Software · head to head
Weaviate vs Domino Data Lab
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Weaviate the free tier caps at 100,000 objects, 1 GB of memory and a single collection; Domino Data Lab pricing is by quote only: the pricing page publishes no rate and no minimum, and the tier breakdown is behind a downloadable datasheet form
- They diverge on capability: Weaviate covers Vector and keyword search, Domino Data Lab covers Reproducible environments.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Weaviate and Domino Data Lab actually diverge.
| Attribute | Weaviate | Domino Data Lab |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | freemium | subscription |
| Platforms | Linux, Mac, Windows, Web | Web |
| Founded | 2019 | 2013 |
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).
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 Weaviate
- Vector and keyword search
- Built-in vectorizers
- GraphQL API
- Multi-tenancy
- Hybrid search
- OpenAI
- Hugging Face
- Cohere
Only in Domino Data Lab
- Reproducible environments
- Model registry
- Model monitoring
- Collaboration
- Governance
- AWS
- Azure
- GCP
Both cover
- Web support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Weaviate
- Running a vector database for semantic and hybrid searchnot Domino Data Lab
- Generating and storing embeddings alongside the objects they describenot Domino Data Lab
Domino Data Lab
- Running reproducible data science workspaces and experiments on shared computenot Weaviate
- Deploying and monitoring models with governance controlsnot Weaviate
- Giving regulated enterprises a self managed MLOps platformnot Weaviate
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
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
Domino Data Lab
- Pricing is by quote only: the pricing page publishes no rate and no minimum, and the tier breakdown is behind a downloadable datasheet form
- Licensing is split by user type, with separate data science professional, data analyst, service account and admin licences
- FinOps, Nexus and Governance are paid add on modules rather than part of the platform
- Support level is a separate priced choice
- Self managed VPC or on premises deployment requires the Premium tier or higher
- No free trial is offered on the pricing page
Pricing, plan by plan
Weaviate
Free- Open SourceFree
- Full features
- Self-hosted
- ServerlessFree
- Managed service
- Auto-scaling
Domino Data Lab
Free- TrialFree
- 14-day trial
- Full features
- EnterpriseFree
- Full platform
- Enterprise support
- SLA
Which should you pick?
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.
Choose Domino Data Lab if
- You need reproducible environments.
- You want to start without paying.
- You also want model registry.
Questions people ask
- Is Weaviate or Domino Data Lab better?
- Neither clearly leads. Weaviate starts at Free and Domino Data Lab at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Weaviate or Domino Data Lab?
- Weaviate starts at Free and Domino Data Lab at Free.
- Does Weaviate or Domino Data Lab run on more platforms?
- Weaviate runs on Linux, Mac, Windows, Web. Domino Data Lab runs on Web.
- Can I use Weaviate for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Weaviate best used for?
- Weaviate is most often used for running a vector database for semantic and hybrid search, generating and storing embeddings alongside the objects they describe. Of those, running a vector database for semantic and hybrid search and generating and storing embeddings alongside the objects they describe are not what Domino Data Lab is typically brought in for.
- What can Weaviate do that Domino Data Lab cannot?
- Weaviate covers Vector and keyword search, Built-in vectorizers, GraphQL API, Multi-tenancy. Domino Data Lab covers Reproducible environments, Model registry, Model monitoring, Collaboration. Both handle Web support.