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pgvector vs Weaviate
Comparing two vector database platforms on pricing, features, free tier, and trade-offs.
Quick summary
pgvector — Vector similarity search for Postgres. pgvector is an open-source Postgres extension that adds vector similarity search to any Postgres database. Runs anywhere Postgres runs (Supabase, Neon, RDS).
Weaviate — Open source vector database with built-in ML. Weaviate is an open-source vector database with native multi-modal search, built-in vectorizer modules, hybrid search, and cloud or self-hosted deployment.
Feature comparison
| Feature | pgvector | Weaviate |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Free | Freemium |
| Starting price | Free (just Postgres) | $25/mo |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Type | Postgres extension | Hybrid |
| Free Tier | Unlimited | 14-day sandbox |
| Serverless | No | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-tenant | Yes | Yes |
| Hybrid Search | Yes | Yes |
| Max Dimensions | 16000 | 65535 |
| Metadata Filtering | Yes | Yes |
pgvector
Vector similarity search for Postgres
Pros
- Use your existing Postgres
- No new infrastructure
- Transactional guarantees with vectors
- Free — pay only for Postgres
Cons
- Slower than purpose-built vector DBs at scale
- Index build times grow with data
- Not ideal for 100M+ vectors
Weaviate
Open source vector database with built-in ML
Pros
- Fully open source, self-hostable
- Built-in vectorizer modules
- Native multi-modal (text + image)
- GraphQL API
Cons
- Heavier ops than Pinecone if self-hosting
- Cloud tier pricing more complex
- Community smaller than Pinecone's
Which should you choose?
Choose pgvector if you value open source and want the option to self-host, and a free tier is important for your stage. Choose Weaviate if you value open source and want the option to self-host, and a free tier is important for your stage.