vector database with hybrid search and built-in vectorizers. Chroma: Open-source embedding database for building RAG apps quickly. Both are models & apis tools.
Is Weaviate or Chroma cheaper?
Weaviate has the lower starting price: about $45 a month, against $250 for Chroma.
Do Weaviate and Chroma have free plans?
Weaviate: Yes. Chroma: Yes.
Who makes Weaviate?
Weaviate is made by Weaviate, based in Netherlands.
Who makes Chroma?
Chroma is made by Chroma, based in United States.
Which should I choose, Weaviate or Chroma?
Choose Weaviate if you value strong hybrid search and open source and self-hostable. Choose Chroma if you value very easy to start and default in many tutorials.