Chroma
8.6#1 in ai databasesFrom $250 a monthFree planAndroidiOSWebAPI
VisitChroma vs Pinecone
Pinecone
7.8#3 in ai search and discovery platforms softwareFrom $20 a monthFree planWebAPILinuxmacOS
VisitWhat both publish
| Fact | Chroma | Pinecone |
|---|---|---|
| CLI installation | The CLI is installable through the Python package, JavaScript package, pipx or a standalone curl installer. | The Pinecone CLI can be installed on macOS or Linux with an install script or Homebrew cask. |
| Company legal name | The terms identify the service provider as Chroma Inc. | The registered company name is Pinecone Systems, Inc. |
| Compliance | Chroma Cloud says it completed a SOC 2 Type II examination. | Pinecone states that it is SOC 2 Type II certified, HIPAA compliant with a BAA available on request, and GDPR-ready. |
| Documentation depth | The docs cover quickstarts, SDK references, cloud clients, deployment, Docker, production client-server mode, performance and migrations. | Documentation includes conceptual guides, API references, SDK references, production checklists, import guidance and release notes. |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Licence | Chroma is released under the Apache 2.0 licence. | The database platform is proprietary closed-source hosted software rather than an open-source product. |
| Paid from | 250 | 20 |
| Rating on G2 | 4.2 out of 5 from 6 reviews. | 4.4 out of 5 from 78 reviews. |
Chroma plans
- Team$250 a month
- StarterFree
- EnterprisePriced on request
Pinecone plans
- Builder$20 a month
- Standard$50 a month
- Enterprise$500 a month
- StarterFree
- Bring your own cloud (BYOC)Priced on request
Pick Chroma if…
Chroma suits developers building AI applications that need embedding storage, search, and retrieval across multiple data types. It offers local, cloud, and customer-VPC deployment options.
Pick Pinecone if…
Pinecone suits teams building AI applications that need vector search, recommendations, or retrieval-augmented generation. Its web and API access, integrations, and multiple index types support varied implementation needs.