Side by side
bbolt vs Chroma
Both stand on embedded databases. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.
Free plan AndroidiPhoneLinux+3
bbolt offers a single-file key-value database with transactions, concurrent reads, and hot backups. Consider the write-lock and random-write limits when deciding whether it fits your workload.
Visit bbolt
Free plan Open source AndroidAPIiPhone+5
Choose Chroma if you need an open-source embedding database with multiple search methods and flexible deployment options. Starter offers a free way to begin, while Team adds capacity, credits, and Slack support for $250 a month plus usage. Consider another plan if you need more than 10 databases or 10 team members on Starter, or if you need Enterprise pricing before choosing a provider.
Visit ChromaThe facts
| bbolt | Chroma | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Not published | Yes |
| Runs on | Android, iPhone, Linux, Mac, Self-hosted, Windows | Android, API, iPhone, Linux, Mac, Self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| Lowest paid plan | Free or on request | Team: $250 a month |
| Plans published | 1 | 3 |
| Maker | Not published | Not published |
| Website | github.com | trychroma.com |
| On embedded databases | #4 of 30 | #1 of 30 |
bbolt: what it does well
- Free and open source under the MIT license
- Supports nested buckets and byte-sorted keys
- Read-only transactions can create hot backups
- Exposes operation statistics for logging
- Documents iOS and Android gomobile bindings
What to know first
- Random writes can be slow
- Only one read-write transaction at a time
- Multiple processes cannot share the file for writing
- Freed pages do not shrink the data file
Chroma: what it does well
- Apache 2.0 license for the open-source database.
- Supports dense, sparse, and hybrid search.
- Filters records by metadata.
- Offers local, cloud, VPC, and on-premises deployment options.
- Documents integrations with embedding services and AI frameworks.
What to know first
- Starter is limited to 10 databases and 10 team members.
- Team costs $250 a month plus usage.
- Usage limits can pause service when exceeded.