Pinecone Transitions to Serverless Usage-Based Pricing, Restructuring Free Tier and Removing All Previous Plans
What happened
Between the Jan 5, 2024 and Apr 1, 2024 captures of Pinecone's pricing page, Pulse recorded 6 changes: Starter plan (Free) discontinued - previously offered single starter pod with single project and shared environment; Enterprise plan removed - previously starting at $0.144/hour with premium support and SLA; Complete transition from pod-based pricing (hourly per pod: $0.096-$0.144/hour) to serverless usage-based pricing (storage: $0.33/GB/mo, reads: $8.25/1M RUs, writes: $2.00/1M WUs); Standard plan removed - previously starting at $0.096/hour with any number of pods/replicas; Free tier restructured from dedicated Starter plan with single pod to serverless model with $100 promotional credits; $100 in usage credits for new serverless users (credits expire June 1, 2024). Pulse files it as a pricing change (plan removed, package change, freemium change, discount added) with a downward direction. Pulse's latest capture (Oct 3, 2026) lists Builder at $20, Standard at $4 Write Units (M) + $0.15 Restore from Backup (GB), Enterprise at $0.1 GB egress per month + $500 subscription, HIPAA Compliance at $190 and Developer Support at $29.
This is the first pricing-page change Pulse has recorded for Pinecone. Pinecone has been tracked since 2023-12-22.
In the same window Qdrant and Elastic also changed their Data & Analytics pricing pages. Those moves are listed further down, and the Pulse Agent can compare them side by side.
- Starter · PlanRemoved
Before- previously offered single starter pod
AfterNot listed
- Enterprise, Premium Support · PlanRemoved- previously startingNo - previously starting
- — · PackagingPackage change
Complete transition from pod-based pricing (hourly per pod: $0.096-$0.144/hour) to serverless usage-based pricing (storage: $0.33/GB/mo, reads: $8.25/1M RUs, writes: $2.00/1M WUs)
- Standard · PlanRemoved- previously startingNo - previously starting
- Starter · Free tierChanged
Beforededicated Starter plan with single pod
Afterserverless model
- — · DiscountDiscount added
$100 in usage credits for new serverless users (credits expire June 1, 2024)
| Plan | Field | Before | After | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | Plan | - previously offered single starter pod | Not listed | Removed |
| Enterprise, Premium Support | Plan | - previously starting | No - previously starting | Removed |
| — | Packaging | Complete transition from pod-based pricing (hourly per pod: $0.096-$0.144/hour) to serverless usage-based pricing (storage: $0.33/GB/mo, reads: $8.25/1M RUs, writes: $2.00/1M WUs) | Package change | |
| Standard | Plan | - previously starting | No - previously starting | Removed |
| Starter | Free tier | dedicated Starter plan with single pod | serverless model | Changed |
| — | Discount | $100 in usage credits for new serverless users (credits expire June 1, 2024) | Discount added | |
Values as written on Pinecone's public pricing page in the two captures Pulse compared; where the page states no number, the cells give the wording before and after.
Evidence
The two captures Pulse comparedFull-page captures of Pinecone's pricing page (pinecone.io) from Jan 5, 2024 and Apr 1, 2024; the change is marked on the page, where the - previously offered single starter pod no longer appears.
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Pinecone, pricing history
Full history- Q4 2024improvedPinecone Increases Standard Plan Namespaces per Index from 10,000 to 25,000, Boosting Capacity by 150%
- Q3 2024improvedPinecone Standard Plan Read Units Price Increased by 94% from $8.25 to $16.00 per 1M, Significantly Impacting Costs
- Q2 2024packagingPinecone Introduces Free Inference API in Public Preview, Expanding Access to AI Capabilities Until July 2024
- Q1 2024packagingPinecone Transitions to Serverless Usage-Based Pricing, Restructuring Free Tier and Removing All Previous Plans · this change
Across Data & Analytics in the same window
All Data & Analytics changes- QdrantJan 12Qdrant Introduces Free Tier for Qdrant Cloud, Previously Starting at $25/Node/Month
- ElasticJan 11Elastic Introduces 99.95% Uptime SLA for Platinum and Enterprise Tiers in Comparison Table
- QdrantJan 12Qdrant Updates Pricing Model: Hybrid Cloud Costs Now Available as 'Custom Price on Request'
- ElasticJan 11Elastic Introduces Self-Managed Deployment Options Across Key Products, Enhancing Control and Customization for Users
- ElasticJan 11Elastic Transforms Pricing Structure to Solution-Based Model, Enhancing Clarity for Elasticsearch, Observability, and Security Deployments
Questions about this change
Did Pinecone raise prices in April 2024?
No list-price increase was recorded between Jan 5, 2024 and Apr 1, 2024. The change Pulse detected was a pricing change: plan removed, package change, freemium change, discount added.
What changed on Pinecone's pricing page between Jan 5, 2024 and Apr 1, 2024?
Starter plan: - previously offered single starter pod → Not listed, removed; Enterprise, Premium Support plan: - previously starting → No - previously starting, removed; Complete transition from pod-based pricing (hourly per pod: $0.096-$0.144/hour) to serverless usage-based pricing (storage: $0.33/GB/mo, reads: $8.25/1M RUs, writes: $2.00/1M WUs); Standard plan: - previously starting → No - previously starting, removed; Starter free tier: dedicated Starter plan with single pod → serverless model, changed; $100 in usage credits for new serverless users (credits expire June 1, 2024). Pulse compared the captures it took on Jan 5, 2024 and Apr 1, 2024; the before/after table above lists each item as written on the page.
How often does Pinecone change its pricing?
Pulse recorded 0 other pricing-page changes for Pinecone in the 90 days before this one; Pinecone has been tracked since 2023-12-22.