Chroma review: Open-source search database for AI apps, with a usage-based cloud plan
Open-source search database for AI apps, with a usage-based cloud plan
Starts at $250/mo, free plan: yes, prices checked on October 29, 2026.
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What Chroma does
Chroma is a search database for AI applications. It brings vector search, full-text search, regex search and metadata filtering into a single query interface, and it also supports sparse lexical search with BM25 and SPLADE. The code is open source under Apache 2.0, so teams can run it locally with pip, npm or Docker, or use the managed Chroma Cloud.
Chroma Cloud is serverless and built on object storage, with automatic tiering between memory, SSD and cold storage. A companion service called Chroma Sync pulls in data from S3 buckets, GitHub repositories and websites, then handles parsing, chunking and embedding. Developers also get collection forking for dataset versioning and A/B testing, plus command-line tools.
Pricing is usage-based. The Starter plan costs $0 per month plus usage and includes $5 in free credits. The Team plan costs $250 per month plus usage and includes $100 in credits. Enterprise pricing is custom and covers single tenant and BYOC clusters. Usage is billed per GiB written ($2.50), stored ($0.33 per month), queried and returned. The pages list limits such as 5M records per collection and 1M collections per database. The site also says Chroma is joining Replit.
- Vector search
- Full-text and regex search
- Sparse lexical search (BM25, SPLADE)
- Metadata filtering
- Collection forking
- Command-line tools
- Chroma Sync for S3, GitHub and web data
- BYOC and multi-region replication
Official video
Deep dive: Using Reranking to improve search experiences with Chroma Cloud · by Chroma
The player loads only when you press play.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Open source under Apache 2.0, so you can run it on your own infrastructure
- Combines vector, full-text, regex, sparse and metadata search in one interface
- Starter plan costs $0 per month and includes $5 in free credits
- Chroma Sync ingests S3 buckets, GitHub repos and websites, handling parsing, chunking and embedding
- Enterprise tier offers BYOC clusters, single tenant clusters and SLAs
Cons
- Costs are usage-based, so the monthly total depends on writes, storage and queries
- Team plan adds $250 per month on top of usage, and its $100 of included usage does not roll over
- Stated limits include 5M records per collection and 1M collections per database
- Enterprise pricing is not published; it is listed only as custom
- Reaching a usage limit pauses the service until the limit is changed
Our take
Chroma suits developers who want a retrieval database for AI features and value having an open-source Apache 2.0 codebase they can run themselves or move to a managed cloud. The usage-based model starts at $0, which lets a team try it with the $5 credits. The trade-off is that the monthly bill depends on how much you write, store and query, and the Team plan adds $250 per month on top. It is less obvious a fit if you need a fixed, predictable price, a larger single collection than 5M records, or published Enterprise pricing, since that tier is only listed as custom. The pages do not describe a standalone app, so it is aimed at engineers writing code.
Comparisons and lists with Chroma
Coming soon
Coming soon — we are writing comparisons that include Chroma.
Chroma pricing
| Plan | Monthly billing | Annual billing (per month) | Limits / what’s included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter per month + usage | Free | — | $5 in free credits, then usage-based pricing; 10 databases; 10 team members; Community Slack |
| Team per month + usage | $250 | — | $100 credits then usage-based pricing; 100 databases; 30 team members; Slack support; SOC II; volume-based discounts |
| Enterprise custom pricing | — | — | Unlimited databases; unlimited team members; dedicated support; single tenant clusters; BYOC clusters; SLAs |
Free trial: none listed. Free plan: yes.
Prices checked on on the official Chroma pricing page. “—” = not published.
All Chroma plans, limits and annual prices →
Frequently asked questions
Is Chroma free?
The code is open source under Apache 2.0. On Chroma Cloud, the Starter plan costs $0 per month plus usage and comes with $5 in free credits.
How much does the Team plan cost?
The Team plan is $250 per month plus usage, with $100 in credits, 100 databases, 30 team members and Slack support.
Can I run Chroma myself?
Yes. The vendor says you can run it locally with pip, npm or Docker, and it publishes deployment guides for your own infrastructure.
What data can Chroma Sync ingest?
It connects S3 buckets, GitHub repositories and websites, then handles parsing, chunking and embedding.
What happens if I hit a usage limit?
The pricing page says reaching a customer-set or Chroma-set usage limit pauses the service until the limit is changed.
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