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Spreadsheets · head to head

Mathesar vs Milvus

Mathesar logo

Mathesar

Spreadsheets

Spreadsheet style interface that edits an existing PostgreSQL database directly, with no schema of its own

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Milvus logo

Milvus

Machine Learning

Open-source vector database for scalable similarity search

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Mathesar there is no hosted offering of any kind, so a team without someone who can run and secure a server cannot use it at all.; Milvus vector dimensions are capped at 32,768
  • They diverge on capability: Mathesar covers Direct PostgreSQL editing, Milvus covers Billion-scale vectors.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Mathesar and Milvus actually diverge.

Attributes where Mathesar and Milvus differ
AttributeMathesarMilvus
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feefreemium
PlatformsWeb, LinuxLinux, Mac, Windows, Web
CategorySpreadsheetsMachine Learning
FoundedUnknown2017

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), 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 Mathesar

  • Direct PostgreSQL editing
  • PostgreSQL permissions
  • Schema editing
  • Data exploration
  • Relationship navigation
  • Import of tabular files
  • Self hosted only

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.

Mathesar

  • A nonprofit or research group whose data is already in PostgreSQL and whose staff cannot write SQLnot Milvus
  • Giving analysts a safe editing interface governed by database roles that already existnot Milvus
  • Replacing a hand built Django or Rails admin screen that nobody wants to maintainnot Milvus
  • Editing production reference data where an export, edit and reimport cycle would risk losing concurrent changesnot Milvus

Milvus

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

Where each one falls short

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

Mathesar

  • There is no hosted offering of any kind, so a team without someone who can run and secure a server cannot use it at all.
  • It works only with PostgreSQL, so a MySQL, SQL Server or SQLite estate is excluded outright.
  • There are no automations, no webhooks and effectively no integration catalogue, so it edits data and does nothing else.
  • Because it writes to the live database, a careless bulk edit or column type change is a production change with no staging step and no undo.
  • Development is grant and community funded rather than commercially funded, so roadmap pace and long term continuity carry a different risk profile from a venture backed vendor.

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

Mathesar

Free
  • Self hosted open sourceFree
    • No licence fee
    • No hosted option offered
    • Connects to your existing PostgreSQL database

Milvus

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

Which should you pick?

Choose Mathesar if

  • You need direct postgresql editing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux.
  • You also want postgresql permissions.
Mathesar 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 Mathesar or Milvus better?
Neither clearly leads. Mathesar 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, Mathesar or Milvus?
Mathesar starts at Free and Milvus at Free.
Does Mathesar or Milvus run on more platforms?
Mathesar runs on Web, Linux. Milvus runs on Linux, Mac, Windows, Web.
Can I use Mathesar for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Mathesar best used for?
Mathesar is most often used for a nonprofit or research group whose data is already in postgresql and whose staff cannot write sql, giving analysts a safe editing interface governed by database roles that already exist, replacing a hand built django or rails admin screen that nobody wants to maintain, editing production reference data where an export, edit and reimport cycle would risk losing concurrent changes. Of those, a nonprofit or research group whose data is already in postgresql and whose staff cannot write sql and giving analysts a safe editing interface governed by database roles that already exist are not what Milvus is typically brought in for.
What can Mathesar do that Milvus cannot?
Mathesar covers Direct PostgreSQL editing, PostgreSQL permissions, Schema editing, Data exploration. Milvus covers Billion-scale vectors, Multiple index types, GPU acceleration, Hybrid search.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Mathesar: Is there a cloud version?

No. Self hosting is the only option, and that is a deliberate project decision rather than a gap waiting to be filled.

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
Mathesar: How does it handle permissions?

Through PostgreSQL roles and privileges directly, so there is no second permission model to keep in step.

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
Mathesar: What is the row limit?

Whatever PostgreSQL can handle. Mathesar adds no storage layer of its own.

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
Mathesar: Does it support databases other than PostgreSQL?

No.

Mathesar: Can it replace Airtable?

Only for editing and exploring data. There are no automations, apps or integrations.

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