What does Pinecone do?
Pinecone is a fully managed vector database for AI search and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), with Pinecone Assistant and hosted embedding and reranking models. Starter is free with 2 GB; Builder is a flat $20/mo; Standard has a $50/mo minimum plus usage. It suits developers adding semantic search or RAG; skip it if you'd rather self-host an open-source vector store.
- Managed vector database. Store and query vector embeddings for semantic search and RAG without running servers; search, upsert and rerank from the same index.
- Namespaces. Split one index into many namespaces, from 100 per index on Starter to 1,000,000 on Enterprise, for example one per customer.
- Pinecone Assistant. A built-in RAG assistant: upload files and get answers grounded in them, billed by Assistant storage and tokens.
- Hosted embedding models. Create embeddings with models such as llama-text-embed-v2 and multilingual-e5-large without a separate provider.
- Reranking. Rerank search results with models such as bge-reranker-v2-m3 and cohere-rerank-4-fast, at $2 per 1,000 requests on paid usage.
- AWS, Azure or GCP. Paid plans run in all available regions on AWS, Azure or Google Cloud; Starter is limited to AWS us-east-1.
- Backups and import. Backups at $0.10/GB/mo, restores at $0.15/GB and bulk import from object storage at $0.25/GB on Standard and Enterprise.
- Developer integrations. Integration options listed on the homepage include Claude Code, Cursor and MCP.
Who is Pinecone for?
Pinecone is a good fit if you're a team lead or a website owner, and you need help building and running AI apps.
How much does Pinecone cost?
Pinecone starts at $20/mo. It also has a free plan. Its pricing page lists a free trial. We checked this on Nov 5, 2026 on the official pricing page.
- Starts at
- $20/mo
- Free plan
- Yes
- Free trial
- 3 weeks with $300 in credits on Standard
Builder, a flat monthly price for up to 10 GB, 5M write units and 2M read units a month. Standard has a $50/mo minimum, then usage ($0.33/GB/mo storage); Enterprise a $500/mo minimum. Starter is free with 2 GB on AWS us-east-1. Checked Nov 5, 2026.
Pinecone plans compared
| Plan | Billed monthly | Billed yearly | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $0 | $0 | Up to 2 GB storage, 2M write units and 1M read units a month, 5 indexes, 1 project, 2 users; AWS us-east-1 only; community support |
| Builder | $20/mo | Not listed | Flat price; up to 10 GB storage, 5M write units and 2M read units a month, 10 indexes per project, 5 projects, 5 users; AWS, Azure or GCP |
| Standard | $50/mo minimum | Not listed | Pay as you go above the minimum: $0.33/GB/mo storage, $4–$4.50 per million write units, $16–$18 per million read units; unlimited users, 20 projects; HIPAA add-on $190/mo; 3-week trial with $300 credits |
| Enterprise | $500/mo minimum | Not listed | $6–$6.75 per million write units, $24–$27 per million read units; 99.95% uptime SLA, Pro support, 200 indexes per project, 100 projects |
Checked on Nov 5, 2026 with a US-based fetch. Standard and Enterprise are minimum monthly commitments: you pay the minimum or your usage, whichever is higher. Write and read unit rates are ranges because they vary by cloud and region. Egress is $0.10/GB on Standard and Enterprise with 100 GB a month included. Assistant, embedding and reranking usage is included up to a limit on Starter and Builder, then billed by tokens or requests (for example llama-text-embed-v2 at $0.16 per million tokens and reranking at $2 per 1,000 requests). No yearly price is listed. Bring-your-own-cloud and Dedicated Read Nodes are quoted by sales.
Checked Nov 5, 2026 on Pinecone's pricing page. Prices change often, so confirm before you buy.
Pinecone pros and cons
What stands out
- Free Starter plan with 2 GB and hosted models
- Flat $20/mo Builder plan for predictable small projects
- Embedding, reranking and an assistant in the same service
- Runs on AWS, Azure or GCP on paid plans
- Homepage lists SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA, GDPR and ISO 27001
- 3-week Standard trial with $300 in credits
Watch out for
- Standard has a $50/mo minimum even at low usage
- Usage pricing in read and write units takes estimating
- HIPAA costs an extra $190/mo on Standard
- Starter is limited to one AWS region
- Enterprise starts at a $500/mo minimum
Based on Pinecone's own pages, not hands-on testing.
What are the alternatives to Pinecone?
We list 4 other AI Dev & Infrastructure tools: Netlify, Nixtla, Runpod, TheTop. Each one below shows its starting price and when you might pick it instead.
Nixtla · Custom pricingChoose Nixtla if you'd like a second option to compare for building and running AI apps.
Compared in
Pinecone FAQ
How much does Pinecone cost?
As of Nov 5, 2026: Starter is free, Builder is a flat $20/mo, Standard has a $50/mo minimum plus usage, and Enterprise a $500/mo minimum plus usage.
Is Pinecone free?
Yes. Starter is free with up to 2 GB of storage, 2M write units and 1M read units a month, 5 indexes and 2 users, on AWS us-east-1.
What does the $50 minimum on Standard mean?
You pay at least $50 a month. If your usage (storage, reads, writes and other items) costs more, you pay the usage instead.
Does Pinecone have a free trial?
Standard comes with a 3-week trial that includes $300 in credits.
What are read units and write units?
They are how Pinecone meters queries and data writes. Standard charges $16–$18 per million read units and $4–$4.50 per million write units, depending on cloud and region.
Can Pinecone create embeddings for me?
Yes. It hosts embedding models such as llama-text-embed-v2 ($0.16 per million tokens on paid usage) and multilingual-e5-large ($0.08), with monthly allowances on Starter and Builder.
What is Pinecone Assistant?
A built-in RAG assistant that answers questions from files you upload. Starter includes 1 GB of Assistant storage and Builder 3 GB; Standard pays $3/GB/mo plus token fees.
Who is Pinecone best for?
Developers building semantic search, RAG or AI agents who want a managed vector database. Teams comfortable running their own infrastructure may prefer a self-hosted open-source option.
Sources and how we checked
- Official pricing page, checked Nov 5, 2026
- Official website
- Pinecone homepage: products, integrations, compliance (read Nov 5, 2026), checked Nov 5, 2026