by Pinecone · pinecone.io ↗
Managed vector database for similarity search and retrieval-augmented AI applications.
Freemium usage-based SaaS with a free Starter tier, a flat monthly Builder tier, monthly minimum-commitment Standard and Enterprise tiers, usage-based overages, and quote-only BYOC / committed-use options.
Pinecone publishes monthly billing for its core plans. Starter is free, Builder is a $20/month flat fee, Standard has a $50/month minimum usage commitment, and Enterprise has a $500/month minimum usage commitment. The docs state that the minimum is a commitment you grow into rather than an extra charge, and that once usage exceeds the minimum you pay only for what you use. Standard also includes a 3 week trial with $300 credits, while the pricing page shows a free Starter start and a Request Trial flow for Enterprise. Pinecone also offers committed-use contracts for larger usage commitments, with bigger discounts and support, but the page does not disclose exact discount percentages.
Starter is for trying out and small applications. Public pricing shows no monthly minimum usage charge, and Assistant limits include 1,000 ingestion units per month, 500,000 input tokens per month, 300,000 output tokens per month, 500,000 context tokens per month, 1 GB file storage per org, 5 assistants per project, and up to 2 users.
Builder has a flat monthly minimum of $20 that covers included usage. In Assistant pricing, additional usage beyond Builder limits is blocked rather than billed. Public limits include 10,000 ingestion units per month, 2,000,000 input tokens per month, 1,000,000 output tokens per month, 2,000,000 context tokens per month, and up to 3 GB file storage per org.
You are charged a minimum of $50 per month. Once your usage exceeds the minimum, you pay as you go. Assistant pricing also shows unlimited assistants, unlimited file storage, unlimited chat and context tokens, and pay-per-unit rates for storage, tokens, ingestion, and evaluation on paid plans.
You are charged a minimum of $500 per month. Once your usage exceeds the minimum, you pay as you go. Enterprise pricing also includes the highest published organization limits in Assistant, including unlimited assistants, unlimited file storage, unlimited chat and context tokens, and unlimited ingestion units.
This tier is positioned for organizations requiring the highest level of security and control. Public pricing does not disclose a numeric price; it instructs buyers to contact Pinecone for pricing.
Starter and Builder plans include free support, with response SLAs available via a Developer or Pro support add-on. The pricing page does not disclose the add-on amount.
The Standard plan lists HIPAA as an add-on. The public pricing page does not disclose a separate price for the add-on.
Enterprise pricing explicitly says Pro support is included, while lower tiers refer to support SLAs via add-on.
A small team experimenting with semantic search or RAG can start on Starter and pay nothing upfront for the base plan.
Expected cost$0 for the Starter plan, plus any usage beyond included limits if applicable to non-Assistant products.A solo developer or small team that wants predictable spending and more headroom than Starter can use Builder.
Expected cost$20/month flat, with included Assistant usage and blocked overages beyond Builder limits in Assistant pricing.A production workload with steady traffic and paid usage can fit Standard when it needs the full set of production features.
Expected costAt least $50/month, then pay-as-you-go above the minimum.An enterprise buyer that needs security, compliance, and private deployment options can choose Enterprise or BYOC.
Expected costAt least $500/month for Enterprise, or quote-only pricing for BYOC.Yes. The public pricing page lists a Starter plan that is free. Starter is positioned for trying out Pinecone and for small applications. The pricing page also lets buyers start for free before moving into paid usage.
Pinecone bills monthly. Standard and Enterprise have monthly minimum usage commitments, and once you pass the minimum you pay as you go for what you use. The docs say the minimum is a commitment you grow into rather than an extra charge, which means the minimum is effectively a floor, not a separate fee on top of usage.
Yes. The Standard plan includes a 3 week trial with $300 credits. The pricing page also shows a Request Trial flow for Enterprise and a Start Free Trial call to action on Standard. No public trial length or credit amount is shown for BYOC.
Enterprise is the highest publicly listed self-serve tier and starts at a $500/month minimum usage commitment. It includes enterprise controls such as BYOC, private networking, customer managed encryption keys, audit logs, and pro support. For buyers needing different deployment models or larger commitments, Pinecone also references quote-only and committed-use paths.
Pinecone describes Dedicated Read Nodes as provisioned read nodes with fixed hourly pricing and says they are for predictable cost and performance. The public materials provided here do not list a fixed dollar amount for DRN, so buyers would need to use the calculator or contact sales for an exact quote. That makes DRN a publicly described but not fully price-disclosed option in the supplied documents.
