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Head to head · 2026

Qdrant vs Weaviate

Pricing, free plans, ratings, features, pros and cons, side by side. Where one comes out ahead, we mark it.

Qdrant

Open-source vector database that raised a $50M Series B to power retrieval for AI agents

4.3Free

Visit Qdrant (opens Qdrant in a new tab)

Weaviate

The open-source vector database behind much of today's RAG stack - built-in embeddings, a natural-language Query…

3.7Free

Visit Weaviate (opens Weaviate in a new tab)

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: Qdrant does not list a price

  • Free plan

    Tie

    Both have one

  • Higher rating

    Qdrant

    4.3 against 3.7

  • Same job?

    Yes

    Both are AI Infrastructure & Agent Tooling tools

Side by side

Compared onQdrantWeaviate
Our rating4.3Better3.7
Starts atFreeFree
Free planYesYes
CategoryAI Infrastructure & Agent ToolingAI Infrastructure & Agent Tooling
PlansFreeFree
Key features
  • 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
  • Combined vector search, RAG, and memory in one system
  • Natural language Query Agent for optimized queries
  • Built-in embeddings for text, images, and other data types
  • Multi-tenancy for tens of thousands of segmented indexes
  • SOC 2 compliant and HIPAA certified
Pros
  • 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
  • Widely adopted, battle-tested open-source infrastructure
  • Genuine free tier plus a self-hosted option for full control
  • Enterprise-grade compliance built in, not bolted on later
Cons
  • 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
  • Requires real engineering resources to integrate and operate
  • Usage-based cloud pricing can scale with data volume and query load
  • Best suited to teams building genuine AI applications, not casual users
CompanyQdrant, founded 2021Weaviate

Prices come from each vendor's pricing page, last checked 20260826. Check the vendor before you buy.

FAQ

Questions people ask

Is Qdrant better than Weaviate?

In our reviews Qdrant scores 4.3 and Weaviate scores 3.7. The better pick depends on the job. Qdrant: Open-source vector database that raised a $50M Series B to power retrieval for AI agents. Weaviate: The open-source vector database behind much of today's RAG stack - built-in embeddings, a natural-language Query Agent, tens of thousands of tenants per cluster, SOC 2 and HIPAA certified.

Which is cheaper, Qdrant or Weaviate?

Qdrant: free. Weaviate: free.

Do Qdrant and Weaviate have free plans?

Yes, both have a free plan.

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