Side-by-side
| Axis | Qdrant | Weaviate |
|---|---|---|
| Setup time | docker run qdrant/qdrant. 30 seconds. Configure via REST. | docker run semitechnologies/weaviate. 60 seconds. Configure via GraphQL. |
| Security model | Built-in JWT API key auth. RBAC in v1.10+. | OIDC integration, RBAC, multi-tenancy first-class. |
| Model support | BYO embedding model (recommend bge-large or bge-small). | Bundled vectorizers (text2vec, multi2vec) plus BYO option. |
| Cost | Single-node Qdrant runs comfortably on a 4 GB VPS. Cluster mode for production. | Heavier base footprint (~1 GB resident idle). 8 GB VPS minimum. |
| Ecosystem | Smaller but high-quality clients (Python, JS, Go, Rust). | Larger ecosystem, GraphQL-native, more enterprise tooling. |
| Best for | Self-hosted RAG on small VPS, low-ops requirements, BYO embeddings. | Larger production deployments with auth/multi-tenancy needs and operational headcount. |
Verdict
Qdrant for individuals and small teams. Weaviate for organisations that already run GraphQL and need RBAC out of the box. Both are good; the wrong one isn't bad.
Notes
- Both support hybrid search (sparse + dense) as of 2026 — quality difference is small.
- Qdrant's REST API is simpler to debug; Weaviate's GraphQL is more expressive.
- Migration tooling between the two exists but isn't push-button — plan for some downtime if you ever need to switch.
Going deeper
For the full landscape report including hosting economics, security posture and regulatory context, see the 2026 landscape report. For the OpenClaw-specific history, see the complete OpenClaw timeline.
New comparison requests are welcome — subscribe and reply to any edition with your short-list.