# ChromaDB

> Chroma is an open-source embedding database optimized for LLM apps, with in-memory/persistent storage and simple Python API. Features: HNSW indexing, automatic batching, metadata filtering, integrations with LangChain/LlamaIndex. Ideal for local dev, prototyping RAG; vs pgvector, easier for Python users; vs full DBs like Milvus, lighter but less scalable.

- **URL:** https://www.trychroma.com/
- **Category:** vector-database-engines
- **Tags:** Open Source, In Memory, Vector Search, Llm, Embeddable, Python First, local-rag, embedding-db, langchain-compatible, Lightweight
- **Updated:** 2026-04-22 22:18
- **Canonical page:** https://vectordb.ever.works/items/chromadb

## Details

# ChromaDB

**Website:** [https://www.trychroma.com/](https://www.trychroma.com/)

**Category:** Vector Database Engines

**Tags:** open-source, in-memory, vector-search, llm

## Description
ChromaDB (also known as Chroma or chroma-core) is an open-source vector database focused on large language model (LLM) applications. It emphasizes simplicity and offers in-memory HNSW-based dense vector search. ChromaDB is well-suited for rapid prototyping, metadata filtering, and provides a user-friendly interface for building and testing vector search applications. It currently does not support hybrid or distributed features.

Compared to LanceDB: Both are embeddable for local dev/prototyping, but Chroma prioritizes in-memory speed and Python simplicity while LanceDB offers disk persistence, SQL queries, and columnar Arrow storage for larger datasets.

## Features
- **Open-source** under the Apache 2.0 License
- **In-memory** database for fast operations
- **Dense vector search** using HNSW (Hierarchical Navigable Small World) algorithm
- **Embeddings** support
- **Full-text search** capabilities
- **Document storage**
- **Metadata filtering** for advanced querying
- **Multimodal retrieval** (e.g., images)
- **User-friendly interface** for building and testing applications
- **Python & JavaScript SDKs** for quick start and integration
- **Cloud deployment** options (upcoming fully-managed cloud version)
- **Integrations** with other tools and platforms

## Pricing
ChromaDB is free and open-source under the Apache 2.0 License.

## Source
[https://www.trychroma.com/](https://www.trychroma.com/)

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