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AI · head to head

CoreWeave vs Milvus

CoreWeave logo

CoreWeave

AI

Specialized cloud for GPU compute

From
$0.35/per-hour
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: CoreWeave gPU nodes are sold as full 8 GPU instances rather than single cards, so the entry cost for an H100 node is $49.24 an hour on demand; Milvus vector dimensions are capped at 32,768
  • They diverge on capability: CoreWeave covers NVIDIA H100/A100, Milvus covers Billion-scale vectors.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CoreWeave and Milvus actually diverge.

Attributes where CoreWeave and Milvus differ
AttributeCoreWeaveMilvus
Starting price$0.35/per-hourFree
Pricing modelusage-basedfreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsCloudLinux, Mac, Windows, Web
CategoryAIMachine Learning

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), founded (2017).

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 CoreWeave

  • NVIDIA H100/A100
  • Kubernetes native
  • High bandwidth
  • Object storage
  • Kubernetes
  • Terraform
  • Cloud APIs
  • Cloud 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.

CoreWeave

  • Renting GPU compute for model training and inferencenot Milvus
  • Running large scale AI workloads without buying hardwarenot Milvus

Milvus

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

Where each one falls short

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

CoreWeave

  • GPU nodes are sold as full 8 GPU instances rather than single cards, so the entry cost for an H100 node is $49.24 an hour on demand
  • Spot pricing is roughly 40% of on demand, at $19.71 an hour for the same H100 node, so predictable capacity carries a large premium
  • The newest hardware carries no published price and requires contacting sales
  • Discounts of up to 60% require committed usage agreements negotiated with sales
  • Only the GH200 is offered as a single GPU instance

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

CoreWeave

$0.35/per-hour
  • Standard$0.35/per-hour
    • Various GPU types
    • Kubernetes
  • EnterpriseFree
    • Dedicated clusters
    • Custom solutions

Milvus

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

Which should you pick?

Choose CoreWeave if

  • You need nvidia h100/a100.
  • You work on Cloud.
  • You also want kubernetes native.
CoreWeave 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 CoreWeave or Milvus better?
Neither clearly leads. CoreWeave starts at $0.35/per-hour and Milvus at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CoreWeave or Milvus?
Milvus has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $0.35/per-hour for CoreWeave and Free for Milvus.
Does CoreWeave or Milvus run on more platforms?
CoreWeave runs on Cloud. 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. CoreWeave starts at $0.35/per-hour.
What is CoreWeave best used for?
CoreWeave is most often used for renting gpu compute for model training and inference, running large scale ai workloads without buying hardware. Of those, renting gpu compute for model training and inference and running large scale ai workloads without buying hardware are not what Milvus is typically brought in for.
What can CoreWeave do that Milvus cannot?
CoreWeave covers NVIDIA H100/A100, Kubernetes native, High bandwidth, Object storage. Milvus covers Billion-scale vectors, Multiple index types, GPU acceleration, Hybrid search.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

CoreWeave: How much does CoreWeave cost?

CoreWeave does not publish pricing on its website. The company uses a quote-based pricing model and directs customers to contact their sales team directly to discuss pricing options and customized solutions.

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
CoreWeave: How can I get a quote from CoreWeave?

To obtain CoreWeave pricing, you must contact their sales team directly through the Contact Us option on their website. They will provide a customized quote based on your specific compute and infrastructure requirements.

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
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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