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Qdrant

Qdrant is an open-source vector database available as both a managed cloud service and a self-hosted solution. It offers strong HNSW performance, flexible deployment, and predictable cost structures, making it suitable for both startups and large-scale RAG workloads.

Rank: #2License: Apache 2.0Cost: medium

Deployment

Self-Hosted, Managed Cloud

Cost

Starts ~$0.014/hour for smallest node

Index Types

HNSW, Sparse (dot similarity)

Deployment

Infrastructure Options

Deployment Types

  • Self-Hosted
  • Managed Cloud

Cloud Providers

  • AWS
  • Azure
  • GCP

Strengths

What Qdrant Does Well

  • Open-source with Apache-2.0 license (no vendor lock-in)
  • Flexible deployment: local, cloud, or hybrid
  • Excellent HNSW implementation with high performance
  • Rich filtering and payload support
  • Full-text search integration
  • Cost-effective managed cloud option
  • Great local development experience
  • Strong community and active development
  • Multiple client libraries and language support
  • Can deploy in any region

Weaknesses

Potential Drawbacks

  • Self-hosted requires infrastructure management
  • Slightly higher latency than Pinecone in some cases
  • Managed cloud less mature than established players
  • Smaller ecosystem compared to Pinecone
  • Documentation could be more comprehensive for edge cases

Use Cases

When to Choose Qdrant

Ideal For

  • Teams wanting flexibility between self-hosted and managed
  • Cost-conscious projects needing production quality
  • Local development and testing workflows
  • Projects requiring full-text + vector search
  • Startups wanting to avoid vendor lock-in
  • Applications needing custom region deployment

Not Ideal For

  • Teams wanting zero infrastructure involvement
  • Projects requiring extensive compliance certifications
  • Applications needing sub-5ms latency guarantees

Compare Databases

See how it stacks up

Compare Qdrant with other vector databases to understand the differences in deployment options, cost, and features.

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CostFree (local), Chroma Cloud starts at $0 with $5 free credits
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