chromavsWhirl
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| chroma | Whirl | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 79/100 | 52/100 |
| Rank in category | #2 of 5 in Vector Database | #23 of 69 in AI Chat |
| GitHub stars | 29 600 | 510 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +231 | +0 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 7 | 0 |
| Latest release | latest · 24 Jun 2026 | — |
| Setup | Easy | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | Yes | No |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Main language | Rust | Typescript |
Which one should you pick?
chroma scores 79/100 against 52/100 for Whirl, so it is the safer default.
chroma ships more often: 7 stable releases in the past year, against 0 for Whirl.
If you want the quickest setup, chroma is easier to run; Whirl needs more configuration.
chroma is growing faster right now (+231 stars in 30 days).
chroma details →Whirl details →