Redis Vector Search vs Pinecone
Compare deployment options, cost efficiency, and features to choose the right vector database for your application.
Database Comparison
Redis Vector Search takes the lead.
Both Redis Vector Search and Pinecone are powerful vector databases designed for efficient similarity search and storage. However, their deployment options and features differ in important ways.
Why Redis Vector Search:
- Redis Vector Search ranks higher overall
- Redis Vector Search offers more deployment options
- Redis Vector Search is more cost-effective
- Redis Vector Search has more permissive licensing
- Redis Vector Search has 4 more strengths
Redis Vector Search
Redis provides vector similarity search through Redis Stack (RediSearch module), enabling low-latency semantic search and RAG applications. As an in-memory database, Redis excels at small-to-medium scale vector workloads requiring ultra-low latency. It integrates vector search with Redis's core data structures, making it ideal for real-time AI applications, semantic caching, and RAG systems.
Pinecone
Pinecone is a fully managed, proprietary cloud vector database designed for high-performance RAG pipelines. It abstracts away infrastructure, scaling, replication, and index management. Pinecone is popular among companies building production RAG systems that need predictable latency and fully hosted operations.
Feature Comparison
Infrastructure & Technical Details
| Feature | Redis Vector Search | Pinecone |
|---|---|---|
| Deployment | Self-Hosted (Redis Stack), Redis Enterprise, Redis Cloud | Managed Cloud |
| Cost | Redis Stack: Free (self-host); Cloud: starts $5/mo; Enterprise: shard-based pricing; Redis Flex: hybrid RAM+SSD | Storage: $0.33/GB/mo; Write Units: $4/million; Read Units: $16/million; Minimum $50/mo |
| License | RSALv2 / SSPLv1 / AGPLv3 | Proprietary |
| Index Types | FLAT, HNSW | Dense (HNSW-like), Sparse |
| Cloud Providers | AWS, Azure, GCP | AWS, Azure, GCP |
| Regional Flexibility | high | low |
| Strengths | 11 | 7 |
| Weaknesses | 12 | 7 |