specification: FinOps Framework
specificationVersion: '1.0'
schema: https://www.finops.org/framework/
provider: Chroma
providerId: chroma
created: '2026-05-04'
# Provenance stamped 2026-08-11: this artifact was written by the API Evangelist
# bulk sweep dated 2026-05-04, not harvested from the provider. See roadmap#35.
method: generated
modified: '2026-05-05'
reconciled: true
tags:
  - AI
  - Vector Database
  - Retrieval
  - Serverless
  - FinOps
  - FOCUS
description: 'FOCUS-aligned FinOps for Chroma Cloud: hybrid Subscription + Pay-As-You-Go on four
  primitives (Write, Storage, Query, Network) with monthly credits on Starter and Team, and
  custom-priced Enterprise (including BYOC).'
sources:
  - https://www.trychroma.com/pricing
  - https://docs.trychroma.com/
alignedWith:
  framework: FinOps Foundation Framework
  frameworkUrl: https://www.finops.org/framework/
  dataSpec: FOCUS
  dataSpecVersion: '1.3'
  dataSpecUrl: https://focus.finops.org/focus-specification/v1-3/
publisherName: Chroma, Inc.
serviceCategory: AI Infrastructure / Vector Database
billingModel:
  pricingCategory: Subscription + Pay-As-You-Go
  billingFrequency: Monthly
  billingCurrency: USD
  chargeCategories:
    - Usage
    - Purchase
    - Credit
    - Tax
    - Adjustment
focusColumns:
  ServiceName: Chroma Cloud
  ServiceCategory: AI Infrastructure / Vector Database
  ProviderName: Chroma
  PublisherName: Chroma, Inc.
  InvoiceIssuerName: Chroma, Inc.
  BillingCurrency: USD
  ChargeCategory: Usage
  PricingCategory: Pay-As-You-Go
meters:
  - name: write
    description: GiB written into Chroma Cloud collections
    unit: GiB
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - database
      - collection
      - tenant
  - name: storage
    description: GiB-month of vector and metadata storage
    unit: GiB-month
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - database
      - tenant
  - name: query
    description: TiB scanned by similarity, full-text, and metadata queries
    unit: TiB
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - database
      - collection
      - tenant
  - name: network
    description: GiB of response data returned over the network
    unit: GiB
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - database
      - tenant
  - name: plan_fee
    description: Monthly Team / Enterprise plan fee
    unit: month
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - plan
  - name: seats
    description: Team member seats consumed (Team / Enterprise)
    unit: seat
    aggregation: max
    dimensions:
      - plan
principles:
  - name: Visibility
    description: Track Chroma Cloud spend through the in-product usage dashboard (Write GiB, Storage
      GiB-month, Query TiB, Network GiB) and the credit-burn ledger.
  - name: Allocation
    description: Tag spend by database and tenant — Chroma's primitives align naturally with
      database / collection boundaries for showback to AI features.
  - name: Optimization
    description: Reduce dimensionality, batch writes, prune stale collections, cache frequent queries
      upstream, and right-size embeddings to lower Storage and Query meters.
  - name: Accountability
    description: AI / ML teams own collection design and recall quality; platform engineering owns
      Chroma cost dashboards; finance reconciles invoices and credit consumption.
maintainers:
  - FN: Kin Lane
    email: kin@apievangelist.com