deepset vs Qdrant (2026): Pricing, Features & Which to Choose

Who comes out ahead

Based only on the facts in our directory. The right pick still depends on the job you need done.

Lower starting price
Not comparable
Not comparable: deepset does not list a price
Free plan
Tie
Both have one
Higher rating
Qdrant
4.1 against 4.3
Same job?
Yes
Both are AI Infrastructure & Agent Tooling tools

Side by side

Compared on	deepset	Qdrant
Our rating	4.1	4.3Better
Starts at	Free	Free
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Category	AI Infrastructure & Agent Tooling	AI Infrastructure & Agent Tooling
Plans	Free	Free
Key features	Haystack open-source framework for composing AI pipelines Enterprise Platform to build, test, deploy and govern agents and RAG systems Agent builder with visual pipelines or full code Cloud, self-hosted and VPC deployment Evaluation and testing tools	Open-source vector database, free to self-host with full source access Qdrant Cloud managed service with a free tier and usage-based paid plans Purpose-built for semantic search, recommendations, and RAG pipelines $50M Series B raised March 2026 to expand agent-retrieval infrastructure Filterable vector search with payload metadata alongside embeddings
Pros	Model- and infrastructure-agnostic, with data kept on your own terms Open-source core with an enterprise governance layer Public-sector and industrial customers named	Open-source option gives full control and zero licensing cost for self-hosted deployments Managed cloud tier removes the operational overhead of running vector search infrastructure Free tier on Qdrant Cloud is generous enough for real prototyping, not just a demo
Cons	Enterprise pricing is not published; a demo is the entry A toolkit that needs engineering effort rather than a finished assistant Governance features appear to sit in the Enterprise Platform, not the open-source core	Self-hosting still requires infrastructure expertise the managed tier is meant to remove Competes in a crowded vector-database field against Pinecone and several open-source alternatives Newer funding means less operating history than some competing vector databases
Company	deepset	Qdrant, founded 2021

Prices come from each vendor's pricing page, last checked 20260921. Check the vendor before you buy.

FAQ

Questions people ask

Is deepset better than Qdrant?

In our reviews deepset scores 4.1 and Qdrant scores 4.3. The better pick depends on the job. deepset: Berlin-based maker of the Haystack framework for building, testing, deploying and governing RAG systems and agents on your own infrastructure. Qdrant: Open-source vector database that raised a $50M Series B to power retrieval for AI agents.

Which is cheaper, deepset or Qdrant?

deepset: free. Qdrant: free.

Do deepset and Qdrant have free plans?

Yes, both have a free plan.

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