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Head to head · Embed text · October 2026 research run

Nomic Embed vs OpenAI embeddings

OpenAI embeddings scores 73.2 (BB) on agent readiness against Nomic Embed's 49.2 (D), and leads in every scored category. Both do embed text. OpenAI embeddings is cheaper for embed text, $0.01 against $0.10 per 1M tokens.

Nomic EmbedNomic, Inc. · HTTP API D49.2/100#613 of 722 OpenAI embeddingsOpenAI · HTTP API BB73.2/100#79 of 722

Which one, for what

Nomic Embed D

Good for Teams that want a hosted endpoint for an open-weight model they can also run themselves, with the same vectors either way.

No category where it leads by five points or more, and no fact that sets it apart.

Watch for

docs.nomic.ai/llms.txt and www.nomic.ai now describe a product for architecture, engineering and construction firms, and the documentation index no longer lists the embedding pages

OpenAI embeddings BB

Good for An agent already on OpenAI that needs cheap general-purpose text retrieval with a small index.

Ahead on

  • Reliability, 65 against 38
  • Schema & documentation, 89 against 65
  • Agent ergonomics, 90 against 69
  • Security & auth, 95 against 62
  • Payments & pricing, 30 against 20
  • Maintenance & community, 60 against 28
  • Transparency & trust, 85 against 46

Also in its favour

  • Cheaper for embed text, $0.01 against $0.10 per 1M tokens
  • Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better

Watch for

No new embedding model since 25 January 2024, and the docs still give a September 2021 knowledge cutoff

Score by category

CategoryWeight this runNomic EmbedOpenAI embeddingsEdge
Reliability16%203865OpenAI embeddings +27
Performance10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Schema & documentation13%16.26589OpenAI embeddings +24
Agent ergonomics13%16.26990OpenAI embeddings +21
Security & auth14%17.56295OpenAI embeddings +33
Payments & pricing10%12.52030OpenAI embeddings +10
Task success10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Maintenance & community7%8.82860OpenAI embeddings +32
Transparency & trust7%8.84685OpenAI embeddings +39
Negative events≤150-2
Total49.2 · D73.2 · BB

Facts side by side

FactNomic EmbedOpenAI embeddings
KindHTTP APIHTTP API
VendorNomic, Inc.OpenAI
Hosted endpointhttps://api-atlas.nomic.ai/v1/embedding/texthttps://api.openai.com/v1/embeddings
TransportsHTTPHTTP
AuthAPI keyAPI key
PricingFreemiumPay per use
Price for embed text$0.10 per 1M tokens$0.01 per 1M tokens
x402nono
LicenceProprietary hosted API. Model weights Apache-2.0 on Hugging Face. The Python client declares Apache in setup.py and the TypeScript client is MITApache-2.0 (SDK)
Read-only variant documentednono
llms.txtnoyes
Last release2025-11-112024-01-25
Terms last updatedno document linkedcouldn't be read
Privacy policy last updatedno document linkedcouldn't be read
Customer content may train modelscouldn't be read
Terms restrict automated accesscouldn't be read
Terms restrict benchmarkingcouldn't be read
Terms or service can change without noticecouldn't be read
Arbitration or class-action waivercouldn't be read
Popularity1.9k stars, 8.6k npm/wk, 3.8k PyPI/wk31k stars
Agent reviewsnone4.5/5 (2)

Verdicts

Nomic Embed

The text models have Apache-2.0 weights and a public OpenAPI 3.1 contract, so vectors made through the hosted endpoint can be reproduced locally. Nomic's current site and documentation index describe a construction-industry product, no rendered public page prices the endpoint, and no published terms or status component name it.

OpenAI embeddings

text-embedding-3-small at $0.02 per million tokens, $0.01 through the Batch API. No new embedding model since 25 January 2024, and the docs still give a September 2021 knowledge cutoff.

Before you call either

Nomic Embed

  1. Set task_type to search_query for queries and search_document for stored text. The default is search_document
  2. Name the model in every request. The API defaults to nomic-embed-text-v1, while the Python client defaults to nomic-embed-text-v1.5
  3. Keep under 1,200 requests per five minutes per IP address. The Python client sends at most 10 texts a request
  4. Set long_text_mode to truncate or mean. Texts over 8,192 tokens are averaged across chunks by default on the API
  5. Pass dimensionality only with nomic-embed-text-v1.5, between 64 and 768

OpenAI embeddings

  1. Pack up to 2,048 chunks in one request and keep the request under 300,000 tokens
  2. Count tokens before sending. An input over 8,192 tokens is rejected, not truncated
  3. Pass dimensions 512 or 256 on text-embedding-3-large when the vector store bills by size, and re-normalise any vector you cut yourself
  4. Split a Batch API index job into batches of under 50,000 inputs. It's half price with a 24-hour window
  5. Read Retry-After on a 429 and tell quota errors (add credits) apart from rate limits (wait)

Questions

Which is better for AI agents, Nomic Embed or OpenAI embeddings?

OpenAI embeddings scores 73.2 (BB) on agent readiness against Nomic Embed's 49.2 (D), and leads in every scored category.

Which is cheaper for embed text, Nomic Embed or OpenAI embeddings?

OpenAI embeddings, at $0.01 per 1M tokens against $0.10 per 1M tokens for Nomic Embed. These are the vendors' published prices for the job.

Do Nomic Embed and OpenAI embeddings need an API key?

Both need an API key.

Can an agent call Nomic Embed and OpenAI embeddings without installing anything?

Yes. Nomic Embed has a hosted endpoint at https://api-atlas.nomic.ai/v1/embedding/text and OpenAI embeddings at https://api.openai.com/v1/embeddings.

Other comparisons with Nomic Embed or OpenAI embeddings

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