Softwr

Machine Learning · head to head

Milvus vs Ory

Milvus logo

Milvus

Machine Learning

Open-source vector database for scalable similarity search

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Ory logo

Ory

Cybersecurity

Open-source identity, authentication, and permissions infrastructure

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Milvus vector dimensions are capped at 32,768; Ory production and Growth plans are billed annually ($770/year and $9,350/year), which is a larger upfront commitment than monthly-only competitors.
  • They diverge on capability: Milvus covers Billion-scale vectors, Ory covers Authentication APIs.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Milvus and Ory actually diverge.

Attributes where Milvus and Ory differ
AttributeMilvusOry
Pricing modelfreemiumusage-based
PlatformsLinux, Mac, Windows, Webweb, api
CategoryMachine LearningCybersecurity
Founded2017Unknown

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 Milvus

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

Only in Ory

  • Authentication APIs
  • Permissions engine
  • Machine-to-machine tokens
  • B2B organizations
  • SAML SSO
  • Multi-region deployments

What people use each for

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

Milvus

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

Ory

  • Adding self-hosted or cloud identity to a new productnot Milvus
  • Implementing fine-grained permission checksnot Milvus
  • Supporting B2B organizations and multi-tenancynot Milvus
  • Building machine-to-machine authentication for microservicesnot Milvus

Where each one falls short

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

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

Ory

  • Production and Growth plans are billed annually ($770/year and $9,350/year), which is a larger upfront commitment than monthly-only competitors.
  • SAML SSO and multi-region deployments are reserved for the custom-priced Enterprise tier.
  • Usage-based pricing across aDAU, M2M tokens, and permission checks makes cost estimation more complex than flat per-MAU billing.

Pricing, plan by plan

Milvus

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

Ory

Free
  • DeveloperFree
    • Community support
    • No production environments
  • Production$64/month
    • $21 monthly credit included
    • 1 production environment
    • 3 staging environments
  • Growth$779/month
    • $255 monthly credit included
    • 2 production environments
    • B2B organizations (max 3)

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Ory if

  • You need authentication apis.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on web, api.
  • You also want permissions engine.
Ory review

Questions people ask

Is Milvus or Ory better?
Neither clearly leads. Milvus starts at Free and Ory at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Milvus or Ory?
Milvus starts at Free and Ory at Free.
Does Milvus or Ory run on more platforms?
Milvus runs on Linux, Mac, Windows, Web. Ory runs on web, api.
Can I use Milvus for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Milvus best used for?
Milvus is most often used for self hosting a vector database for semantic search, storing and querying embeddings for retrieval augmented generation, similarity search over images, audio or text at scale. Of those, self hosting a vector database for semantic search and storing and querying embeddings for retrieval augmented generation are not what Ory is typically brought in for.
What can Milvus do that Ory cannot?
Milvus covers Billion-scale vectors, Multiple index types, GPU acceleration, Hybrid search. Ory covers Authentication APIs, Permissions engine, Machine-to-machine tokens, B2B organizations.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
Ory: What does Ory cost?

Ory has a free Developer tier, a Production plan at $770/year including a $21 monthly credit, a Growth plan at $9,350/year including a $255 monthly credit, and custom Enterprise pricing.

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
Ory: How is usage metered?

Beyond the included credit, Ory charges per average daily active user (aDAU), per machine-to-machine token, and per permission check, with lower per-unit rates on the Growth plan.

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
Ory: What payment methods are supported?

Ory accepts credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, Amex) and bank transfer, processed via Stripe.

Source
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