Turbopuffer vs Weaviate
A comparison of Turbopuffer and Weaviate built from values read directly from each provider's own documentation, with the source recorded against every figure.
The short answer
- Pick Turbopuffer if
- Teams that want vector search billed like storage rather than compute — object-storage-backed pricing tends to undercut memory-resident vector databases at rest, especially for large, cold datasets.
- Pick Weaviate if
- Teams that want hybrid search included on every tier without an add-on, or that want an always-free cluster (not a time-limited trial) to build against before committing to a paid plan.
3 sourced criteria separate them:
- Entry paid plan
- Turbopuffer: Launch plan: $16/month minimum usage, including all database features. Scale plan: $256/month minimum. Enterprise: $4,096+/month.
- Weaviate: Flex tier starts at $45/month, pay-as-you-go, no commitment.
- Pricing model
- Turbopuffer: Subscription with a monthly minimum per tier, plus usage-based overage charges beyond that minimum.
- Weaviate: Consumption-based, charged on total vector dimensions stored plus storage, backups and optional AI services. Flex pricing starts around $0.00465 per 1M dimensions.
- Hybrid search (vector + keyword)
- Turbopuffer: Supported — combines vector search and BM25 full-text search to produce semantically relevant results.
- Weaviate: Supported across all plans.
Pick the criteria you care about. The chart counts how many of them lean toward each provider — the same read as scanning the bars below, just totalled for the ones you chose.
Turbopuffer 0
Weaviate 0
At a glance.
| Criterion | Turbopuffer | Weaviate |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | ||
| Entry paid plan | Launch plan: $16/month minimum usage, including all database features. Scale plan: $256/month minimum. Enterprise: $4,096+/month. | Flex tier starts at $45/month, pay-as-you-go, no commitment. |
| Pricing model | Subscription with a monthly minimum per tier, plus usage-based overage charges beyond that minimum. | Consumption-based, charged on total vector dimensions stored plus storage, backups and optional AI services. Flex pricing starts around $0.00465 per 1M dimensions. |
| Vector | ||
| Hybrid search (vector + keyword) | Supported — combines vector search and BM25 full-text search to produce semantically relevant results. | Supported across all plans. |
Where they differ.
Entry paid plan
- Turbopuffer
- Launch plan: $16/month minimum usage, including all database features. Scale plan: $256/month minimum. Enterprise: $4,096+/month.
- Weaviate
- Flex tier starts at $45/month, pay-as-you-go, no commitment.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Turbopuffer Pricing ↗
“$16/month minimum usage. Includes all database features. [Scale] $256. [Enterprise] $4,096+.”
Read 2026-09-11 · official pricing
- Weaviate Cloud Pricing ↗
“Flex: Starts at $45/mo. Pay-as-you-go, monthly, no commitment.”
Read 2026-09-11 · official pricing
Pricing model
- Turbopuffer
- Subscription with a monthly minimum per tier, plus usage-based overage charges beyond that minimum.
- Weaviate
- Consumption-based, charged on total vector dimensions stored plus storage, backups and optional AI services. Flex pricing starts around $0.00465 per 1M dimensions.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Turbopuffer Pricing ↗
“Minimum monthly commitments ($16 Launch, $256 Scale, $4,096+ Enterprise), plus usage-based overage charges.”
Read 2026-09-11 · official pricing
- Weaviate Cloud Pricing ↗
“Vector dimensions pricing varies by index type, compression method, and region. [...] from $0.00465 / 1M [dimensions].”
Read 2026-09-11 · official pricing
Hybrid search (vector + keyword)
- Turbopuffer
- Supported — combines vector search and BM25 full-text search to produce semantically relevant results.
- Weaviate
- Supported across all plans.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Turbopuffer documentation ↗
“turbopuffer supports vector search and BM25 full-text search. Combining them produces semantically relevant search results.”
Read 2026-09-11 · official docs
- Weaviate Cloud Pricing ↗
“Hybrid search [supported across all plans].”
Read 2026-09-11 · official pricing
When these numbers change, hear about it. Sources are re-checked monthly; a repricing goes out as a short note.
Which should you choose?
Choose Turbopuffer if…
Teams that want vector search billed like storage rather than compute — object-storage-backed pricing tends to undercut memory-resident vector databases at rest, especially for large, cold datasets.
Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved
Choose Weaviate if…
Teams that want hybrid search included on every tier without an add-on, or that want an always-free cluster (not a time-limited trial) to build against before committing to a paid plan.
Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved
Consider something else if…
- Turbopuffer: The full list of supported similarity metrics matters before committing — that wasn't fully documented in what's sourced here, unlike competitors that publish the complete list.
- Weaviate: Predictable flat pricing matters more than granular control — per-dimension consumption billing means cost scales with embedding choices in a way a flat per-month plan doesn't.
Documented by only one.
These criteria are published by one provider and not the other. An absence here means we have not found a source, not that the feature is missing.
Questions this comparison answers.
Entry paid plan: Turbopuffer or Weaviate?
Turbopuffer: Launch plan: $16/month minimum usage, including all database features. Scale plan: $256/month minimum. Enterprise: $4,096+/month.
Weaviate: Flex tier starts at $45/month, pay-as-you-go, no commitment.
Should I choose Turbopuffer or Weaviate?
Pick Turbopuffer if Teams that want vector search billed like storage rather than compute — object-storage-backed pricing tends to undercut memory-resident vector databases at rest, especially for large, cold datasets.
Pick Weaviate if Teams that want hybrid search included on every tier without an add-on, or that want an always-free cluster (not a time-limited trial) to build against before committing to a paid plan.