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Best Vector Databases in 2026
When an application needs to search or retrieve vector data, the database you choose can shape how that work fits your infrastructure and development stack. Compared on deployment, index types and maximum dimensions, these entries give you technical details to weigh alongside hybrid search, sparse vectors and metadata filtering. SDK languages may help you assess integration needs, while free-plan availability and paid-from pricing bring access and cost into the comparison. Chroma, Qdrant and Vespa are among the named options to consider. Match the listed capabilities to your workload, the retrieval behavior you need and the way you plan to run the database.
- 27 apps
- Research read 23 Sept 2026
- How the order is worked out
- 1
Chroma
Free plan Open source AndroidAPIiPhone+5Choose Chroma if you need an open-source embedding database with multiple search methods and flexible deployment options.
- 2
Vespa
Free plan Open source APILinuxMac+3Vespa offers varied search and ranking methods alongside self-managed and cloud deployment paths.
- 3
Elasticsearch
Free plan APILinuxSelf-hosted+1Choose Elasticsearch for real-time search and analytics across varied data types, with deployment choices ranging from self-managed to serverless.
- 4
EmergentDB
Free plan APILinuxSelf-hosted+1EmergentDB combines vector search APIs and automatic strategy discovery with self-hosted and managed deployment choices.
- 5
Epsilla
Free plan APISelf-hostedWebEpsilla brings agent building, knowledge retrieval, model access, and deployment choices into one platform. Check the plan limits and deployment fit against your team's needs before choosing a tier.
- 6
Cloudflare Vectorize
Free plan APIWebVectorize provides a Workers-connected database for vector indexing and querying, with defined capacity and query limits.
- 7
KDB.AI
Free plan APISelf-hostedWebKDB.AI offers hybrid search and multimodal retrieval features, with managed cloud and self-managed deployment options.
- 8
LanceDB
Free plan APILinuxSelf-hosted - 9
- 10
- 11
Infinity
Free plan APILinuxMac+2Choose Infinity if you are developing an LLM or retrieval-augmented generation application and want an open-source database with hybrid search.
- 12
Milvus
Free plan APILinuxSelf-hostedMilvus offers a free, open-source path from local vector search to large distributed deployments.
- 13
ManyVector
Free plan APISelf-hostedChoose ManyVector if you need vector and text retrieval with data stored in your object store, plus branching for snapshots and rollback.
- 14
Vearch
Free plan APILinuxMac+1Vearch offers vector search, filtering, replication, and multiple deployment paths, with client SDKs and framework integrations.
- 15
Vald
Free plan APILinuxSelf-hostedVald offers distributed dense-vector search with asynchronous indexing, scaling, and index backup options. Deployment requires Kubernetes, Helm, and Go according to its getting-started requirements.
- 16
- 17
ZeusDB Vector Database
Free plan APILinuxMac+2ZeusDB offers a free self-hosted option with search, filtering, persistence, and available LangChain and LlamaIndex integrations.
- 18
Upstash Vector
Free plan APIWebChoose Upstash Vector if you need a serverless database for vector search with metadata filtering, hybrid indexes, and developer integrations.
- 19
Zvec
Free plan AndroidAPIiPhone+4Zvec offers local vector storage and search with a broad set of search, index, and SDK options. Its single-writer constraint is worth considering for applications that need concurrent writes.
- 20
Actian VectorAI DB
Free plan LinuxMacWindows - 21
Zilliz Cloud
Free plan APIWebChoose Zilliz Cloud if you need managed Milvus with several vector search modes, deployment options, and documented migration sources.
- 22
ArrowSpace
Free planChoose ArrowSpace if you want a free, self-hosted product with the listed graph and spectral index types. Its Rust and Python SDKs are useful when those are your preferred development languages.
- 23
Tencent Cloud VectorDB
Free trial APILinuxWebTencent Cloud VectorDB combines vector storage, retrieval, indexing, and an integrated RAG suite with several SDK options.
- 24
Vertex AI Vector Search
Free trial APIWebChoose Vertex AI Vector Search for cloud search, recommendations or generative AI retrieval when its embedding modes, filters and endpoint choices fit your application.
5.7 Visit site - 25
turbopuffer
Paid APISelf-hostedWebturbopuffer combines multiple search types with API document operations and stated security controls. Consider its cold-query latency and documented size limits alongside the paid minimum usage.
#1Places #1, #2, #3, #4, #5 on this list can be bought by the makers of the software on it. See the price
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