# chroma vs scalar

> Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.

| | chroma | scalar |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 79/100 ✓ | 76/100 |
| Rank in category | #2 of 5 in Vector Database | #3 of 13 in API |
| GitHub stars | 29 600 ✓ | 16 336 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +231 ✓ | +147 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 7 | 46 ✓ |
| Latest release | latest · 24 Jun 2026 | release-2026-10-28-0d01943 · 28 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Easy | Easy ✓ |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Main language | Rust | Typescript |

## Which one should you pick?

chroma scores 79/100 against 76/100 for scalar, so it is the safer default.

scalar ships more often: 46 stable releases in the past year, against 7 for chroma.

## Details

- [chroma](https://selfhost.directory/project/chroma) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/chroma.md)
- [scalar](https://selfhost.directory/project/scalar) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/scalar.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/chroma-vs-scalar