Softwr

Machine Learning & Data Science · head to head

DVC vs Milvus

DVC logo

DVC

Machine Learning & Data Science

Data version control for machine learning projects

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Milvus logo

Milvus

Machine Learning & Data Science

Open-source vector database for scalable similarity search

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: DVC dVC is Apache 2.0 licensed open source with no enterprise tier or paid support offering documented in the project itself; teams needing SLA-backed support get nothing from the DVC project directly.; Milvus vector dimensions are capped at 32,768
  • They diverge on capability: DVC covers Data versioning, Milvus covers Billion-scale vectors.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which DVC and Milvus actually diverge.

Attributes where DVC and Milvus differ
AttributeDVCMilvus
Pricing modelopen-sourcefreemium
PlatformsLinux, Mac, WindowsLinux, Mac, Windows, Web
Founded20182017

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Machine Learning & Data Science).

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 DVC

  • Data versioning
  • Pipeline management
  • Experiment tracking
  • Remote storage
  • Git integration
  • Git
  • S3
  • Azure Blob

Only in Milvus

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

Both cover

  • Linux support
  • Mac support
  • Windows support

What people use each for

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

DVC

  • Machine learningnot Milvus
  • Data analysisnot Milvus
  • Model trainingnot Milvus
  • Predictive analyticsnot Milvus

Milvus

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

Where each one falls short

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

DVC

  • DVC is Apache 2.0 licensed open source with no enterprise tier or paid support offering documented in the project itself; teams needing SLA-backed support get nothing from the DVC project directly.

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

DVC

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Data versioning
    • Pipeline management
    • Experiment tracking
  • DVC StudioFree
    • Web UI
    • Team collaboration
    • Visualizations

Milvus

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

Which should you pick?

Choose DVC if

  • You need data versioning.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Mac, Windows.
  • You also want pipeline management.
DVC 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 DVC or Milvus better?
Neither clearly leads. DVC starts at Free and Milvus at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, DVC or Milvus?
DVC starts at Free and Milvus at Free.
Does DVC or Milvus run on more platforms?
DVC runs on Linux, Mac, Windows. Milvus runs on Linux, Mac, Windows, Web.
Can I use DVC for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is DVC best used for?
DVC is most often used for machine learning, data analysis, model training, predictive analytics. Of those, machine learning and data analysis are not what Milvus is typically brought in for.
What can DVC do that Milvus cannot?
DVC covers Data versioning, Pipeline management, Experiment tracking, Remote storage. Milvus covers Billion-scale vectors, Multiple index types, GPU acceleration, Hybrid search. Both handle Linux support, Mac support, Windows support.
ShareXLinkedInRedditWhatsAppEmail

Related pages

More on DVC

More on Milvus

Keep looking

Other head to heads