search
Chroma pricing & features
Open-source vector DB designed for AI apps — embeddings-first, dev-friendly
OSS vector DB built for AI apps. Embedded mode for prototyping, client-server for production, managed Chroma Cloud (serverless). Free + Pro. MIT-licensed.
Data sourced from vendor documentation · Last updated May 2026
Pricing
| Tier | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Cloud — Free | Free | $5 free credits. Great for trying it out. |
| Cloud — Pro | Free | $100 credits included, then usage-based. Dedicated resources, SOC2, priority support. |
| Self-Host (OSS) | Free | MIT-licensed. Embedded or Docker. Free forever. |
| Cloud — Enterprise | Custom | Custom. VPC, compliance, dedicated support. |
Limits
| Tier | Metric | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | deployment modes | Embedded (in-process), client-server (Docker), Chroma Cloud | Run modes |
| — | dev friendly | pip install + 2 lines → working vector DB | Dev ergonomics |
| — | distance metrics | L2, cosine, inner product | Distance metrics |
| — | filters | Metadata filters ($eq, $gt, $in, $and, $or, $contains) | Where-clause filters |
| — | full text | Built-in BM25 alongside vector | Hybrid/FTS |
| — | persistence | SQLite (embedded) / PostgreSQL-compatible backend | Storage backend |
| — | popular for | Prototyping RAG, tutorials, Jupyter notebooks, LangChain/LlamaIndex RAG demos | Popularity |
Features
- Client-Server Mode — Run Chroma via Docker; clients connect over HTTP.
- Collections — Named groups of embeddings + metadata.
- Distributed (Cloud) — Horizontal scaling on Chroma Cloud.
- Embedded Mode — In-process Python — chromadb.Client() and go. Zero setup.
- Embedding Functions — Plug-in embedders (OpenAI, Cohere, SentenceTransformers, HF).
- Full-Text Search — BM25 + vector hybrid.
- Metadata Filters — Where-clause query language.
- Migration Tools — Import from Pinecone + other stores.
- Multi-Modal — Text + image embeddings (CLIP, etc.).
- Python + JS APIs — Same API shape across both SDKs.
- Serverless Cloud — Pay for storage + queries, auto-scale.
Developer interfaces
| Slug | Name | Kind | Version |
|---|---|---|---|
| rest-api | Chroma HTTP API | rest | v1 |
| mcp | Chroma MCP | mcp | — |
| docker | Docker Server | other | — |
| embedded | Embedded Mode (in-process Python) | other | — |
| sdk-ts | chromadb (JS/TS) | sdk | 1.x |
| sdk-python | chromadb (Python) | sdk | 0.5.x |
Related search platforms
search
Algolia
AI search & discovery — keyword + neural + personalization
search
Meilisearch
Open-source fast search engine — Rust-based, built-in typo tolerance
search
Pinecone
Managed vector database for AI — RAG, semantic search, recommendations
search
Qdrant
Rust-based vector DB — high performance, OSS, managed cloud
search
Weaviate
Open-source vector DB with hybrid search + modular embeddings
Compare Chroma with
search
Chroma vs Algolia
Side-by-side breakdown.
search
Chroma vs Meilisearch
Side-by-side breakdown.
search
Chroma vs Pinecone
Side-by-side breakdown.
search
Chroma vs Qdrant
Side-by-side breakdown.
search
Chroma vs Weaviate
Side-by-side breakdown.
ai-api
Chroma vs Anthropic API
Side-by-side breakdown.
ai-api
Chroma vs AssemblyAI
Side-by-side breakdown.
ai-api
Chroma vs Deepgram
Side-by-side breakdown.
ai-api
Chroma vs ElevenLabs
Side-by-side breakdown.
ai-api
Chroma vs Google Gemini API
Side-by-side breakdown.
ai-api
Chroma vs Groq
Side-by-side breakdown.
ai-api
Chroma vs OpenAI API
Side-by-side breakdown.
Staxly is an independent catalog of developer platforms. The link to Chroma above may be an affiliate link — Staxly may earn a commission if you sign up through it, at no extra cost to you. Pricing is verified at publication time — reconfirm on the vendor site before buying.