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Vector databases Pricing Comparison

19 providers compared by pricing model, free tiers, hosting options, and headquarters. Last updated April 2026.

15 with free tiers ยท 14 open source ยท 6 self-hostable ยท 3 European

Provider Pricing Model Starting Price Free Tier Hosting Open Source HQ
Pay-per-use $250/mo (Team) Cloud + Self-hosted ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ United States
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ United States
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ United States
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ United States
Freemium ~$16/mo Cloud + Self-hosted ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ United States
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ United States
Freemium Free tier, ~$65/mo paid Cloud + Self-hosted ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ United States
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ United States
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ United States
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China
Pay-per-use $50/mo Cloud ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ United States
Freemium ~$25/mo Cloud + Self-hosted ๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ช Germany
Freemium Free ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ United States
Freemium Free ๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Singapore
Pay-per-use Contact sales Cloud ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ United States
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ United States
Freemium Cloud + Self-hosted ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ด Norway
Pay-per-use $45/mo Cloud + Self-hosted ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Netherlands
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ United States
ℹ️ Pricing units vary by provider type: per-token for LLM APIs, per-GPU-hour for compute platforms, per-request for media generation. Verify current rates on each provider's website.

Providers with free tiers

These vector databases providers offer free credits, free tiers, or open-source self-hosting options to get started without upfront costs.

Vector search and kNN queries built into the established Elasticsearch platform

A one-stop platform for building production ready LLM applications connected ...

Meta's open-source library for efficient similarity search and dense vector c...

The hyper scalable, easy to use, embedded vector database.

From: ~$16/mo

Use your data to increase relevance with vector search.

Vector database built for scalable similarity search.

From: Free tier, ~$65/mo paid

Show all 15 providers with free tiers

The SQL Vector Database for Scalable AI.

Build remarkable GenAI applications fast, with lower cost, better performance...

From: $50/mo

Powering the next generation of AI applications with advanced and high-perfor...

From: ~$25/mo

In-memory vector database for low-latency similarity search across AI applica...

From: Free

Open-source Postgres vector database and AI toolkit built on pgvector

From: Free

Serverless vector and full-text search engine built on object storage for cos...

Open-source search and serving engine combining vector search, keyword search...

Weaviate is an open source, AI-native vector database that helps developers c...

From: $45/mo

A Widely-Adopted Vector Database.

Frequently asked questions

Which vector databases offer a free tier?

15 of the 19 vector databases listed offer a free tier or free credits. Examples: Elasticsearch, Epsilla, FAISS, LanceDB, Marqo. Use the "Free tier" filter above to see the full list.

Which vector databases are open source?

14 open-source options are listed. Examples: chroma, Elasticsearch, FAISS, LanceDB, Marqo. Most can be self-hosted alongside or instead of any managed offering.

Are there European vector databases?

Yes. 3 providers in this category are headquartered in Europe, including Qdrant, Vespa, Weaviate. The European providers page has the full cross-category list with hosting regions.

Which vector databases can be self-hosted?

6 of the 19 listed support self-hosting, either as the primary deployment model or alongside a managed cloud offering. Examples: chroma, LanceDB, Milvus, Qdrant, Vespa.

How to choose an inference API provider

The right provider depends on workload type, latency requirements, and budget. Most providers use pay-per-token pricing for LLMs and per-second GPU billing for custom models. Token-based pricing varies by model, so the cheapest provider for one model may not be cheapest for another.

Free tiers are useful for prototyping but often come with rate limits. For production, compare per-token costs for your specific model, cold start latency, rate limits, and whether the provider supports the models you need.

Teams with data residency requirements should check hosting options and provider headquarters. European providers like Qdrant, Vespa, Weaviate keep data within EU jurisdiction. See the full European AI Infrastructure directory. Self-hostable options like chroma and LanceDB give full control over data location.

For a deeper analysis, read AI Inference API Providers Compared on the blog. Pricing changes frequently, so verify current rates on each provider's website. Submit a correction.

Browse all Vector databases tools or explore the full AI Infrastructure Landscape.

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