Softwr

AI · head to head

Banana vs Milvus

Banana logo

Banana

AI

ML inference at scale

From
$1200/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Milvus logo

Milvus

Machine Learning

Open-source vector database for scalable similarity search

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Milvus has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Banana banana shut down its serverless GPU infrastructure on 31 March 2024 at noon PST and told customers to migrate to another provider by that time; Milvus vector dimensions are capped at 32,768
  • They diverge on capability: Banana covers GPU inference, Milvus covers Billion-scale vectors.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Banana and Milvus actually diverge.

Attributes where Banana and Milvus differ
AttributeBananaMilvus
Starting price$1200/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionfreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsCloud, ApiLinux, Mac, Windows, Web
CategoryAIMachine Learning
Founded20212017

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Banana

  • GPU inference
  • Auto-scaling
  • Docker deployment
  • Low latency
  • REST API
  • Python SDK
  • Cloud support
  • Api support

Only in Milvus

  • Billion-scale vectors
  • Multiple index types
  • GPU acceleration
  • Hybrid search
  • Data partitioning
  • PyTorch
  • TensorFlow
  • Hugging Face

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Banana

  • Historically, serverless GPU inference for machine learning modelsnot Milvus
  • Migration reference for teams that ran models on Banana before the 2024 shutdownnot Milvus

Milvus

  • Self hosting a vector database for semantic searchnot Banana
  • Storing and querying embeddings for retrieval augmented generationnot Banana
  • Similarity search over images, audio or text at scalenot Banana

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Banana

  • Banana shut down its serverless GPU infrastructure on 31 March 2024 at noon PST and told customers to migrate to another provider by that time
  • The vendor's own sunset notice names limited runway, retention problems and GPU supply constraints as the reasons for closing
  • The banana.dev site still displays pricing tiers, but every tier links to the sunset notice rather than to a purchase

Milvus

  • Vector dimensions are capped at 32,768
  • A collection is limited to 64 fields, 1,024 partitions and 16 shards
  • Only 1 index is allowed per field
  • Search returns at most 16,384 vectors as top-k, and nq is capped at 16,384
  • Input and output per RPC is capped at 64 MB for insert, search and query
  • VARCHAR values are limited to 65,535 characters
  • Data loaded into query nodes cannot exceed 90% of available memory
  • An instance supports at most 65,536 collections

Pricing, plan by plan

Banana

$1200/month
  • Team$1200/month
    • 10 team members
    • 5 projects
    • 50 max parallel GPUs
  • Enterprise$null/custom
    • Custom seat limit
    • Custom GPU configuration

Milvus

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Full features
    • Self-hosted
    • Community support
  • Zilliz CloudFree
    • Managed service
    • Free tier available

Which should you pick?

Choose Banana if

  • You need gpu inference.
  • You work on Cloud, Api.
  • You also want auto-scaling.
Banana review

Choose Milvus if

  • You need billion-scale vectors.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Mac, Windows, Web.
  • You also want multiple index types.
Milvus review

Questions people ask

Is Banana or Milvus better?
Neither clearly leads. Banana starts at $1200/month and Milvus at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Banana or Milvus?
Milvus has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $1200/month for Banana and Free for Milvus.
Does Banana or Milvus run on more platforms?
Banana runs on Cloud, Api. Milvus runs on Linux, Mac, Windows, Web.
Can I use Milvus for free?
Yes. Milvus has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Banana starts at $1200/month.
What is Banana best used for?
Banana is most often used for historically, serverless gpu inference for machine learning models, migration reference for teams that ran models on banana before the 2024 shutdown. Of those, historically, serverless gpu inference for machine learning models and migration reference for teams that ran models on banana before the 2024 shutdown are not what Milvus is typically brought in for.
What can Banana do that Milvus cannot?
Banana covers GPU inference, Auto-scaling, Docker deployment, Low latency. Milvus covers Billion-scale vectors, Multiple index types, GPU acceleration, Hybrid search.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Banana: How much does Banana's Team plan cost?

The Team plan costs $1,200 per month plus the cost of compute resources at cost with zero markup applied.

Source
Milvus: How much does Milvus cost?

Milvus is open-source and free to use and modify. The self-hosted version has no licensing cost. Zilliz Cloud (the managed SaaS version) does not publish pricing on the website.

Source
Banana: What is the maximum team size on Banana's Team plan?

The Team plan includes 10 team members and supports a maximum of 5 projects with up to 50 parallel GPUs.

Source
Milvus: Is there a free or open-source version of Milvus?

Yes, Milvus is fully open-source and available for free. Milvus Lite is a lightweight option for learning and prototyping that can be installed via pip.

Source
Banana: Does Banana offer an Enterprise plan with custom pricing?

Banana offers an Enterprise plan with custom pricing plus at-cost compute, including SAML SSO, automation API, and dedicated support.

Source
Milvus: Does Milvus offer a managed cloud service?

Yes, Zilliz Cloud is a fully managed Milvus cloud offering with serverless and dedicated cluster options. Pricing must be requested from the company as it is not listed on the public website.

Source
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