chromavsTransformer Lab
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| chroma | Transformer Lab | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 79/100 | 61/100 |
| Rank in category | #2 of 5 in Vector Database | #12 of 25 in LLM Inference |
| GitHub stars | 29 600 | 5 200 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +231 | +3 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 7 | 9 |
| Latest release | latest · 24 Jun 2026 | v0.40.1 · 19 Jun 2026 |
| Setup | Easy | Moderate |
| Official Docker image | Yes | No |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Main language | Rust | Python |
Which one should you pick?
chroma scores 79/100 against 61/100 for Transformer Lab, so it is the safer default.
Transformer Lab ships more often: 9 stable releases in the past year, against 7 for chroma.
If you want the quickest setup, chroma is easier to run; Transformer Lab needs more configuration.
chroma is growing faster right now (+231 stars in 30 days).
chroma details →Transformer Lab details →