Best Vector Databases in 2026
Updated
In short: Chroma is ranked #1 of 27 as of 4 October 2026, ahead of Vespa and Qdrant. The best-ranked option with a free plan is Qdrant. The lowest first paid tier on this page is Vespa at $0.05/mo.
Vector databases provide storage and retrieval capabilities for applications that work with vector data. Compare deployment choices, index types, and maximum dimensions, then check whether hybrid search, sparse vectors, or metadata filtering match your retrieval requirements. SDK languages are useful to consider alongside your existing stack, while a free plan and paid-from price help frame access and cost. Chroma, Vespa, and Qdrant are among the entries. Weigh the capabilities specified for each database against the workloads and integration needs you have.
27 vector databases ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
27ranked
11free plans on this page
$0.05/molowest paid tier
4 Oct 2026last checked
Input list Vector Databases 25 channels on this page · 144 of 200 spec lines stated by the makers
Ch Tool Free planPaid fromDeploymentHybrid searchMetadata filteringSparse vectorsMaximum dimensionsIndex types Spec sheet Score
01 Chroma Free planYesPaid from$250/moDeploymentbothHybrid searchYesMetadata filteringYesSparse vectorsYesMaximum dimensions4,096 dimensionsIndex typesVectorIndex, SparseVectorIndex, FtsIndex, StringInvertedIndex, IntInvertedIndex, FloatInvertedIndex, BoolInvertedIndex 8/8spec lines stated 7.9
02 Vespa Free planNoPaid fromnot statedDeploymentbothHybrid searchYesMetadata filteringYesSparse vectorsYesMaximum dimensionsnot statedIndex typesHNSW 6/8spec lines stated 7.9
03 Qdrant Free planYesPaid fromnot statedDeploymentbothHybrid searchYesMetadata filteringYesSparse vectorsYesMaximum dimensions65,535 dimensionsIndex typesHNSW; sparse vector index; payload index; filterable HNSW 7/8spec lines stated 7.6
04 Pinecone Free planYesPaid from$20/moDeploymentcloudHybrid searchYesMetadata filteringYesSparse vectorsYesMaximum dimensionsnot statedIndex typesAnanas, PQFS, IVF with PQFS 7/8spec lines stated 7.4
05 Upstash Vector Free planYesPaid fromnot statedDeploymentcloudHybrid searchYesMetadata filteringYesSparse vectorsYesMaximum dimensions3,072 dimensionsIndex typesDiskANN, FreshDiskANN 7/8spec lines stated 7.3
06 Zilliz Cloud Free planYesPaid fromnot statedDeploymentcloudHybrid searchYesMetadata filteringYesSparse vectorsYesMaximum dimensions32,768 dimensionsIndex typesFLAT, IVF FLAT, IVF SQ8, IVF PQ, HNSW, DISKANN, AUTOINDEX, SCANN, HNSW SQ, HNSW PQ, HNSW PRQ, IVF RABITQ, SPARSE INVERTED INDEX, SPARSE WAND 7/8spec lines stated 7.3
07 KDB.AI Free planYesPaid fromnot statedDeploymentbothHybrid searchYesMetadata filteringYesSparse vectorsYesMaximum dimensionsnot statedIndex typesFlat, qFlat, IVF, IVFPQ, HNSW, qHNSW, BM25 6/8spec lines stated 7.2
08 Weaviate Free planYesPaid from$45/moDeploymentbothHybrid searchYesMetadata filteringYesSparse vectorsYesMaximum dimensionsnot statedIndex typesHNSW, Flat, Dynamic, HFresh 7/8spec lines stated 7.2
09 Epsilla Free planYesPaid from$29/moDeploymentbothHybrid searchYesMetadata filteringYesSparse vectorsYesMaximum dimensionsnot statedIndex typesparallel graph traversal index 7/8spec lines stated 7.0
10 Milvus Free planYesPaid fromnot statedDeploymentbothHybrid searchYesMetadata filteringYesSparse vectorsYesMaximum dimensionsnot statedIndex typesHNSW, IVF, FLAT, DiskANN, SCANN 6/8spec lines stated 7.0
11 Cloudflare Vectorize Free planYesPaid from$5/moDeploymentcloudHybrid searchNoMetadata filteringYesSparse vectorsNoMaximum dimensions1,536 dimensionsIndex typesnot stated 7/8spec lines stated 6.9
12 Elasticsearch Free planYesPaid from$99/moDeploymentbothHybrid searchnot statedMetadata filteringnot statedSparse vectorsnot statedMaximum dimensionsnot statedIndex typesnot stated 3/8spec lines stated 6.9
13 LanceDB Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedDeploymentbothHybrid searchYesMetadata filteringYesSparse vectorsNoMaximum dimensionsnot statedIndex typesIVF RQ, IVF PQ, IVF HNSW SQ, IVF HNSW FLAT, HNSW 5/8spec lines stated 6.8
14 Zvec Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedDeploymentself-hostedHybrid searchYesMetadata filteringYesSparse vectorsYesMaximum dimensionsnot statedIndex typesFlat, HNSW, HNSW-RaBitQ, DiskANN, IVF, IVF-RaBitQ 5/8spec lines stated 6.5
15 Volcengine TTS Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedDeploymentcloudHybrid searchYesMetadata filteringYesSparse vectorsYesMaximum dimensionsnot statedIndex typesHNSW, IVF, DiskANN 5/8spec lines stated 6.3
16 Actian Zen Free planYesPaid from$417/moDeploymentbothHybrid searchYesMetadata filteringYesSparse vectorsnot statedMaximum dimensionsnot statedIndex typesHNSW, flat 6/8spec lines stated 6.2
17 Infinity Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedDeploymentself-hostedHybrid searchYesMetadata filteringYesSparse vectorsYesMaximum dimensionsnot statedIndex typesHNSW, IVF, FullText, Secondary, BMP 5/8spec lines stated 6.2
18 turbopuffer Free planNoPaid from$16/moDeploymentbothHybrid searchYesMetadata filteringYesSparse vectorsYesMaximum dimensions10,752 dimensionsIndex typesSPFresh 8/8spec lines stated 5.9
19 Tencent Cloud VectorDB Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedDeploymentcloudHybrid searchYesMetadata filteringYesSparse vectorsYesMaximum dimensionsnot statedIndex typesFLAT, HNSW, IVF family, DISK FLAT 5/8spec lines stated 5.8
20 Vertex AI Vector Search Free plannot statedPaid fromnot statedDeploymentcloudHybrid searchYesMetadata filteringYesSparse vectorsYesMaximum dimensionsnot statedIndex typesTree-AH, brute force 5/8spec lines stated 5.8
21 ManyVector Free planYesPaid fromnot statedDeploymentbothHybrid searchYesMetadata filteringYesSparse vectorsYesMaximum dimensionsnot statedIndex typesHNSW, inverted index 6/8spec lines stated 5.7
22 ZeusDB Vector Database Free planYesPaid fromnot statedDeploymentbothHybrid searchYesMetadata filteringYesSparse vectorsnot statedMaximum dimensionsnot statedIndex typesHNSW 5/8spec lines stated 5.7
23 ArrowSpace Free planYesPaid fromnot statedDeploymentself-hostedHybrid searchnot statedMetadata filteringnot statedSparse vectorsnot statedMaximum dimensionsnot statedIndex typesgraph Laplacian; λτ spectral index; eigenmaps; energy maps 3/8spec lines stated 5.6
24 EmergentDB Free planYesPaid from$24/moDeploymentbothHybrid searchnot statedMetadata filteringnot statedSparse vectorsnot statedMaximum dimensionsnot statedIndex typesFlat, HNSW, IVF, PQ, Emergent 4/8spec lines stated 5.6
25 Marqo Free planNoPaid fromnot statedDeploymentcloudHybrid searchYesMetadata filteringYesSparse vectorsnot statedMaximum dimensionsnot statedIndex typesnot stated 4/8spec lines stated 5.6
Compare all 25 in a table
| # | Tool | Score | Free plan | From | Free plan | Paid from | Deployment | Hybrid search |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chroma | 7.9 | Free plan | $250/mo | Yes | 250 /mo | both | Yes |
| 2 | Vespa | 7.9 | No | $0.05/mo | No | — | both | Yes |
| 3 | Qdrant | 7.6 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | both | Yes |
| 4 | Pinecone | 7.4 | Free plan | — | Yes | 20 /mo | cloud | Yes |
| 5 | Upstash Vector | 7.3 | Free plan | $0.40/mo | Yes | — | cloud | Yes |
| 6 | Zilliz Cloud | 7.3 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | cloud | Yes |
| 7 | KDB.AI | 7.2 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | both | Yes |
| 8 | Weaviate | 7.2 | Free plan | $45/mo | Yes | 45 /mo | both | Yes |
| 9 | Epsilla | 7.0 | Free plan | $29/mo | Yes | 29 /mo | both | Yes |
| 10 | Milvus | 7.0 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | both | Yes |
| 11 | Cloudflare Vectorize | 6.9 | Free plan | Free | Yes | 5 /mo | cloud | No |
| 12 | Elasticsearch | 6.9 | No | — | Yes | 99 /mo | both | — |
| 13 | LanceDB | 6.8 | Free plan | Free | — | — | both | Yes |
| 14 | Zvec | 6.5 | No | — | — | — | self-hosted | Yes |
| 15 | Volcengine TTS | 6.3 | No | — | — | — | cloud | Yes |
| 16 | Actian Zen | 6.2 | No | — | Yes | 417 /mo | both | Yes |
| 17 | Infinity | 6.2 | No | — | — | — | self-hosted | Yes |
| 18 | turbopuffer | 5.9 | No | — | No | 16 /mo | both | Yes |
| 19 | Tencent Cloud VectorDB | 5.8 | No | — | — | — | cloud | Yes |
| 20 | Vertex AI Vector Search | 5.8 | No | — | — | — | cloud | Yes |
| 21 | ManyVector | 5.7 | No | — | Yes | — | both | Yes |
| 22 | ZeusDB Vector Database | 5.7 | No | — | Yes | — | both | Yes |
| 23 | ArrowSpace | 5.6 | No | — | Yes | — | self-hosted | — |
| 24 | EmergentDB | 5.6 | No | — | Yes | 24 /mo | both | — |
| 25 | Marqo | 5.6 | No | — | No | — | cloud | Yes |
Is your tool on this list?
Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored. They are labelled, and the editorial order and scores never change for payment.
Questions about this list
Which vector database is ranked first on Specifiction?
Chroma is ranked #1 of 27 with a score of 7.9. Vespa is second and Qdrant third.
How many of these have a free plan?
11 of the 25 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, Vespa has the lowest first paid tier we found: $0.05/mo.
How is this list ranked?
Ranked on what each maker publishes, the fullest spec sheet first: how deeply the product is documented, the platforms it runs on, a free tier or trial to test it, and its standing. Paid placements never change a rank.
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