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Machine Learning · head to head

LangChain vs Weaviate

LangChain logo

LangChain

Machine Learning

Build applications with LLMs through composability

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Weaviate logo

Weaviate

Machine Learning

Open-source vector database

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: LangChain the free Developer plan of LangSmith is limited to 1 seat; Weaviate the free tier caps at 100,000 objects, 1 GB of memory and a single collection
  • They diverge on capability: LangChain covers Chains and agents, Weaviate covers Vector and keyword search.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which LangChain and Weaviate actually diverge.

Attributes where LangChain and Weaviate differ
AttributeLangChainWeaviate
PlatformsLinux, Mac, WindowsLinux, Mac, Windows, Web
Founded20222019

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (freemium), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Machine Learning).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in LangChain

  • Chains and agents
  • Retrieval-augmented generation
  • Memory management
  • Tool integration
  • Prompt templates
  • Anthropic
  • Pinecone
  • Chroma

Only in Weaviate

  • Vector and keyword search
  • Built-in vectorizers
  • GraphQL API
  • Multi-tenancy
  • Hybrid search
  • Cohere
  • LangChain
  • LlamaIndex

Both cover

  • OpenAI
  • Hugging Face
  • Linux support
  • Mac support
  • Windows support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

LangChain

  • Building LLM applications and agents in Python or JavaScriptnot Weaviate
  • Tracing and debugging LLM chains and agent runsnot Weaviate
  • Evaluating prompt and model changes against datasetsnot Weaviate

Weaviate

  • Running a vector database for semantic and hybrid searchnot LangChain
  • Generating and storing embeddings alongside the objects they describenot LangChain

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

LangChain

  • The free Developer plan of LangSmith is limited to 1 seat
  • Base traces are retained for 14 days only; 400 day retention costs extra
  • Included traces are capped at 5,000 per month on Developer and 10,000 per month on Plus, with everything beyond billed pay as you go
  • Self hosted and hybrid deployment of LangSmith is Enterprise only
  • Custom SSO, RBAC and ABAC are Enterprise only
  • A support SLA is Enterprise only
  • Enterprise pricing is by quote with no published rate

Weaviate

  • The free tier caps at 100,000 objects, 1 GB of memory and a single collection
  • Billing is per million vector dimensions rather than per record, so wider embeddings cost proportionally more for the same object count
  • Premium is a prepaid contract starting at $400 a month rather than pay as you go
  • Storage rates do not fall consistently with tier, and Premium Dedicated is $0.1505 per GiB against $0.12 on the cheaper Flex plan
  • The Query Agent is metered separately, free to 1,000 requests a month and $30 a month plus overage beyond

Pricing, plan by plan

LangChain

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Full framework
    • Community support
  • LangSmith$39/month
    • Debugging
    • Monitoring
    • Testing

Weaviate

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Full features
    • Self-hosted
  • ServerlessFree
    • Managed service
    • Auto-scaling

Which should you pick?

Choose LangChain if

  • You need chains and agents.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Mac, Windows.
  • You also want retrieval-augmented generation.
LangChain review

Choose Weaviate if

  • You need vector and keyword search.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Mac, Windows, Web.
  • You also want built-in vectorizers.
Weaviate review

Questions people ask

Is LangChain or Weaviate better?
Neither clearly leads. LangChain starts at Free and Weaviate at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, LangChain or Weaviate?
LangChain starts at Free and Weaviate at Free.
Does LangChain or Weaviate run on more platforms?
LangChain runs on Linux, Mac, Windows. Weaviate runs on Linux, Mac, Windows, Web.
Can I use LangChain for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is LangChain best used for?
LangChain is most often used for building llm applications and agents in python or javascript, tracing and debugging llm chains and agent runs, evaluating prompt and model changes against datasets. Of those, building llm applications and agents in python or javascript and tracing and debugging llm chains and agent runs are not what Weaviate is typically brought in for.
What can LangChain do that Weaviate cannot?
LangChain covers Chains and agents, Retrieval-augmented generation, Memory management, Tool integration. Weaviate covers Vector and keyword search, Built-in vectorizers, GraphQL API, Multi-tenancy. Both handle OpenAI, Hugging Face, Linux support, Mac support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

LangChain: Does LangChain charge for its services?

LangChain's main website does not display pricing. However, LangSmith (a related platform) offers both free and paid plans. Visit the dedicated pricing page or contact LangChain for details.

Source
Weaviate: What pricing options does Weaviate offer?

Weaviate provides a free tier with usage-based pricing, plus enterprise options. Visit the pricing page for detailed information on plans.

Source
LangChain: How can I learn about LangChain pricing?

Click on the Pricing link in navigation or use the Try LangSmith or Get a demo options to explore pricing for LangChain's commercial offerings.

Source
Weaviate: Does Weaviate offer customer support?

Yes, support is included with Weaviate's cloud offerings. Enterprise customers receive first-class support from their global team of experts.

Source
Weaviate: Can I deploy Weaviate on my own infrastructure?

Yes. Weaviate is open source and deployment-agnostic. You can run it in your own cloud environment or use their managed cloud service.

Source
Weaviate: What data security features does Weaviate provide?

Weaviate includes security & governance, RBAC, SOC 2 and HIPAA compliance, along with multi-tenancy and high availability for enterprise requirements.

Source
Weaviate: How do I get started with Weaviate?

Sign up for their cloud tier, create your first dataset, connect an LLM, and build your AI app. Documentation and quickstart guides are available for Python, Go, TypeScript, and JavaScript.

Source
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