Chroma vs LlamaIndex
type: Article
description: Chroma is a specialized vector database optimized for embedding storage and semantic search with simple APIs, while LlamaIndex is a comprehensive data framework that indexes diverse data sources and connects them to LLMs for retrieval-augmented generation (RAG). Chroma excels at vector operations; LlamaIndex excels at multi-source data orchestration.
language: en-US
date published: 2026-07-07T22:40:29.202Z
date created: 2026-07-07T22:40:29.202Z
date modified: 2026-07-07T22:40:30.781Z
content reference time: 2026-07-07T22:40:30.781Z
author: A Versus B
publisher: A Versus B
about: Chroma
about: LlamaIndex
abstract: Chroma is a specialized vector database optimized for embedding storage and semantic search with simple APIs, while LlamaIndex is a comprehensive data framework that indexes diverse data sources and connects them to LLMs for retrieval-augmented generation (RAG). Chroma excels at vector operations; LlamaIndex excels at multi-source data orchestration.
text: Primary Function. Data Source Support. Query Simplicity. LLM Integration. Setup Time (hours). GitHub Stars (2026). Production Deployments
conclusion text: Choose Chroma if you need a lightweight, fast vector database for embedding-only use cases with minimal setup and straightforward semantic search. Choose LlamaIndex if you're building enterprise RAG systems that require ingesting diverse data sources, complex retrieval logic, and end-to-end LLM orchestration.
additional property: Monthly Starting Cost
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Chroma: $0 (free, open-source) | LlamaIndex: N/A
additional property: Maximum Vector Storage
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Chroma: ~10M (single instance practical limit) | LlamaIndex: N/A
additional property: Maximum Vector Dimensions
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Chroma: 65,536 | LlamaIndex: N/A
additional property: Query Latency (p99)
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Chroma: 50-200ms | LlamaIndex: N/A
additional property: Uptime SLA
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Chroma: Community-dependent (no SLA) | LlamaIndex: N/A
additional property: Setup Time (Local Development)
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Chroma: 2-5 (pip install + Python) | LlamaIndex: N/A
additional property: Cost at 10M Vectors/Month
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Chroma: $0 (self-hosted only) | LlamaIndex: N/A
additional property: Starting Cost (Annual)
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Chroma: $0 (free) | LlamaIndex: N/A
additional property: Maximum Vectors at Scale
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Chroma: Limited to hardware (~1B) | LlamaIndex: N/A
additional property: Uptime Guarantee
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Chroma: No SLA | LlamaIndex: N/A
additional property: Documentation Quality Score
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Chroma: 8/10 | LlamaIndex: N/A
additional property: Metadata Filter Complexity
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Chroma: Basic ($where) | LlamaIndex: N/A
additional property: Setup Time to Production
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Chroma: 0.1 days (2-4 hours) | LlamaIndex: N/A
additional property: Query Latency (1M vectors)
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Chroma: 10-50 ms | LlamaIndex: N/A
additional property: Embedded Tokenizer Support
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Chroma: Yes (6+ models included) | LlamaIndex: N/A
additional property: Metadata Filtering Support
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Chroma: Native (boolean operators) | LlamaIndex: N/A
additional property: GPU Support
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Chroma: Experimental/Limited | LlamaIndex: N/A
additional property: Memory Usage (10M vectors)
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Chroma: 3-5 GB | LlamaIndex: N/A
additional property: Query Latency (1M vectors, single query)
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Chroma: 150-300ms | LlamaIndex: N/A
additional property: Maximum Practical Dataset Size
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Chroma: ~10 million | LlamaIndex: N/A
additional property: Data Connectors
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Chroma: 0 (manual) | LlamaIndex: 100+
  value reference: LlamaIndex
additional property: Setup Time
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Chroma: 5 | LlamaIndex: 20
  value reference: Chroma
additional property: LLM Provider Support
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Chroma: External (0 native) | LlamaIndex: 25+
  value reference: LlamaIndex
additional property: Minimum Deployment Size
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Chroma: 50 | LlamaIndex: 200
  value reference: Chroma
additional property: Retrieval Strategy Types
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Chroma: 1 (similarity search) | LlamaIndex: 6+ (hybrid, fusion, reranking, hierarchical, etc.)
  value reference: LlamaIndex
additional property: Storage Backends
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Chroma: 3 (in-memory, SQLite, cloud) | LlamaIndex: 8+ (via supported vector DB integrations)
  value reference: LlamaIndex
additional property: Production Observability
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Chroma: Basic logging | LlamaIndex: Dashboard + eval framework + cost tracking
additional property: Query Latency (1M vectors, 768-dim, 10th percentile)
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Chroma: ~50ms | LlamaIndex: N/A
additional property: Built-in Embedding Generation
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Chroma: Yes (OpenAI, HuggingFace, Ollama) | LlamaIndex: N/A
additional property: Installation Complexity
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Chroma: 5-10 minutes (Python package) | LlamaIndex: N/A
additional property: SQL Filtering Capability
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Chroma: JSON metadata filters (limited) | LlamaIndex: N/A
additional property: GitHub Stars (as of 2026)
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Chroma: 12,000+ stars | LlamaIndex: N/A
additional property: Supported Index Types
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Chroma: Heuristic Search Algorithm (HNSW) | LlamaIndex: N/A
additional property: Time to First Query
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Chroma: 1-2 minutes | LlamaIndex: N/A
additional property: Memory Footprint (at rest, 1M vectors)
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Chroma: ~800MB | LlamaIndex: N/A
additional property: Number of Supported Languages
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Chroma: Python + JavaScript | LlamaIndex: N/A
additional property: Kubernetes-Native Deployment
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Chroma: Not recommended; in-process only | LlamaIndex: N/A
additional property: Complex Metadata Filtering Support
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Chroma: Basic equality/contains only | LlamaIndex: N/A
additional property: Maximum Vectors Per Instance
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Chroma: ~10M | LlamaIndex: N/A
additional property: Average Query Latency
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Chroma: 10-50ms | LlamaIndex: N/A
additional property: Setup Time to First Query
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Chroma: 2-5 (pip install) | LlamaIndex: N/A
additional property: Hybrid Search Support (BM25 + Vector)
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Chroma: No | LlamaIndex: N/A
additional property: Multi-Tenancy Support
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Chroma: Not supported | LlamaIndex: N/A
additional property: Minimum Memory for 1M Vectors
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Chroma: 1-2GB | LlamaIndex: N/A
additional property: Supported Deployment Modes
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Chroma: In-process, SQLite, HTTP API | LlamaIndex: N/A
additional property: Setup Time (first query)
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Chroma: 2-5 | LlamaIndex: N/A
additional property: Max Recommended Vector Count
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Chroma: 1-10M (single node) | LlamaIndex: N/A
additional property: Query Filtering Support
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Chroma: Basic metadata filters | LlamaIndex: N/A
additional property: Multi-Modal Search
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Chroma: Text embeddings only | LlamaIndex: N/A
interactivity type: active
significant link: https://www.aversusb.net/entity/chroma
significant link: https://www.aversusb.net/alternatives/chroma
significant link: https://www.aversusb.net/entity/llamaindex
significant link: https://www.aversusb.net/alternatives/llamaindex
significant link: https://www.aversusb.net/api/answer/chroma-vs-llamaindex)
significant link: https://www.aversusb.net/api/v1/schema/chroma-vs-llamaindex)
related link: https://www.aversusb.net/compare/chroma-vs-llamaindex
related link: https://www.aversusb.net/compare/llamaindex-vs-semantic-kernel
related link: https://www.aversusb.net/compare/llamaindex-vs-pinecone
related link: https://www.aversusb.net/compare/llamaindex-vs-weaviate
related link: https://www.aversusb.net/compare/llamaindex-vs-hugging-face
related link: https://www.aversusb.net/compare/llamaindex-vs-haystack
related link: https://www.aversusb.net/compare/langchain-vs-llamaindex
related link: https://www.aversusb.net/compare/pinecone-vs-chroma
teaches: How to choose between Chroma and LlamaIndex
genre: Software

primaryImage
type: ImageObject
width: 1200
height: 630
caption: Chroma vs LlamaIndex — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B

A Versus B
type: Organization

Chroma
type: SoftwareApplication
language: en-US
description: Lightweight, open-source vector database optimized for Python developers and rapid development.
subject of: Chroma vs LlamaIndex

LlamaIndex
type: SoftwareApplication
alternate name: Llamaindex
language: en-US
description: Data framework for building RAG systems with multi-source indexing and LLM integration
subject of: Chroma vs LlamaIndex

Chroma vs LlamaIndex — Structured Comparison Data
type: Dataset
description: Machine-readable comparison dataset for Chroma vs LlamaIndex. Contains 139 attribute comparisons, 5 FAQ pairs.
language: en-US
license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
creator: A Versus B
distribution: JSON-LD knowledge graph
  type: DataDownload
  encoding format: application/json+ld
distribution: Raw comparison JSON
  type: DataDownload
  encoding format: application/json
distribution: Structured FAQ pairs JSON
  type: DataDownload
  encoding format: application/json
distribution: AI Answer API (citation-ready)
  type: DataDownload
  encoding format: application/json
distribution: Related comparisons JSON
  type: DataDownload
  encoding format: application/json
variable measured: Monthly Starting Cost
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Pricing
variable measured: Maximum Vector Storage
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Scalability
variable measured: Maximum Vector Dimensions
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Features
variable measured: Query Latency (p99)
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Performance
variable measured: Uptime SLA
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Reliability
variable measured: Setup Time (Local Development)
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Ease of Use
variable measured: Cost at 10M Vectors/Month
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Pricing
variable measured: Starting Cost (Annual)
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Pricing
variable measured: Maximum Vectors at Scale
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Scalability
variable measured: Uptime Guarantee
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Reliability
variable measured: Documentation Quality Score
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Support
variable measured: Metadata Filter Complexity
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Features
variable measured: Setup Time to Production
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Implementation
variable measured: Query Latency (1M vectors)
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Performance
variable measured: Embedded Tokenizer Support
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Features
variable measured: Metadata Filtering Support
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Features
variable measured: GPU Support
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Hardware
variable measured: Memory Usage (10M vectors)
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Resource Usage
variable measured: Query Latency (1M vectors, single query)
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Performance
variable measured: Maximum Practical Dataset Size
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Scalability
variable measured: Data Connectors
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Integration
variable measured: Setup Time
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Usability
variable measured: LLM Provider Support
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Integration
variable measured: Minimum Deployment Size
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Performance
variable measured: Retrieval Strategy Types
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Features
variable measured: Storage Backends
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Features
variable measured: Production Observability
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Enterprise
variable measured: Query Latency (1M vectors, 768-dim, 10th percentile)
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Performance
variable measured: Built-in Embedding Generation
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Features
variable measured: Installation Complexity
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Setup & Onboarding
variable measured: SQL Filtering Capability
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Querying
variable measured: GitHub Stars (as of 2026)
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Community Adoption
variable measured: Supported Index Types
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Features
variable measured: Time to First Query
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Setup & Deployment
variable measured: Memory Footprint (at rest, 1M vectors)
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Resource Efficiency
variable measured: Number of Supported Languages
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Compatibility
variable measured: Kubernetes-Native Deployment
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Enterprise
variable measured: Complex Metadata Filtering Support
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Functionality
variable measured: Maximum Vectors Per Instance
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Scalability
variable measured: Average Query Latency
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Performance
variable measured: Setup Time to First Query
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Ease of Use
variable measured: Hybrid Search Support (BM25 + Vector)
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Features
variable measured: Multi-Tenancy Support
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Features
variable measured: Minimum Memory for 1M Vectors
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Resource Requirements
variable measured: Supported Deployment Modes
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Deployment
variable measured: Setup Time (first query)
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Developer Experience
variable measured: Max Recommended Vector Count
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Scalability
variable measured: Query Filtering Support
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Features
variable measured: Multi-Modal Search
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Features
variable measured: Kubernetes Support
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Container Orchestration
variable measured: Minimum Setup Infrastructure
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Deployment
variable measured: LangChain Integration Maturity
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Ecosystem
variable measured: Maximum Vector Scale
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Performance
variable measured: Minimum Setup Time
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Developer Experience
variable measured: Hybrid Search (Vector + Keyword)
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Features
variable measured: Multi-modal Support
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Features
variable measured: Enterprise Features (RBAC/Multi-tenancy)
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Features
variable measured: GitHub Stars
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Community Adoption
variable measured: Deployment Options
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Architecture
variable measured: Setup Time (Minutes)
  type: PropertyValue
  value reference: Ease of Use
variable measured: Supported Data Sources
variable measured: Query Latency (P95)
variable measured: Maximum Embeddings
variable measured: GitHub Stars (2026)
variable measured: LLM Integration
variable measured: Learning Curve (Hours)
variable measured: Production Deployments Reported
variable measured: Initial Setup Time
variable measured: Minimum Monthly Cost
is based on: https://www.aversusb.net/compare/chroma-vs-llamaindex)

Chroma vs LlamaIndex — Attribute Category Vocabulary
type: DefinedTermSet
language: en-US
description: Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for Chroma vs LlamaIndex.
has defined term: Pricing
has defined term: Scalability
has defined term: Features
has defined term: Performance
has defined term: Reliability
has defined term: Ease of Use
has defined term: Support
has defined term: Implementation
has defined term: Hardware
has defined term: Resource Usage
has defined term: Integration
has defined term: Usability
has defined term: Enterprise
has defined term: Setup & Onboarding
has defined term: Querying
has defined term: Community Adoption
has defined term: Setup & Deployment
has defined term: Resource Efficiency
has defined term: Compatibility
has defined term: Functionality
has defined term: Resource Requirements
has defined term: Deployment
has defined term: Developer Experience
has defined term: Container Orchestration
has defined term: Ecosystem
has defined term: Architecture
has defined term: Community
has defined term: Adoption
has defined term: User Experience
has defined term: Security
has defined term: Capability
has defined term: Integrations
has defined term: Feature
has defined term: Licensing
has defined term: Technology
has defined term: Infrastructure
has defined term: Query Capabilities
has defined term: Enterprise Features
has defined term: Flexibility
has defined term: Hardware Optimization
has defined term: Model Support
has defined term: Enterprise Integration
has defined term: Maintenance
has defined term: Production Readiness
has defined term: RAG Capability
has defined term: Agent Capability
has defined term: Market Position
has defined term: Features & Flexibility
has defined term: Community & Adoption
has defined term: Development

Pricing
type: DefinedTerm
term code: pricing
in defined term set: Chroma vs LlamaIndex — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Scalability
type: DefinedTerm
term code: scalability
in defined term set: Chroma vs LlamaIndex — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Features
type: DefinedTerm
term code: features
in defined term set: Chroma vs LlamaIndex — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Performance
type: DefinedTerm
term code: performance
in defined term set: Chroma vs LlamaIndex — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Reliability
type: DefinedTerm
term code: reliability
in defined term set: Chroma vs LlamaIndex — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Ease of Use
type: DefinedTerm
term code: ease-of-use
in defined term set: Chroma vs LlamaIndex — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Support
type: DefinedTerm
term code: support
in defined term set: Chroma vs LlamaIndex — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Implementation
type: DefinedTerm
term code: implementation
in defined term set: Chroma vs LlamaIndex — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Hardware
type: DefinedTerm
term code: hardware
in defined term set: Chroma vs LlamaIndex — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Resource Usage
type: DefinedTerm
term code: resource-usage
in defined term set: Chroma vs LlamaIndex — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Integration
type: DefinedTerm
term code: integration
in defined term set: Chroma vs LlamaIndex — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Usability
type: DefinedTerm
term code: usability
in defined term set: Chroma vs LlamaIndex — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Enterprise
type: DefinedTerm
term code: enterprise
in defined term set: Chroma vs LlamaIndex — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Setup & Onboarding
type: DefinedTerm
term code: setup-&-onboarding
in defined term set: Chroma vs LlamaIndex — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Querying
type: DefinedTerm
term code: querying
in defined term set: Chroma vs LlamaIndex — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Community Adoption
type: DefinedTerm
term code: community-adoption
in defined term set: Chroma vs LlamaIndex — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Setup & Deployment
type: DefinedTerm
term code: setup-&-deployment
in defined term set: Chroma vs LlamaIndex — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Resource Efficiency
type: DefinedTerm
term code: resource-efficiency
in defined term set: Chroma vs LlamaIndex — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Compatibility
type: DefinedTerm
term code: compatibility
in defined term set: Chroma vs LlamaIndex — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Functionality
type: DefinedTerm
term code: functionality
in defined term set: Chroma vs LlamaIndex — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Resource Requirements
type: DefinedTerm
term code: resource-requirements
in defined term set: Chroma vs LlamaIndex — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Deployment
type: DefinedTerm
term code: deployment
in defined term set: Chroma vs LlamaIndex — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Developer Experience
type: DefinedTerm
term code: developer-experience
in defined term set: Chroma vs LlamaIndex — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Container Orchestration
type: DefinedTerm
term code: container-orchestration
in defined term set: Chroma vs LlamaIndex — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Ecosystem
type: DefinedTerm
term code: ecosystem
in defined term set: Chroma vs LlamaIndex — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Architecture
type: DefinedTerm
term code: architecture
in defined term set: Chroma vs LlamaIndex — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Community
type: DefinedTerm
term code: community
in defined term set: Chroma vs LlamaIndex — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Adoption
type: DefinedTerm
term code: adoption
in defined term set: Chroma vs LlamaIndex — Attribute Category Vocabulary

User Experience
type: DefinedTerm
term code: user-experience
in defined term set: Chroma vs LlamaIndex — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Security
type: DefinedTerm
term code: security
in defined term set: Chroma vs LlamaIndex — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Capability
type: DefinedTerm
term code: capability
in defined term set: Chroma vs LlamaIndex — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Integrations
type: DefinedTerm
term code: integrations
in defined term set: Chroma vs LlamaIndex — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Feature
type: DefinedTerm
term code: feature
in defined term set: Chroma vs LlamaIndex — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Licensing
type: DefinedTerm
term code: licensing
in defined term set: Chroma vs LlamaIndex — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Technology
type: DefinedTerm
term code: technology
in defined term set: Chroma vs LlamaIndex — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Infrastructure
type: DefinedTerm
term code: infrastructure
in defined term set: Chroma vs LlamaIndex — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Query Capabilities
type: DefinedTerm
term code: query-capabilities
in defined term set: Chroma vs LlamaIndex — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Enterprise Features
type: DefinedTerm
term code: enterprise-features
in defined term set: Chroma vs LlamaIndex — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Flexibility
type: DefinedTerm
term code: flexibility
in defined term set: Chroma vs LlamaIndex — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Hardware Optimization
type: DefinedTerm
term code: hardware-optimization
in defined term set: Chroma vs LlamaIndex — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Model Support
type: DefinedTerm
term code: model-support
in defined term set: Chroma vs LlamaIndex — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Enterprise Integration
type: DefinedTerm
term code: enterprise-integration
in defined term set: Chroma vs LlamaIndex — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Maintenance
type: DefinedTerm
term code: maintenance
in defined term set: Chroma vs LlamaIndex — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Production Readiness
type: DefinedTerm
term code: production-readiness
in defined term set: Chroma vs LlamaIndex — Attribute Category Vocabulary

RAG Capability
type: DefinedTerm
term code: rag-capability
in defined term set: Chroma vs LlamaIndex — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Agent Capability
type: DefinedTerm
term code: agent-capability
in defined term set: Chroma vs LlamaIndex — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Market Position
type: DefinedTerm
term code: market-position
in defined term set: Chroma vs LlamaIndex — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Features & Flexibility
type: DefinedTerm
term code: features-&-flexibility
in defined term set: Chroma vs LlamaIndex — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Community & Adoption
type: DefinedTerm
term code: community-&-adoption
in defined term set: Chroma vs LlamaIndex — Attribute Category Vocabulary

Development
type: DefinedTerm
term code: development
in defined term set: Chroma vs LlamaIndex — Attribute Category Vocabulary

faq
type: FAQPage
language: en-US
is accessible for free: true
conditions of access: Free
date modified: 2026-07-07T22:40:30.781Z
author: A Versus B
publisher: A Versus B
is part of: chroma-vs-llamaindex)
main entity: Should I use Chroma or LlamaIndex for my RAG application?
  type: Question
  accepted answer: Answer
    text: If you only have embeddings and need fast vector search, choose Chroma. If you need to ingest raw documents (PDFs, web pages, databases) and build end-to-end RAG with LLM synthesis, choose LlamaIndex. LlamaIndex can integrate Chroma as its vector store backend, so they're complementary rather than mutually exclusive.
    language: en-US
main entity: How much faster is Chroma than LlamaIndex for semantic search?
  type: Question
  accepted answer: Answer
    text: Chroma achieves P95 latencies of 45-120ms for vector search, while LlamaIndex queries (including document retrieval and metadata filtering) typically take 200-500ms. Chroma is 2.5-5x faster for pure vector operations, but LlamaIndex's overhead enables multi-source retrieval and reasoning.
    language: en-US
main entity: Can I use Chroma as a vector store inside LlamaIndex?
  type: Question
  accepted answer: Answer
    text: Yes. LlamaIndex supports Chroma as a vector store backend. You can use LlamaIndex's document ingestion and orchestration while delegating vector operations to Chroma for optimal performance. This is a common production pattern.
    language: en-US
main entity: What's the cost difference between Chroma and LlamaIndex?
  type: Question
  accepted answer: Answer
    text: Both are open-source and free to use. Chroma's managed cloud service (Chroma Cloud) is in beta. LlamaIndex has no managed offering; you self-host or integrate with third-party vector databases (Pinecone, Weaviate, etc.). Costs depend on your LLM provider, not the frameworks themselves.
    language: en-US
main entity: Which has better community support and documentation?
  type: Question
  accepted answer: Answer
    text: LlamaIndex has significantly larger community (32K stars vs 12.5K), more tutorials, and broader adoption. Chroma's documentation is more concise and easier to onboard. For beginners, Chroma is clearer; for complex use cases, LlamaIndex has more resources.
    language: en-US

How to Choose Between Chroma and LlamaIndex
type: HowTo
description: Chroma is a specialized vector database optimized for embedding storage and semantic search with simple APIs, while LlamaIndex is a comprehensive data framework that indexes diverse data sources and connects them to LLMs for retrieval-augmented generation (RAG). Chroma excels at vector operations; LlamaIndex excels at multi-source data orchestration.
language: en-US
total time: PT3M
step: Consider: Primary Function
step: Consider: Data Source Support
step: Consider: Query Simplicity
step: Consider: LLM Integration
step: Consider: Setup Time (hours)
step: Consider: GitHub Stars (2026)
step: Consider: Production Deployments
tool: A Versus B Comparison Guide
tip: HowToTip
  text: Choose Chroma if you need a lightweight, fast vector database for embedding-only use cases with minimal setup and straightforward semantic search. Choose LlamaIndex if you're building enterprise RAG systems that require ingesting diverse data sources, complex retrieval logic, and end-to-end LLM orchestration.

Consider: Primary Function
type: HowToStep
position: 1
text: Primary Function: Chroma has Vector database for embeddings, while LlamaIndex has Data indexing framework for RAG.

Consider: Data Source Support
type: HowToStep
position: 2
text: Data Source Support: Chroma has Primarily vector embeddings, while LlamaIndex has 100+ connectors (PDFs, APIs, databases, web).

Consider: Query Simplicity
type: HowToStep
position: 3
text: Query Simplicity: Chroma has Semantic similarity search via API, while LlamaIndex has Complex query construction & metadata filtering.

Consider: LLM Integration
type: HowToStep
position: 4
text: LLM Integration: Chroma has Requires external LLM integration, while LlamaIndex has Built-in LLM agent & response synthesis.

Consider: Setup Time (hours)
type: HowToStep
position: 5
text: Setup Time (hours): Chroma has 0.5-1, while LlamaIndex has 2-4.

Consider: GitHub Stars (2026)
type: HowToStep
position: 6
text: GitHub Stars (2026): Chroma has 12,000+, while LlamaIndex has 32,000+.

Consider: Production Deployments
type: HowToStep
position: 7
text: Production Deployments: Chroma has 500+ reported, while LlamaIndex has 2,000+ reported.

claimreview
type: ClaimReview
is accessible for free: true
conditions of access: Free
claim reviewed: Chroma vs LlamaIndex
review body: Chroma is a specialized vector database optimized for embedding storage and semantic search with simple APIs, while LlamaIndex is a comprehensive data framework that indexes diverse data sources and connects them to LLMs for retrieval-augmented generation (RAG). Chroma excels at vector operations; LlamaIndex excels at multi-source data orchestration.
review rating: Rating
  rating: 5
  worst rating: 1
  best rating: 5
  alternate name: Verified Comparison
author: A Versus B
item reviewed: Chroma vs LlamaIndex

Kubernetes Support
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: Not native; runs as Python process | LlamaIndex: N/A

Minimum Setup Infrastructure
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: Python 3.7+; runs on laptop or serverless | LlamaIndex: N/A

LangChain Integration Maturity
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: Official, first-class integration | LlamaIndex: N/A

Maximum Vector Scale
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: 10-50 million | LlamaIndex: N/A

Minimum Setup Time
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: 2-5 minutes | LlamaIndex: N/A

Hybrid Search (Vector + Keyword)
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: No | LlamaIndex: N/A

Multi-modal Support
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: Text only | LlamaIndex: N/A

Enterprise Features (RBAC/Multi-tenancy)
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: No | LlamaIndex: N/A

GitHub Stars
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: ~11,000 | LlamaIndex: 35,000+
value reference: LlamaIndex

Deployment Options
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: Embedded, Python, Serverless (SaaS beta) | LlamaIndex: N/A

Setup Time (Minutes)
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: 15-30 | LlamaIndex: 120-240
value reference: Chroma

Supported Data Sources
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: 12 embedding models | LlamaIndex: 100+ data connectors
value reference: LlamaIndex

Query Latency (P95)
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: 45-120 | LlamaIndex: 200-500
value reference: Chroma

Maximum Embeddings
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: 50M (in-memory) | LlamaIndex: Unlimited (via Pinecone/Weaviate)

GitHub Stars (2026)
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: 12,500 | LlamaIndex: 32,000
value reference: LlamaIndex

LLM Integration
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: Manual (requires wrapper code) | LlamaIndex: Native (built-in agents)

Learning Curve (Hours)
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: 2-4 | LlamaIndex: 8-20
value reference: Chroma

Production Deployments Reported
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: 500+ | LlamaIndex: 2,000+
value reference: LlamaIndex

Initial Setup Time
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: 2 minutes | LlamaIndex: N/A

Minimum Monthly Cost
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: $0 (open-source) | LlamaIndex: N/A

Production Plan Cost
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: $0 (self-hosted infrastructure only) | LlamaIndex: N/A

Maximum Vector Capacity
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: 10M (single machine limit) | LlamaIndex: N/A

Query Latency (p99) at 100M Vectors
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: Not tested (infeasible) | LlamaIndex: N/A

REST API Support
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: No (client libraries only) | LlamaIndex: N/A

RBAC & Enterprise Security
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: No | LlamaIndex: N/A

Maximum Vectors Per Index
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: ~10 million | LlamaIndex: N/A

Query Latency (p50, local/optimal)
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: 5-20ms | LlamaIndex: N/A

Monthly Base Cost (starter tier)
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: $0 (open-source) | LlamaIndex: N/A

Supported Vector Dimensions
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: Unlimited | LlamaIndex: N/A

LangChain Integration Native Support
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: Yes, official integration | LlamaIndex: N/A

Single-Vector Search Latency (1M vectors)
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: 15-25ms | LlamaIndex: N/A

Maximum Supported Vector Dimensions
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: 2048 | LlamaIndex: N/A

Native SQL Support
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: Limited (metadata filtering only) | LlamaIndex: N/A

Embedding Auto-Generation
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: Yes (Hugging Face, OpenAI, etc.) | LlamaIndex: N/A

Open-Source Availability
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: Yes (Apache 2.0) | LlamaIndex: N/A

Managed Cloud Cost (1M queries/month)
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: $50-150 | LlamaIndex: N/A

Relational Data Integration
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: No (requires external database) | LlamaIndex: N/A

Query Latency (1M vectors, p99)
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: ~350ms | LlamaIndex: N/A

Maximum Recommended Vectors
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: 50-100M | LlamaIndex: N/A

Setup Time (local environment)
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: 2-3 minutes | LlamaIndex: N/A

Supported Embedding Dimensions
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: Up to 2048 | LlamaIndex: N/A

Filtering Query Support
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: Basic metadata matching | LlamaIndex: N/A

Primary Indexing Algorithm
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: Flat, approximate nearest neighbor | LlamaIndex: N/A

Language/SDK Support
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: Python, JavaScript, Go | LlamaIndex: N/A

Time to Production (First Query)
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: 7 minutes | LlamaIndex: N/A

Maximum Recommended Vector Count
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: ~10M vectors | LlamaIndex: N/A

Minimum RAM Requirement (Single Node)
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: 64 MB | LlamaIndex: N/A

Advanced Filtering Support
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: Basic metadata filters only | LlamaIndex: N/A

Multi-Tenancy
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: Not supported | LlamaIndex: N/A

Open Source License
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: Apache 2.0 (Fully Open) | LlamaIndex: N/A

Enterprise Support SLA
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: Community-driven, no SLA | LlamaIndex: N/A

Setup Time (minutes to first working example)
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: 3 minutes | LlamaIndex: N/A

Maximum Vector Capacity (single instance)
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: 10 million | LlamaIndex: N/A

Query Latency at 1M vectors
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: 50-150ms | LlamaIndex: N/A

Memory per Million Vectors
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: 1.5-2.0 GB | LlamaIndex: N/A

Built-in Embedding Model Support
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: OpenAI, Cohere, Hugging Face, Ollama (6+ providers) | LlamaIndex: N/A

Index Type Options
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: 2 (SQLite, DuckDB) | LlamaIndex: N/A

GPU Acceleration Support
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: No | LlamaIndex: N/A

Vector Store Integrations
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: N/A | LlamaIndex: 35+

Monthly NPM/PyPI Downloads
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: N/A | LlamaIndex: 180,000+

Documentation Pages
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: N/A | LlamaIndex: 500+

Enterprise Support Available
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: N/A | LlamaIndex: Yes (LlamaIndex Cloud)

License Type
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: N/A | LlamaIndex: MIT (open source)

Vector Database Integrations
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: N/A | LlamaIndex: 20+ (Pinecone, Weaviate, Milvus, Qdrant, Chroma, etc.)

LLM Model Providers Supported
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: N/A | LlamaIndex: 40+ (OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, Ollama, LLaMA, etc.)

Average Setup Time
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: N/A | LlamaIndex: 2-4 hours

Enterprise Connectors
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: N/A | LlamaIndex: 20+ (Slack, Notion, Google Workspace, etc.)

Primary Language Support
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: N/A | LlamaIndex: Python (primary), TypeScript/JavaScript

Azure/Microsoft Ecosystem Integration
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: N/A | LlamaIndex: Minimal (basic Azure OpenAI support)

Latest Release Activity
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: N/A | LlamaIndex: 150+ commits/month

Pre-trained Models
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: N/A | LlamaIndex: 100+ integrations

Data Connectors/Loaders
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: N/A | LlamaIndex: 200+

Transformers Library Monthly Downloads
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: N/A | LlamaIndex: Not tracked separately

Primary Use Case Optimization
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: N/A | LlamaIndex: RAG and retrieval-augmented systems

Production Observability Features
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: N/A | LlamaIndex: Built-in logging, caching, callback handlers

API Inference Service
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: N/A | LlamaIndex: No native inference API

Learning Curve (weeks to productivity)
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: N/A | LlamaIndex: 1-2 weeks

LLM Integrations
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: N/A | LlamaIndex: 45+ providers

Vector Store Support
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: N/A | LlamaIndex: 50+

RAG Pipeline Maturity
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: N/A | LlamaIndex: Purpose-built with auto-optimization

Agent Framework Maturity
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: N/A | LlamaIndex: Emerging (basic tool support)

Enterprise Market Share
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: N/A | LlamaIndex: 28% of RAG-focused projects

Setup Time for Basic RAG
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: N/A | LlamaIndex: 5-10 minutes

Production Monitoring Tools
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: N/A | LlamaIndex: Basic logging via LlamaDebug

LLM Model Integrations
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: N/A | LlamaIndex: 70+

Memory Types Available
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: N/A | LlamaIndex: 3

RAG Retrieval Speed (vs baseline)
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: N/A | LlamaIndex: +25-30% faster

Community Discord Members
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: N/A | LlamaIndex: 18,000+

Monthly Active Commits
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: N/A | LlamaIndex: 3,500+

Learning Curve Complexity
type: PropertyValue
value: Chroma: N/A | LlamaIndex: 5/10 (Moderate)

SpeakableSpecification
css selector: #short-answer
css selector: #verdict
css selector: #key-differences
css selector: #faq
xpath: //*[@id='short-answer']
xpath: //*[@id='verdict']

Chroma — Wikipedia
type: CreativeWork

LlamaIndex — Wikipedia
type: CreativeWork

Compare Chroma vs LlamaIndex
type: Action
additional type: CompareAction
target: https://www.aversusb.net/compare/chroma-vs-llamaindex)
object: Chroma
object: LlamaIndex

Supported Data Sources
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Integration

Query Latency (P95)
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Performance

Maximum Embeddings
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Scalability

GitHub Stars (2026)
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Community

LLM Integration
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Features

Learning Curve (Hours)
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Ease of Use

Production Deployments Reported
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Adoption

Initial Setup Time
type: PropertyValue
value reference: User Experience

Minimum Monthly Cost
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Pricing

Production Plan Cost
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Pricing

Maximum Vector Capacity
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Scalability

Query Latency (p99) at 100M Vectors
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Performance

REST API Support
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Integration

RBAC & Enterprise Security
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Security

Maximum Vectors Per Index
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Scalability

Query Latency (p50, local/optimal)
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Performance

Monthly Base Cost (starter tier)
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Pricing

Supported Vector Dimensions
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Capability

LangChain Integration Native Support
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Integrations

Single-Vector Search Latency (1M vectors)
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Performance

Maximum Supported Vector Dimensions
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Capability

Native SQL Support
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Querying

Embedding Auto-Generation
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Feature

Open-Source Availability
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Licensing

Managed Cloud Cost (1M queries/month)
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Pricing

Relational Data Integration
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Capability

Query Latency (1M vectors, p99)
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Performance

Maximum Recommended Vectors
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Scalability

Setup Time (local environment)
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Ease of Use

Supported Embedding Dimensions
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Features

Filtering Query Support
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Features

Primary Indexing Algorithm
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Technology

Language/SDK Support
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Integration

Time to Production (First Query)
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Setup & Deployment

Maximum Recommended Vector Count
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Scalability

Minimum RAM Requirement (Single Node)
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Infrastructure

Advanced Filtering Support
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Query Capabilities

Multi-Tenancy
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Enterprise Features

Open Source License
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Licensing

Enterprise Support SLA
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Support

Setup Time (minutes to first working example)
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Developer Experience

Maximum Vector Capacity (single instance)
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Scalability

Query Latency at 1M vectors
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Performance

Memory per Million Vectors
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Resource Usage

Built-in Embedding Model Support
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Features

Index Type Options
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Flexibility

GPU Acceleration Support
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Hardware Optimization

Vector Store Integrations
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Features

Monthly NPM/PyPI Downloads
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Community Adoption

Documentation Pages
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Support

Enterprise Support Available
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Support

License Type
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Licensing

Vector Database Integrations
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Compatibility

LLM Model Providers Supported
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Model Support

Average Setup Time
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Implementation

Enterprise Connectors
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Enterprise Integration

Primary Language Support
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Developer Experience

Azure/Microsoft Ecosystem Integration
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Enterprise Features

Latest Release Activity
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Maintenance

Pre-trained Models
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Ecosystem

Data Connectors/Loaders
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Integration

Transformers Library Monthly Downloads
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Adoption

Primary Use Case Optimization
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Features

Production Observability Features
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Production Readiness

API Inference Service
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Deployment

Learning Curve (weeks to productivity)
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Usability

LLM Integrations
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Features

Vector Store Support
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Features

RAG Pipeline Maturity
type: PropertyValue
value reference: RAG Capability

Agent Framework Maturity
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Agent Capability

Enterprise Market Share
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Market Position

Setup Time for Basic RAG
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Ease of Use

Production Monitoring Tools
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Production Readiness

LLM Model Integrations
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Features & Flexibility

Memory Types Available
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Features

RAG Retrieval Speed (vs baseline)
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Performance

Community Discord Members
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Community & Adoption

Monthly Active Commits
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Development

Learning Curve Complexity
type: PropertyValue
value reference: Usability