Comparison

Cohere Embed vs FastEmbed

On the evidence we track, Cohere Embed leads this comparison with a composite score of 65/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Machine formatsMarkdownJSONGraphQLMarkdown is open. JSON and GraphQL need a free key.
★Cohere Embed65
FastEmbed57
Score
vioscaleAI score
Cohere Embed65 / 100medium · 60%
FastEmbed57 / 100medium · 54%
Pricing
Free tier
Cohere Embed✓
FastEmbed✓
Model
Cohere Embedfreemium
FastEmbedopen_source
Price level
Cohere Embedlow
FastEmbedfree
Starting price
Cohere Embed$0.10
FastEmbed–
Transparent
Cohere Embed✓
FastEmbed–
Integrations
Count
Cohere Embed–
FastEmbed3
Security
Certifications
Cohere EmbedSOC 2 Type II
FastEmbed–
Disclosure policy
Cohere Embed✓
FastEmbed–
Gdpr
Cohere Embed✓
FastEmbed–
Soc2
Cohere Embed✓
FastEmbed–
Trust center
FastEmbed–
Adoption
Dependent repos
Cohere Embed–
FastEmbed4
Github stars
Cohere Embed–
FastEmbed3,244
Activity
Commits last 30d
Cohere Embed–
FastEmbed71
Release
Cadence days
Cohere Embed–
FastEmbed33
History
Cohere Embed–
FastEmbed20 items
License
Spdx
Cohere Embed–
FastEmbedApache-2.0
Language
Primary
Cohere Embed–
FastEmbedPython
Market
Availability
FastEmbed–
Content
Faq
Cohere Embed6 items
FastEmbed3 items

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for embeddings apis. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Capabilities
Architecture model
Cohere EmbedManaged cloud API
FastEmbedOpen weights local
Matryoshka representation learning for dimension truncation
Cohere Embed-
FastEmbed-
Multilingual support across 100 plus languages
Cohere Embed✓
FastEmbed✓
Binary and scalar quantization for memory reduction
Cohere Embed-
FastEmbed✓
Cross encoder reranker API offered
Cohere Embed-
FastEmbed✓
Late interaction architecture colbert v2
Cohere Embed-
FastEmbed✓
Massive context window greater than 8k tokens
Cohere Embed-
FastEmbed✓
Multi modal image and text joint embeddings
Cohere Embed✓
FastEmbed✓
Task specific prefixes query vs document instructions
Cohere Embed-
FastEmbed✓
Zero data retention training opt out enterprise
Cohere Embed✓
FastEmbed-
SOC2 type ii
Cohere Embed✓
FastEmbed-
Mit or apache permissive oss license
Cohere Embed-
FastEmbed✓
Pricing model
Cohere EmbedPer million tokens API
FastEmbedFree open weights

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

Cohere Embed

Leader

A family of embedding models designed to encode text into numerical vectors for retrieval, semantic search, and machine learning tasks across multiple languages and use cases.

Independently observed

FastEmbed

FastEmbed is a Python library that generates text and image embeddings using ONNX Runtime, eliminating the need for large PyTorch dependencies. It supports various embedding models including sparse embeddings, late-interaction models, and cross-encoders, making it suitable for serverless and resource-constrained environments.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

Cohere Embed

Leader
from $0.10/operationUsage-basedFree tier

Free test tier; production on consumption basis

  • TestFree
    • Rate-limited API access
  • ProductionPay-as-you-go; billed at month-end or when $250 balance reached
    • Production API keys
    • Scalable usage
as of verify ↗

FastEmbed

Open sourceFree tier
as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platforms
Web
Cohere Embed✓
FastEmbed–
CLI
Cohere Embed✓
FastEmbed–
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
Cohere Embed✓
FastEmbed✓
Self-hosted
Cohere Embed✓
FastEmbed✓
On-premise
Cohere Embed✓
FastEmbed✗
Hybrid
Cohere Embed✓
FastEmbed✗

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

Cohere Embed

Leader

Not documented yet.

FastEmbed

3 total
  • Qdrant
  • Langchain
  • Llama Index
Independently observed
Still deciding?

Cohere Embed or FastEmbed: which one depends on you

A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.

Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.