Pick Chroma if
app teams who will run chromadb locally or pay Cloud usage after the Starter credits, and already have an embedding model.
Read the Chroma pageChroma vs Zep
Our take
Pick Chroma if app teams who will run chromadb locally or pay Cloud usage after the Starter credits, and already have an embedding model. Pick Zep if teams shipping agents that must remember users across sessions and will stay inside a monthly credit pool.
Best for
Chroma A retrieval index you own
Zep Store episodes and retrieve a Context Block on the next turn
Free plan
Chroma $0 · pip install chromadb
Zep $0 · 10,000 credits / month. 2 projects; 1 Context MCP Server seat; 5 custom entity / edge types. Credits skip rollover and auto-top-up
Lowest paid
Chroma Team (Cloud) $250/mo
Zep Flex Plus $375, monthly only
Coding agent
Chroma
Zep Context MCP Server
Runs where
Chroma Local or hosted
Zep Hosted
Watch out
Chroma You bring the embedding bill
Zep Credits meter Episode size
Last checked
Chroma 2026-10-22 · trychroma.com/pricing
Zep 2026-10-22 · getzep.com/pricing
Which one, then?
Pick Zep if
teams shipping agents that must remember users across sessions and will stay inside a monthly credit pool.
Read the Zep page