ElasticsearchThe search database for AI
vs
WeaviateThe AI database developers love
Comparison · Vector Databases · weekly run Nov 2
Elasticsearch vs Weaviate
Which one do AI engines recommend, and how do they differ on price, fit and features?
The short answer
Weaviate is the stronger AI pick in Vector Databases: it has a visibility score of 45.2 versus 14.3 for Elasticsearch, and ranks ahead in 89% of the answers that name both.
Choose Elasticsearch if…
- You need ISO/IEC 27001 or ISO/IEC 27017 or ISO/IEC 27018 or ISO/IEC 27701 or FedRAMP Moderate or FedRAMP High or PCI DSS or HIPAA or CSA STAR coverage
- You prefer a larger, established vendor (1,001–5,000 employees)
- Strongest general enterprise choice for vector search alongside full-text search, logs, and analytics
- Widely deployed, often cited as the most widely deployed vector-capable search engine
Choose Weaviate if…
- You want the brand AI engines rank higher (45.2 vs 14.3)
- AI answers describe it more positively (59% vs 30% positive)
- You need HIPAA (Enterprise Cloud on AWS) coverage
- Strong native hybrid search
AI visibility side by side
Latest weekly run · Nov 2
| Metric | Elasticsearch | Weaviate |
|---|---|---|
| Visibility score | 14.3% | 45.2% |
| Change vs last week | New | New |
| Rank in Vector Databases | #7 | #4 |
| Share of voice | 5.1% | 11.7% |
| Mentions this run | 24 | 56 |
| Positive in AI answers | 30% | 59% |
The stronger value in each row is marked with a ✓.
Visibility score trend
Weekly runs over the last 60 days
Elasticsearch 0pp · Weaviate 0pp over 0 weekly runs.
Engine by engine
Weaviate leads on 3 of 3 engines
ChatGPT
AI Mode
Perplexity
ElasticsearchWeaviate
Head to head in AI answers
19 engine answers name both brands
2Elasticsearch ranked higher
17Weaviate ranked higher
| Prompt | Engine | Elasticsearch | Weaviate |
|---|---|---|---|
| What is a vector database and when does a company need one? | ChatGPT | #6 | #4 |
| How do I choose a vector database for a mid-market team? | ChatGPT | #7 | #4 |
| How do companies store and search embeddings without a dedicated tool? | ChatGPT | #3 | #9 |
| What are the best Vector Databases tools in 2026? | ChatGPT | #8 | #3 |
| What are the best Vector Databases tools in 2026? | AI Mode | #7 | #4 |
| What are the best Vector Databases tools in 2026? | Perplexity | #7 | #4 |
| Top vector database options for B2B SaaS companies | Perplexity | #6 | #4 |
| Best vector database for enterprise | Perplexity | #1 | #6 |
| Compare the leading Vector Databases platforms | ChatGPT | #7 | #3 |
| Compare the leading Vector Databases platforms | Perplexity | #6 | #2 |
| Which vector database has the best reviews? | AI Mode | #5 | #4 |
| Alternatives to the most popular vector database | ChatGPT | #8 | #3 |
Features, pricing & fit
| Dimension | Elasticsearch | Weaviate |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | — | Usage-based |
| Entry price | — | Free; paid from $45 / mo |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Deployment | Elastic Cloud Serverless, Elastic Cloud Hosted, or self-managed on premises, in private, hybrid or air-gapped environments. | Serverless, Enterprise Cloud, or Bring Your Own Cloud |
| Compliance | SOC 2 Type II, ISO/IEC 27001, ISO/IEC 27017, ISO/IEC 27018, ISO/IEC 27701, FedRAMP Moderate, FedRAMP High, PCI DSS, HIPAA, CSA STAR | SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA (Enterprise Cloud on AWS) |
| Support | Four support tiers depending on Elastic Cloud subscription tier, 99.95% monthly uptime SLA for Platinum and Enterprise tiers | Email support on all plans, Phone and Slack support on Premium and Dedicated plans, Technical Account Team add-on on Premium and Dedicated plans |
| Founded | 2012 | 2019 |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, California | Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Employees | 1,001–5,000 | 51–200 |
| Funding | IPO (NYSE) | Strategic investment (Ricoh corporate venture fund) |
| Best for | Teams building AI search, RAG and vector applications, and organizations that want search, observability and security on one data platform. | Development teams and enterprises building search, RAG and agent applications who want an open-source, production-ready vector database. |
Plans side by side
Elasticsearch
Pricing not available.
Weaviate
Free$0month
Flex$45month minimum, pay-as-you-go
Premium SharedCustomprepaid contract (from $400/month minimum)
Premium DedicatedCustomprepaid contract
Pros and cons
Themes from the AI answers that mention each brand
Elasticsearch
- Strongest general enterprise choice for vector search alongside full-text search, logs, and analytics
- Widely deployed, often cited as the most widely deployed vector-capable search engine
- Hybrid keyword-plus-semantic search via dense vectors and inverted indexes
- Suited to consolidated stacks and broader search, logging, analytics, or observability platforms
- Existing infrastructure can be leveraged
- Smaller community and ecosystem than PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB
Weaviate
- Strong native hybrid search
- Open-source and modular AI-native design
- Free tier or trial to start
- Flexible indexing and configurable managed service
- Published pricing with an annual-commitment option
- Monthly minimum charges
- Higher tiers priced steeply above entry plan
Data collected ·ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Mode·coverage 100%·next run
Cite as: SlateIndex, “Elasticsearch vs Weaviate”, https://slateindex.ai/compare/elasticsearch-vs-weaviate, data of Nov 2, 2026. Licence: CC BY 4.0.