Free Vector Databases
Which vector databases and databases with vector search a startup can build semantic search and RAG on for free today, how much the free tier stores, what happens when it sits idle, whether a card is needed and what the first paid plan costs, read from each provider's own page.
Free allowances read on each provider's own pages, all checked on or after . Vector databases change their free tiers often: confirm the terms on the provider's page before you put production data on one.
Vector databases a startup can use for free today include Pinecone (Starter: free, up to 2 GB storage), MongoDB Atlas (Free forever (M0 cluster)), Qdrant (Free forever, 1 small node), Redis Cloud (Always $0, up to 30 MB), and Weaviate (Always free: one cluster per user). Each of the 12 free tiers below links to the provider's page that states it, with its main limit, what happens to an idle database, whether a card is needed and what the first paid plan costs.
Semantic search, retrieval-augmented generation and recommendations all need somewhere to store embeddings and find the nearest ones fast. Every major vector database has a free tier, and so do several general databases that added vector search.
The headline rarely tells you how far it goes. A free tier can cap storage or collections, run on one small node, or pause and even delete a database that sits idle for a week. Each database below shows what is free, its main limit, what happens when it is idle, whether a card is needed and what the first paid plan costs, quoted from the provider's own page with the date we read it.
Which databases we picked and the order they appear in are our editorial choices; the terms are the providers'. Some of these providers pay us a referral commission when someone signs up through our link: those links are labeled, and they play no part in which databases are listed or where.
Managed vector databases with a free tier
Databases built for embeddings and similarity search, with a free tier to start.
- 1
Pinecone
Trying a managed vector index before paying
Pinecone's Starter plan is free for trying out and small applications, with up to 2 GB of storage. The first paid plan is Builder at $20 a month flat.
- Main limit
- Up to 2 GB storage (source: pinecone.io)
- First paid plan
- Builder: $20 a month flat (source: pinecone.io)
Start free at PineconeTerms read on pinecone.io on Pinecone: the free allowance and how to start Pinecone for Startups: what startups get - 2
Qdrant
Prototypes that need a managed vector store, free forever
Qdrant Cloud's free tier is one small node, free forever for testing and prototypes. An unused free cluster is suspended after a week, and it is deleted after four weeks if not reactivated.
- Payment card
- No card needed (source: qdrant.tech)
- First paid plan
- Standard: usage-based pricing (source: qdrant.tech)
Start free at QdrantTerms read on qdrant.tech on Qdrant: the free allowance and how to start Qdrant for Startups: what startups get - 3
Weaviate
A vector database with no card and no end date
Weaviate's free plan is always free, with one cluster per user and no credit card. A free cluster is suspended after 7 days of inactivity with its data kept.
- Payment card
- No card needed (source: weaviate.io)
- First paid plan
- Flex: from $45 a month, pay-as-you-go (source: weaviate.io)
- 4
Zilliz Cloud
Learning Milvus and small personal projects
Zilliz Cloud's Free plan is $0, a starting point for learning and personal projects. Its free clusters are suspended after 7 days of inactivity and can be resumed.
- First paid plan
- Dedicated: from $126 per GB a month (source: zilliz.com)
- 5
Chroma
Open-source users who want a free cloud start
Chroma Cloud's Starter plan is $0 a month plus usage, with $5 in free credits and 10 databases. The Team plan is $250 a month plus usage.
- First paid plan
- Team: $250 a month plus usage (source: trychroma.com)
- 6
Upstash Vector
Hobby projects and prototypes on serverless infrastructure
Upstash's free Vector plan is $0 with a daily limit of 10K queries and updates. Free databases are archived after 30 days of inactivity.
- Main limit
- Up to 1 GB of data (source: upstash.com)
- First paid plan
- Pay as you go: $0.4 per 100K requests (source: upstash.com)
Start free at UpstashTerms read on upstash.com on Upstash Vector: the free allowance and how to start
Databases with vector search on a free tier
General databases that add vector search, on a free tier or trial.
- 1
MongoDB Atlas
Learning MongoDB on a free-forever cluster
MongoDB Atlas offers a free-forever M0 cluster with 512 MB of storage. Atlas pauses a free cluster after 30 days with no connections, and it can be resumed.
- First paid plan
- Flex: up to $30 a month (source: mongodb.com)
Start free at MongoDBTerms read on mongodb.com on MongoDB Atlas: the free allowance and how to start - 2
Redis Cloud
Small Redis workloads and first tests, at no cost
Redis Cloud's free plan is always $0 for one database of up to 30 MB. The Essentials plan is the first paid step, from $5 a month.
- What's free
- Always $0, up to 30 MB (source: redis.io)
- Main limit
- One database, 30 MB (source: redis.io)
- First paid plan
- Essentials: from $5 a month (source: redis.io)
- 3
Couchbase Capella
Prototypes that need search and a small NoSQL database
Capella's free tier is one small node with 8 GB, and it needs no credit card. Its forum support is the only support on the free tier.
- Payment card
- No card needed (source: couchbase.com)
- First paid plan
- Basic: from $0.15 an hour per node (source: couchbase.com)
Start free at CouchbaseTerms read on couchbase.com on Couchbase Capella: the free allowance and how to start - 4
SingleStore
SQL and vector functions in a non-production prototype
SingleStore's Shared edition gives one free workspace for evaluation and non-production testing. Its Standard edition starts at $0.99 an hour.
- First paid plan
- Standard: from $0.99 an hour (source: singlestore.com)
Start free at SingleStoreTerms read on singlestore.com on SingleStore: the free allowance and how to start - 5
Elastic Cloud
A 14-day trial of a full search and vector stack
Elastic Cloud's free trial lasts 14 days with no credit card required. After the trial, serverless search is usage-based, from as low as $0.09 per VCU hour.
- Payment card
- No card needed (source: elastic.co)
- First paid plan
- Search as low as $0.09 per VCU hour (source: elastic.co)
- 6
Vespa Cloud
Trying a managed Vespa app without a card
Vespa Cloud's free trial needs no credit card. Its dev deployments expire after 14 days of inactivity, so an idle trial app has to be redeployed.
- Payment card
- No card needed (source: cloud.vespa.ai)
Database startup programs
Programs from database companies that give startups credits on paid plans.
Also useful for databases and data infrastructure
Referral links, picked for fit and ordered by fit (70%) and what a signup earns us (30%), at no cost to you. They never change this page's ranking.
Compare the top options
How this comparison is built
The list covers managed vector databases and databases with vector search a founder can use for free today without applying to a program. The order and the "best for" notes are our editorial reading of each database's terms. Every term comes from the database's own pricing or help page on the date shown, never from a third-party list; follow each link for the full conditions. A cap on storage or indexes, or a free database that pauses when idle, can matter more than the headline, so the comparison quotes them wherever the provider states them. Some of these databases pay StartupPerks a referral commission, and their links are labeled as referral links; that decides neither whether nor where a database appears, and no database pays for a placement on this page.
Read the full methodologyCommon questions
What is the best free vector database?
It depends on size and how often you query. By the terms each provider states, Pinecone's Starter plan holds up to 2 GB, Zilliz Cloud's free plan 5 GB in up to 5 collections, Weaviate's 100K objects, Qdrant's one small node with 1 GB RAM and 4 GB disk, and Upstash Vector up to 1 GB with 10K queries and updates a day.
Is Pinecone free?
Yes. Pinecone's Starter plan is free with up to 2 GB of storage. Builder costs $20 a month flat.
Do free vector databases pause when idle?
Several do. Qdrant suspends a free cluster after 1 week and deletes it after 4, Weaviate and Zilliz Cloud suspend after 7 days idle, MongoDB Atlas pauses an M0 cluster after 30 days without connections, and Upstash archives a database after 30 days inactive.
What about MongoDB, Redis and other general databases?
MongoDB Atlas has a free M0 cluster with 512 MB of storage, Redis Cloud a free database of up to 30 MB, Couchbase Capella a free node of about 8 GB and SingleStore one free shared workspace. Elastic Cloud and Vespa Cloud start with a free trial.
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