In this paper, micro indentation studies were carried out on the samples made of partially coated barium titanate thin film deposited over the silicon substrate using pulsed laser deposition technique. Direct and indirect indentation was carried out on the coating to estimate the fracture toughness of barium titanate thin film. Fracture toughness estimation in the direct and indirect indentation methods is through the stress-based and energy-based approaches, respectively. Fracture toughness estimate through direct indentation resulted in a 30% overestimate. Detailed finite element models were developed for both direct and indirect indentation. Cohesive surfaces were incorporated in the numerical models to capture the indentation radial cracks accurately. Unlike the direct method, in the indirect method, indentation was carried out on the substrate at an offset distance from the coating on the partially coated sample. Through experiments and numerical simulations, it was found that offset distance (7–27 μm) in the indirect method has low sensitivity on the estimation of fracture toughness of barium titanate for the load levels of 0.98 to 2.94 N. Thereby making the indirect method easier and more appropriate for fracture toughness estimation. © 2022 Elsevier B.V.