Chroma
Open-source vector database with a managed cloud. Offers vector, keyword, and regex search with simple client libraries, usage-based pricing, and team plans for production apps.
Overview
Chroma stores embeddings and documents for retrieval and hybrid search. Developers start with the open-source library, then move to Chroma Cloud for hosted durability, backups, and team access. The engine supports vector similarity plus full-text and regex filters, which improves relevance for RAG, search, and analytics.
Getting started is straightforward: define a collection, upsert embeddings and metadata, and query with flexible filters. Managed plans include observability, usage-based billing, and role controls. Teams pick Chroma for fast prototyping that scales to production without rewriting code, while the Cloud’s “$0 + usage” starter makes costs predictable.
Integrations, SDKs, and docs help ship features quickly.
Key features
- Open-source core with identical APIs on managed Cloud
- Vector
- keyword
- and regex search for hybrid retrieval
- Usage-based pricing with a $0 starter and team plan
- Simple client libraries and docs for quick prototyping
- Collections with flexible metadata and filters
- Backups and durability managed by the Cloud service
- Observability and logs to debug recall and latency
- Team roles and API keys for safe multi-dev access
Best for
- RAG backends for chat and agents with hybrid filters
- Semantic search for docs
- notes
- and support portals
- Product search blending vector and keywords for relevance
- Analytics on unstructured text with metadata slicing
- Personalized feeds using nearest neighbors and tags
- Similarity matching for deduplication and clustering
- Feature stores for ML experiments and evaluation
- Persistent memory for copilots across sessions
Capabilities
Collections and Queries
Define collections embed items with metadata then query by vector similarity and filters for precise results.
Managed Cloud
Use hosted durability backups and usage billing instead of operating infra and proxies yourself.
Hybrid Search
Combine vector keyword and regex filters to improve relevance and guard against false positives.
Observability and Roles
Inspect logs usage and performance with per-key controls for multi-developer projects.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does pricing start?
Chroma Cloud lists a $0 starter plus usage and a Team plan starting at $250 per month with higher tiers for scale.
Is it open-source?
Yes, the core is open-source and the managed Cloud exposes compatible APIs for easy migration.
Does it support hybrid search?
The engine supports vector similarity plus keyword and regex filters.
How do I store metadata?
Attach structured fields to each record and filter on them during retrieval.
Can I self-host?
Yes—run the OSS library or move to Cloud for managed durability and teams.
