What cloud platforms and regions does Pinecone support?
Pinecone runs on AWS, GCP, and Microsoft Azure. Availability varies by plan. The Starter and Builder plans are currently on AWS only, with other clouds coming soon. The Standard and Enterprise plans support all three clouds in their available regions.
How does the free trial work, and what happens when it ends?
The Standard plan offers a 3-week free trial with $300 in credits. When the trial ends, you are moved to the pay-as-you-go model with a $50 minimum monthly usage. If you don't exceed $50, you are still billed that amount.
What are the key limits on the free Starter plan?
The free Starter plan includes up to 2 GB of storage, 2 million write units per month, and 1 million read units per month. It allows up to 5 indexes, with a maximum of 100 namespaces per index.
How is the Builder plan priced?
The Builder plan is a flat $20 per month. It includes increased usage limits over the Starter plan (10 GB storage, 5M writes, 2M reads per month) and supports up to 10 indexes and 1,000 namespaces per index.
What does the Standard plan's usage-based pricing mean?
The Standard plan has a $50 minimum monthly usage fee. You pay for what you use above this amount. For example, storage costs $0.33 per GB per month, and read units cost between $16 and $18 per million, depending on the cloud and region.
What additional features does the Enterprise plan provide?
The Enterprise plan adds a 99.95% Uptime SLA, private networking, customer-managed encryption keys, audit logs, service accounts, admin APIs, and HIPAA compliance. It also includes Pro support and starts at a $500 monthly minimum.
Can I choose where my data is stored?
Yes, on the Standard and Enterprise plans, you can choose your cloud provider and specific region. The Builder plan will add this option soon. The Starter plan is currently limited to the us-east-1 region on AWS.
What security and compliance certifications does Pinecone have?
Pinecone is SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, and ISO 27001 certified. HIPAA compliance is available as an add-on for the Standard plan and is included in the Enterprise plan. All plans include encryption at rest and in transit.
What support options are available?
Community support via Discord is available on the free Starter plan. Paid support is included in the Builder and Standard plans, with response SLAs available as an add-on. The Enterprise plan includes Pro support.
Can I bring my own cloud (BYOC) to Pinecone?
Yes, Pinecone offers a Bring-Your-Own-Cloud (BYOC) deployment. It runs in your own cloud account and VPC, using private connectivity like AWS PrivateLink. This provides zero-access operations and is suitable for high-security requirements.
How does Pinecone handle backups and restoration?
Backup and restore features are available on the Standard and Enterprise plans. Backups cost $0.10 per GB per month, and restoration costs $0.15 per GB. You can also import data from object storage for $1 per GB.
What is the difference between per-seat and per-usage pricing?
Pinecone's pricing is primarily based on usage (storage, reads, writes). The Builder plan is a flat monthly fee. The Standard and Enterprise plans charge based on actual resource consumption, with a minimum monthly fee. Number of users is managed via plan limits, not per-seat fees.
What happens if I need to cancel my plan?
Not explicitly stated on the official site. You should consult the Terms of Service or contact Pinecone support for specific cancellation and refund policies.
Are there any limits on namespaces or indexes?
Yes, each plan has different limits. For example, the Starter plan allows 5 indexes and 100 namespaces per index. The Enterprise plan allows 200 indexes per project and 100,000 namespaces per index.
What is the onboarding and migration process?
Not explicitly detailed on the official site. The website emphasizes fast setup and easy integration, and offers support. For complex migrations, you would likely engage with their sales or support team for assistance.