{ "data": { "a": { "slug": "chroma", "name": "Chroma API + MCP", "vendor": "Chroma", "vendorUrl": "https://www.trychroma.com", "kind": "http-api", "category": "vector-search", "summary": "Open-source retrieval database that runs in-process, as a local server or as Chroma Cloud, a serverless hosted service.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/chroma", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/chroma.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/chroma.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/chroma.json", "repo": "https://github.com/chroma-core/chroma", "license": "Apache-2.0", "transports": [ "http", "stdio" ], "remoteUrl": "https://api.trychroma.com/api/v2", "packages": [ { "registry": "pypi", "name": "chromadb" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "chromadb" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "chroma-mcp" } ], "auth": "api-key", "authNotes": "Chroma Cloud takes an API key in the `x-chroma-token` header, scoped to a tenant and database. A local or self-hosted server runs without auth unless you configure it. The MCP server takes `--client-type cloud` with tenant, database and API key, or connects to a local or self-hosted instance.", "pricing": "usage", "pricingNotes": "Chroma Cloud Starter is $0 a month plus usage with $5 of credit, 10 databases and 10 members. Team is $250 a month plus usage with $100 of credit, 100 databases and SOC 2. Enterprise is custom, with single-tenant and BYOC clusters. Writes $2.50 per logical GiB, storage $0.33 per GiB a month, queries $0.0075 per TiB scanned plus $0.09 per GiB returned, forks $0.03 each, Sync $0.04 per GiB processed and $0.01 per page extracted or scraped. The open-source database is free to run yourself (https://www.trychroma.com/pricing).", "priceSummary": "$250 / mo", "where": "both", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402 or per-call payment support in the docs or pricing (checked 2026-09-30).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": 13, "popularity": { "githubStars": 29413, "npmWeekly": 301867, "pypiWeekly": 1590274, "asOf": "2026-09-30" }, "docsUrl": "https://docs.trychroma.com", "llmsTxt": "https://docs.trychroma.com/llms.txt", "openapi": "https://api.trychroma.com/openapi.json", "capabilities": [ "db.vector", "db.hybrid", "db.fulltext", "db.filters", "db.serverless" ], "tags": [ "open-source", "self-hosted", "local", "hosted", "free-tier", "mcp", "llms-txt", "openapi", "python", "typescript", "enterprise" ], "lastRelease": "2026-06-30", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 45.4, "grade": "E", "agentReady": false, "rank": 400, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 452, "categoryRank": 8, "methodology": "0.3", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 73, "maintenance": 35, "payments": 30, "reliability": 60, "schema": 71, "security": 38, "transparency": 75 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-01" }, "negative": -10, "negativeNotes": [ "CVE-2026-45829 (GHSA-f4j7-r4q5-qw2c), published 18 May 2026, critical with CVSS 9.3. An unauthenticated request to the collections endpoint can set `trust_remote_code` and run code on a chromadb server from 1.0.0 to 1.5.9. The fix merged to main on 7 July 2026, but no release carries it, and the advisory still lists no patched version (https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-f4j7-r4q5-qw2c, https://pypi.org/project/chromadb/#history). We found nothing saying whether Chroma Cloud was exposed, so we deduct for the unpatched self-hosted path only." ], "verdict": "Runs in-process, as a local server or serverless on Chroma Cloud with the same v2 API. CVE-2026-45829, CVSS 9.3, has no patched release more than four months after the advisory.", "strengths": [ "Runs in-process, as a local server or serverless on Chroma Cloud with the same v2 API", "Per-unit cloud prices published, $2.50 per GiB written and $0.33 per GiB a month stored", "One status incident in 90 days, a 2 hour 38 minute indexing slowdown on 18 August 2026", "Apache-2.0, with an OpenAPI file and llms.txt over 162 Markdown pages", "Current source sends no product telemetry, since the PostHog client is a no-op" ], "weaknesses": [ "CVE-2026-45829, CVSS 9.3, has no patched release more than four months after the advisory", "No tagged or published release since 30 June 2026, and the server last shipped on 5 May", "`chroma-mcp` last released on 14 August 2025, with 13 tools and no read-only mode or tool annotations", "Cloud caps of 300 results a query, 300 records a write and 10 concurrent reads per collection, with no 429 or retry guidance", "Privacy policy dates from October 2024 and still says the service is hosted only in the United States" ], "agentNotes": [ "Don't expose a self-hosted chromadb 1.5.9 server, which has no auth by default and an unpatched code execution flaw", "Batch writes in groups of 300 or fewer on Chroma Cloud", "Use the Search API for hybrid ranking. The older `query()` only does dense search plus filters", "Pass `include` without embeddings, since returned GiB are billed", "Don't pass `ollama` to `chroma_create_collection`. The description lists it but the server can't map it" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 2, "avgRating": 3, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "E", "methodology": "0.3", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 45.4 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 73, "maintenance": 35, "payments": 30, "reliability": 60, "schema": 71, "security": 38, "transparency": 68 }, "provenanceScore": 82 }, "connect": { "install": "pip install chromadb", "http": "curl -s https://api.trychroma.com/api/v2/auth/identity -H \"x-chroma-token: $CHROMA_API_KEY\"", "claudeCode": "claude mcp add chroma -- uvx chroma-mcp --client-type cloud --tenant $CHROMA_TENANT --database $CHROMA_DATABASE --api-key $CHROMA_API_KEY", "config": { "mcpServers": { "chroma": { "args": [ "chroma-mcp", "--client-type", "cloud", "--tenant", "${CHROMA_TENANT}", "--database", "${CHROMA_DATABASE}", "--api-key", "${CHROMA_API_KEY}" ], "command": "uvx" } } } }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/db.vector", "tool": "https://letme.dev/chroma" }, "area": "developer", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Team plan", "unit": "month", "usd": 250, "note": "$100 of usage credit included" }, { "item": "Writes", "unit": "gb", "usd": 2.5, "note": "per logical GiB written" }, { "item": "Storage", "unit": "gb", "usd": 0.33, "note": "per GiB a month" }, { "item": "Data returned by queries", "unit": "gb", "usd": 0.09, "note": "plus $0.0075 per TiB scanned" }, { "item": "Collection fork", "unit": "call", "usd": 0.03 }, { "item": "Sync processing", "unit": "gb", "usd": 0.04, "note": "plus $0.01 per page extracted or scraped" } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Chroma Inc.", "domain": "trychroma.com", "domainRegistered": "2022-03-23", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://www.trychroma.com/terms", "privacy": "https://www.trychroma.com/privacy", "statusPage": "https://status.trychroma.com", "changelog": "https://www.trychroma.com/changelog", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-09-30", "score": 82 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/chroma.json", "live": { "slug": "chroma", "probe": { "target": "https://api.trychroma.com/api/v2", "method": "get", "lastAt": "2026-10-05T03:17:23.974024067Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 200, "lastMs": 258, "authRequired": false, "uptime24h": 100, "uptime30d": 100, "p50ms24h": 257, "p95ms24h": 285, "samples24h": 273, "samples30d": 1140, "days": [ { "date": "2026-09-30", "probes": 35, "ok": 35 }, { "date": "2026-10-01", "probes": 276, "ok": 276 }, { "date": "2026-10-02", "probes": 248, "ok": 248 }, { "date": "2026-10-03", "probes": 271, "ok": 271 }, { "date": "2026-10-04", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-05", "probes": 38, "ok": 38 } ] }, "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://status.trychroma.com", "indicator": "unknown", "summary": "no machine-readable status found", "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T21:39:52.769076939Z" }, "versions": [ { "registry": "github", "name": "chroma-core/chroma", "version": "1.5.9", "released": "2026-05-05", "seenAt": "2026-10-04T16:23:24.769339817Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "chromadb", "version": "3.5.0", "seenAt": "2026-10-04T16:23:22.800825203Z" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "chroma-mcp", "version": "0.2.6", "released": "2025-08-14", "seenAt": "2026-10-04T16:23:23.601490926Z" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "chromadb", "version": "1.5.9", "released": "2026-05-05", "seenAt": "2026-10-04T16:23:22.68008647Z" } ], "githubStars": 29437, "npmWeekly": 307972, "pypiWeekly": 1637601, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://trychroma.com/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "none", "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T15:15:38.334831837Z" }, "llmsTxt": { "url": "https://docs.trychroma.com/llms.txt", "ok": true, "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T15:17:23.964768594Z" }, "domain": { "domain": "trychroma.com", "registered": "2022-03-23", "source": "https://rdap.verisign.com/com/v1/domain/trychroma.com", "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T13:09:39.725378578Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://www.trychroma.com/changelog", "kind": "changelog", "status": 304, "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T15:52:31.760925947Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "301154ea7374" }, { "url": "https://www.trychroma.com/pricing", "kind": "pricing", "status": 304, "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T15:52:33.928957482Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "677e379ceb9f" }, { "url": "https://www.trychroma.com/privacy", "kind": "privacy", "status": 304, "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T15:52:35.910016902Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "489e02b4f673" }, { "url": "https://www.trychroma.com/terms", "kind": "terms", "status": 304, "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T15:52:37.956898787Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "78c6afbde487" } ], "updatedAt": "2026-10-05T03:17:23.974024067Z" } }, "b": { "slug": "pinecone", "name": "Pinecone API + MCP", "vendor": "Pinecone", "vendorUrl": "https://www.pinecone.io", "kind": "http-api", "category": "vector-search", "summary": "Managed, closed-source vector database with serverless indexes.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/pinecone", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/pinecone.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/pinecone.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/pinecone.json", "repo": "https://github.com/pinecone-io/pinecone-mcp", "license": "proprietary (MCP server Apache-2.0)", "transports": [ "http", "stdio", "streamable-http" ], "remoteUrl": "https://api.pinecone.io", "packages": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "@pinecone-database/pinecone" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "pinecone" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@pinecone-database/mcp" } ], "auth": "api-key", "authNotes": "Project API key in the `Api-Key` header, plus `X-Pinecone-Api-Version` to pin the API version. Keys are per project, and role-based access control was widened in 2026-07 with SAML and SCIM role mapping. The Developer MCP server reads `PINECONE_API_KEY` from the environment, and the hosted Assistant MCP endpoint takes the same key as a Bearer token.", "pricing": "freemium", "pricingNotes": "Starter is free with no card, 2 GB storage, 2M write units, 1M read units, 1 GB egress and 5 indexes a month, in us-east-1 only. Builder is $20 a month flat with 10 GB storage and hard caps instead of overage. Standard has a $50 a month minimum and a 3-week trial with $300 of credit. Enterprise has a $500 minimum and a 99.95% uptime SLA. Storage $0.33 per GB a month, write units $4 to $4.50 per million on Standard ($6 to $6.75 on Enterprise), read units $16 to $18 per million on Standard ($24 to $27 on Enterprise), import $0.25 per GB, backup $0.10 per GB a month, egress $0.10 per GB over a 100 GB allowance. Embedding from $0.08 per million tokens, reranking $2 per 1,000 requests. Hosted only, there's no free self-hosted edition (https://www.pinecone.io/pricing/).", "priceSummary": "$20 / mo", "where": "both", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402 or per-call payment support in the docs or pricing (checked 2026-09-30).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": 9, "popularity": { "githubStars": 71, "npmWeekly": 927707, "pypiWeekly": 970217, "asOf": "2026-09-30" }, "docsUrl": "https://docs.pinecone.io", "llmsTxt": "https://docs.pinecone.io/llms.txt", "openapi": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/pinecone-io/pinecone-api/refs/heads/main/2026-07/db_data_2026-07.oas.yaml", "capabilities": [ "db.vector", "db.hybrid", "db.fulltext", "db.filters", "db.serverless" ], "tags": [ "hosted", "freemium", "free-tier", "no-card", "closed-source", "mcp", "llms-txt", "openapi", "python", "typescript", "enterprise" ], "lastRelease": "2026-09-09", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 76.4, "grade": "BB", "agentReady": true, "rank": 28, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 452, "categoryRank": 1, "methodology": "0.3", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 93, "maintenance": 87, "payments": 40, "reliability": 75, "schema": 94, "security": 79, "transparency": 75 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "high", "date": "2026-10-01" }, "negative": -2, "negativeNotes": [ "Since MCP server v0.3.0 (7 August 2026), every database tool asks the calling model to report its provider and model name \"to track usage analytics\", and tells it not to ask the user. The values go to Pinecone with the API calls. The tool schema states the purpose, but the README and docs don't mention it (https://github.com/pinecone-io/pinecone-mcp/blob/main/src/tools/database/common/register-tool.ts)." ], "verdict": "OpenAPI files per API version, quarterly versions with at least 12 months of support each. Nine regional incidents between 9 July and 28 September 2026, four lasting more than an hour.", "strengths": [ "OpenAPI files per API version, quarterly versions with at least 12 months of support each", "Published per-namespace and per-index rate limits, 429 responses and backoff guidance", "MCP tool descriptions say when a tool will fail, and every tool carries readOnly or destructive hints", "SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, HIPAA with a BAA, audit logs and role-scoped API keys", "Free Starter plan with no card" ], "weaknesses": [ "Nine regional incidents between 9 July and 28 September 2026, four lasting more than an hour", "Every MCP database tool asks the model for its provider and model name for analytics, which the README doesn't mention", "The Developer MCP server only works with integrated-embedding indexes and has no read-only mode", "Closed source, with BYOC on Enterprise as the only self-managed option", "Read units, write units, storage and egress are each metered, and Starter stops serving reads at its caps" ], "agentNotes": [ "Send `X-Pinecone-Api-Version: 2026-07` on every call. Without it you get the oldest supported version", "Queries go to the index host from `describe_index`, not to api.pinecone.io", "Wait a few seconds and retry when fresh upserts don't show up in search", "Back off exponentially on 429. There's no `Retry-After` header", "Starter blocks reads once egress or read units run out for the month, so a failing agent may just be out of quota" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 8, "avgRating": 3.5, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "high", "grade": "BB", "methodology": "0.3", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 76.4 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 93, "maintenance": 87, "payments": 40, "reliability": 75, "schema": 94, "security": 79, "transparency": 63 }, "provenanceScore": 86 }, "connect": { "http": "curl -s https://api.pinecone.io/indexes -H \"Api-Key: $PINECONE_API_KEY\" -H \"X-Pinecone-Api-Version: 2026-07\"", "claudeCode": "claude mcp add pinecone -e PINECONE_API_KEY=$PINECONE_API_KEY -- npx -y @pinecone-database/mcp", "config": { "mcpServers": { "pinecone": { "args": [ "-y", "@pinecone-database/mcp" ], "command": "npx", "env": { "PINECONE_API_KEY": "${PINECONE_API_KEY}" } } } } }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/db.vector", "tool": "https://letme.dev/pinecone" }, "area": "developer", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Builder plan", "unit": "month", "usd": 20, "note": "flat, 10 GB storage, hard caps" }, { "item": "Standard plan minimum", "unit": "month", "usd": 50, "note": "usage billed against the minimum" }, { "item": "Enterprise plan minimum", "unit": "month", "usd": 500 }, { "item": "Storage", "unit": "gb", "usd": 0.33, "note": "per GB a month" }, { "item": "Bulk import", "unit": "gb", "usd": 0.25 }, { "item": "Backup", "unit": "gb", "usd": 0.1, "note": "per GB a month" }, { "item": "Egress over allowance", "unit": "gb", "usd": 0.1, "note": "100 GB a month included on Standard and Enterprise" }, { "item": "Reranking", "unit": "1k-requests", "usd": 2 } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Pinecone Systems Inc.", "domain": "pinecone.io", "domainRegistered": "2016-10-20", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://www.pinecone.io/terms/", "privacy": "https://www.pinecone.io/privacy/", "statusPage": "https://status.pinecone.io", "changelog": "https://docs.pinecone.io/release-notes", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-09-30", "score": 86 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/pinecone.json", "live": { "slug": "pinecone", "probe": { "target": "https://api.pinecone.io", "method": "get", "lastAt": "2026-10-05T03:17:30.733884233Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 401, "lastMs": 40, "lastNote": "asks for credentials", "authRequired": true, "uptime24h": 100, "uptime30d": 100, "p50ms24h": 41, "p95ms24h": 92, "samples24h": 273, "samples30d": 1140, "days": [ { "date": "2026-09-30", "probes": 35, "ok": 35 }, { "date": "2026-10-01", "probes": 276, "ok": 276 }, { "date": "2026-10-02", "probes": 248, "ok": 248 }, { "date": "2026-10-03", "probes": 271, "ok": 271 }, { "date": "2026-10-04", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-05", "probes": 38, "ok": 38 } ] }, "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://status.pinecone.io", "indicator": "none", "summary": "All Systems Operational", "checkedAt": "2026-10-05T03:19:14.569953831Z" }, "versions": [ { "registry": "github", "name": "pinecone-io/pinecone-mcp", "version": "v0.3.0", "released": "2026-08-07", "seenAt": "2026-10-04T16:36:33.408663318Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@pinecone-database/mcp", "version": "0.3.0", "seenAt": "2026-10-04T16:36:32.141735764Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@pinecone-database/pinecone", "version": "9.0.0", "seenAt": "2026-10-04T16:36:31.087662333Z" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "pinecone", "version": "10.0.0", "released": "2026-09-03", "seenAt": "2026-10-04T16:36:31.955124175Z" } ], "githubStars": 71, "npmWeekly": 997504, "pypiWeekly": 1005784, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://pinecone.io/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "none", "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T15:16:04.248414975Z" }, "llmsTxt": { "url": "https://docs.pinecone.io/llms.txt", "ok": true, "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T15:18:06.567751285Z" }, "domain": { "domain": "pinecone.io", "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T13:05:10.320553533Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://docs.pinecone.io/release-notes", "kind": "changelog", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T15:43:53.547301589Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-02T15:20:15.909473495Z", "fingerprint": "dbe2b886af2a" }, { "url": "https://docs.pinecone.io/release-notes/2026.md", "kind": "deprecations", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T15:43:55.759270586Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-02T15:20:18.225718539Z", "fingerprint": "eed337dae9b9" }, { "url": "https://www.pinecone.io/pricing/", "kind": "pricing", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T15:51:38.420010854Z", "changedAt": "2026-10-03T15:39:29.335944004Z", "fingerprint": "b277c6900a1f" }, { "url": "https://www.pinecone.io/privacy/", "kind": "privacy", "status": 304, "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T15:51:40.912574741Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "68c298724ada" }, { "url": "https://www.pinecone.io/terms/", "kind": "terms", "status": 304, "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T15:51:42.742827598Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "32dd0db29edb" } ], "updatedAt": "2026-10-05T03:19:14.569953831Z" } }, "summary": "Pinecone API + MCP has a score of 76.4 (BB) against Chroma API + MCP's 45.4 (E). Both do db vector. The largest gap is maintenance \u0026 community, 52 points." }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/chroma-vs-pinecone", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/chroma-vs-pinecone.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/chroma-vs-pinecone.md", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/chroma-vs-pinecone.min.md" }, "markdown": "Pinecone API + MCP has a score of 76.4 (BB) against Chroma API + MCP's 45.4 (E). Both do db vector. The largest gap is maintenance \u0026 community, 52 points.\n\n- Chroma API + MCP: grade E, 45.4/100, rank #400 of 452. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/chroma.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/chroma.json\n- Pinecone API + MCP: grade BB, 76.4/100, rank #28 of 452. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/pinecone.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/pinecone.json\n\n## Which one, for what\n\nPick Chroma API + MCP for nothing in particular (no category where it leads by five points or more).\n\nPick Pinecone API + MCP for reliability (+15), schema \u0026 documentation (+23), agent ergonomics (+20), security \u0026 auth (+41), payments \u0026 pricing (+10), maintenance \u0026 community (+52).\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | Chroma API + MCP | Pinecone API + MCP | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 60 | 75 | Pinecone API + MCP +15 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 71 | 94 | Pinecone API + MCP +23 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 73 | 93 | Pinecone API + MCP +20 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 38 | 79 | Pinecone API + MCP +41 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 30 | 40 | Pinecone API + MCP +10 |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 35 | 87 | Pinecone API + MCP +52 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 75 | 75 | even |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | -10 | -2 | |\n| **Total** | | **45.4 · E** | **76.4 · BB** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | Chroma API + MCP | Pinecone API + MCP |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |\n| Vendor | Chroma | Pinecone |\n| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.trychroma.com/api/v2` | `https://api.pinecone.io` |\n| Transports | HTTP, stdio | HTTP, stdio, Streamable HTTP |\n| Auth | API key | API key |\n| Pricing | Pay per use | Freemium |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Licence | Apache-2.0 | proprietary (MCP server Apache-2.0) |\n| Tools exposed | 13 | 9 |\n| Context cost (tools/list) | n/a | n/a |\n| p95 latency | not measured yet | not measured yet |\n| Availability (30d) | not measured yet | not measured yet |\n| Read-only variant documented | no | no |\n| llms.txt | yes | yes |\n| MCP registry | not listed | not listed |\n| Last release | 2026-06-30 | 2026-09-09 |\n| Popularity | 29k stars, 302k npm/wk, 1.6M PyPI/wk | 71 stars, 928k npm/wk, 970k PyPI/wk |\n| Agent reviews | 3/5 (2) | 3.5/5 (8) |\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**Chroma API + MCP.** Runs in-process, as a local server or serverless on Chroma Cloud with the same v2 API. CVE-2026-45829, CVSS 9.3, has no patched release more than four months after the advisory.\n\n**Pinecone API + MCP.** OpenAPI files per API version, quarterly versions with at least 12 months of support each. Nine regional incidents between 9 July and 28 September 2026, four lasting more than an hour.\n\n## Before you call either\n\n### Chroma API + MCP\n\n1. Don't expose a self-hosted chromadb 1.5.9 server, which has no auth by default and an unpatched code execution flaw\n2. Batch writes in groups of 300 or fewer on Chroma Cloud\n3. Use the Search API for hybrid ranking. The older `query()` only does dense search plus filters\n4. Pass `include` without embeddings, since returned GiB are billed\n5. Don't pass `ollama` to `chroma_create_collection`. The description lists it but the server can't map it\n\n### Pinecone API + MCP\n\n1. Send `X-Pinecone-Api-Version: 2026-07` on every call. Without it you get the oldest supported version\n2. Queries go to the index host from `describe_index`, not to api.pinecone.io\n3. Wait a few seconds and retry when fresh upserts don't show up in search\n4. Back off exponentially on 429. There's no `Retry-After` header\n5. Starter blocks reads once egress or read units run out for the month, so a failing agent may just be out of quota\n\n## Other comparisons with Chroma API + MCP or Pinecone API + MCP\n\n- [Chroma API + MCP vs Epsilla Vector Database](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/chroma-vs-epsilla.md)\n- [Chroma API + MCP vs LanceDB](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/chroma-vs-lancedb.md)\n- [Chroma API + MCP vs Milvus and Zilliz Cloud API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/chroma-vs-milvus-zilliz.md)\n- [Chroma API + MCP vs Qdrant API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/chroma-vs-qdrant.md)\n- [Chroma API + MCP vs Typesense API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/chroma-vs-typesense.md)\n- [Chroma API + MCP vs Upstash Vector API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/chroma-vs-upstash-vector.md)\n- [Chroma API + MCP vs Weaviate API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/chroma-vs-weaviate.md)\n- [Epsilla Vector Database vs Pinecone API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/epsilla-vs-pinecone.md)\n- [LanceDB vs Pinecone API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/lancedb-vs-pinecone.md)\n- [Milvus and Zilliz Cloud API + MCP vs Pinecone API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/milvus-zilliz-vs-pinecone.md)\n- [Pinecone API + MCP vs Qdrant API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pinecone-vs-qdrant.md)\n- [Pinecone API + MCP vs Typesense API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pinecone-vs-typesense.md)\n- [Pinecone API + MCP vs Upstash Vector API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pinecone-vs-upstash-vector.md)\n- [Pinecone API + MCP vs Weaviate API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pinecone-vs-weaviate.md)\n", "meta": { "attribution": "Anchor Terminal (https://www.anchorterminal.com)", "docs": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/docs/", "generatedAt": "2026-10-05", "license": "CC-BY-4.0", "method": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/", "methodology": "0.3", "openapi": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/openapi.json", "preview": false, "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run" }, "page": { "breadcrumbs": [ { "name": "Home", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/" }, { "name": "Compare", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/" }, { "name": "Chroma API + MCP vs Pinecone API + MCP", "url": "" } ], "description": "Pinecone API + MCP has a score of 76.4 (BB) against Chroma API + MCP's 45.4 (E). Both do db vector. The largest gap is maintenance \u0026 community, 52 points. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.", "facts": [ "Chroma API + MCP E 45.4", "Pinecone API + MCP BB 76.4", "scores" ], "h1": "Chroma API + MCP vs Pinecone API + MCP", "image": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/assets/og/compare-chroma-vs-pinecone.png", "path": "/compare/chroma-vs-pinecone", "published": "2026-10-01", "section": "tools", "title": "Chroma API + MCP vs Pinecone API + MCP for AI agents | Anchor Terminal", "toc": null, "updated": "2026-10-05", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/chroma-vs-pinecone" }, "tokens": { "markdown": 1600, "slim": 380 }, "version": 1 }