Annoy
Vector & Search · Free + paid
Approximate nearest neighbors by Spotify
At a glance
- Made by
- Spotify
- API
- Yes
- Available on
- API
- Open source
- Apache-2.0
- GitHub
- 14,317 stars · Apache-2.0
What is Annoy?
Annoy (Approximate Nearest Neighbors Oh Yeah) is a C++ library that finds points close to a query point, and it provides Python bindings. It builds read-only file-based data structures that are mmapped into memory, so multiple processes can share the same index. Because index creation and loading are separate, you can pass an index around as a file and load it into memory quickly. Spotify uses it in music recommendation to search for similar items among user and track vectors.
- Supports Euclidean, Manhattan, cosine, Hamming, and dot-product distances
- Uses static files as indexes to share an index across processes
- Small memory footprint
- Separation of index creation and lookup
- Native Python support (pip install)
- Disk-based index creation for large datasets that do not fit in memory
Who uses Annoy and for what
- Finding similar users and items in music recommendation (Spotify case)
Pricing
Open source + paid cloud-managed plans
Open-source self-hosting is free, managed cloud is priced by storage/query volume
Estimate based on AI knowledge - please verify on the official site
AI tools similar to Annoy (alternatives)
Annoy vs. alternatives at a glance
| AI | Pricing | Combos on the map | Connected tools | Free | Cheapest monthly | Korean |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annoy | Free + paid | 0 | 2 | — | — | — |
| FAISS | Free + paid | 0 | 2 | — | — | No |
0 of these 2 tools have a free plan.
Combo and connection counts are based on the relationships recorded on AI Galaxy Map (2026-10-26); they are not a quality ranking.
Annoy on AI Galaxy Map
- One of 12 AI tools in the Vector & Search field.
- Connected to 2 other tools — #7 in its field.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use Annoy for free?
Open source + paid cloud-managed plans. Prices can change, so check the official site before paying.
What AI can I use instead of Annoy?
Tools that do the same job, such as FAISS, ScaNN, are connected to it on the map.
Sources (official pages)
Checked on the official pages on 2026-10-14. Prices and features can change, so check the official site again before paying.