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Voyage 4 Lite

Voyage 4 Lite is the lightweight Voyage 4 model. Voyage AI reports it approaches voyage-3.5 retrieval accuracy with fewer parameters, shares one embedding space with voyage-4-large and voyage-4, and supports a context window of 32K tokens with Matryoshka dimensions and quantization like the rest of the family.

index.ts
import { embed } from 'ai';


const result = await embed({
  model: 'voyage/voyage-4-lite',
  value: 'Sunny day at the beach',
})

What To Consider When Choosing a Provider

  • Configuration: Use Voyage 4 Lite for queries when voyage-4-large already holds your document vectors, or as a budget option when both sides use the same model and your accuracy targets match Voyage AI's voyage-3.5 positioning. Plan a full re-embed when moving into Voyage 4, and test on a sample before indexing the full corpus.
  • Zero Data Retention: AI Gateway does not currently support Zero Data Retention for this model. See the documentation for models that support ZDR.
  • Authentication: AI Gateway authenticates requests using an API key or OIDC token. You do not need to manage provider credentials directly.

When to Use Voyage 4 Lite

Best For

  • High query traffic: Pair Voyage 4 Lite queries with voyage-4-large document embeddings to keep per-query cost low without re-indexing
  • Cost-sensitive symmetric indexing: Voyage 4 Lite on both sides when voyage-3.5-level retrieval accuracy is sufficient and per-token cost drives the decision
  • Early production and prototypes: Iterate cheaply before upgrading query-side models once traffic patterns stabilize
  • Batch jobs: Large-corpus indexing runs where per-token cost compounds across millions of requests

Consider Alternatives When

  • Higher published average scores: Use voyage-4-large or voyage-4 when retrieval accuracy matters more than per-token cost
  • Code-only corpora: Use voyage-code-3 for repositories where source code is the primary content type
  • Multimodal embeddings: Use a model with native image inputs when you need to embed diagrams, screenshots, or mixed-format documents

Conclusion

Pick Voyage 4 Lite when your embedding bill scales with request volume and you need Voyage 4 generation quality at the tightest possible price point. Route through AI Gateway to swap between Voyage 4 tiers without changing your integration.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • What is the difference between Voyage 4 Lite and voyage-4?

    voyage-4 is the mid-sized Voyage 4 model; Voyage AI reports it approaches voyage-3-large quality. Voyage 4 Lite uses fewer parameters; Voyage AI reports it approaches voyage-3.5 accuracy. Both share the same embedding space as voyage-4-large.

  • How does Voyage 4 Lite compare to voyage-3.5-lite?

    Voyage 4 Lite is a Voyage 4 model with a shared embedding space and updated training. Voyage AI positions it near voyage-3.5 accuracy with fewer parameters. Moving from Voyage 3.x requires re-embedding.

  • What is the context window for Voyage 4 Lite?

    32K tokens. Size chunks so single requests stay under this limit.

  • Is Voyage 4 Lite suitable for production use?

    Yes. Voyage AI targets production for voyage-4-lite, including asymmetric setups with voyage-4-large document embeddings when query cost matters.

  • How do I access Voyage 4 Lite through Vercel AI Gateway?

    Add your Voyage AI API key in AI Gateway settings, then send embedding requests through AI Gateway. AI Gateway authenticates requests and records usage.

  • When should I move from Voyage 4 Lite to voyage-4 or voyage-4-large for queries?

    Move when you need higher query-side accuracy. If documents stay on voyage-4-large, you can upgrade query embeddings to voyage-4 or voyage-4-large without re-vectorizing documents in that asymmetric setup.

  • Do I need to re-embed my data to switch from voyage-3.5-lite?

    Yes. Voyage 3 and Voyage 4 use different embedding spaces, so you re-embed when you change generations.