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Machine Learning · head to head

Milvus vs Pinecone

Milvus logo

Milvus

Machine Learning

Open-source vector database for scalable similarity search

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Pinecone logo

Pinecone

Machine Learning

Vector database for machine learning

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Milvus vector dimensions are capped at 32,768; Pinecone reads and writes are billed on separate meters, and reads are far more expensive, at $16 to $18 per million against $4 to $4.50 for writes on Standard
  • They diverge on capability: Milvus covers Billion-scale vectors, Pinecone covers Vector similarity search.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Milvus and Pinecone actually diverge.

Attributes where Milvus and Pinecone differ
AttributeMilvusPinecone
PlatformsLinux, Mac, Windows, WebWeb
Founded20172019

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (freemium), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Machine Learning).

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
  • Data partitioning
  • PyTorch
  • TensorFlow
  • Linux support
  • Mac support

Only in Pinecone

  • Vector similarity search
  • Metadata filtering
  • Namespace partitioning
  • Real-time updates
  • OpenAI
  • Cohere

Both cover

  • Hybrid search
  • Hugging Face
  • LangChain
  • LlamaIndex
  • Web support

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 Pinecone
  • Storing and querying embeddings for retrieval augmented generationnot Pinecone
  • Similarity search over images, audio or text at scalenot Pinecone

Pinecone

  • Vector database for AI/ML applicationsnot Milvus
  • Semantic search implementationnot Milvus
  • Recommendation systemsnot Milvus
  • RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) architecturesnot 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

Pinecone

  • Reads and writes are billed on separate meters, and reads are far more expensive, at $16 to $18 per million against $4 to $4.50 for writes on Standard
  • Unit prices vary by region, so the same workload costs different amounts in different places
  • The Standard plan carries a $50 monthly minimum and Enterprise $500, charged whether or not the usage reaches it
  • Enterprise pays more per unit as well as more in minimum, at $24 to $27 per million reads against Standard's $16 to $18
  • Indexes and namespaces are capped by plan, at 5 indexes on the free tier and 20 on Standard
  • RBAC and SSO require the Standard plan

Pricing, plan by plan

Milvus

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

Pinecone

Free
  • StarterFree
    • 2GB storage
    • 2M write units/month
    • 1M read units/month
  • Builder$20/month
    • 10GB storage
    • 5M write units
    • 2M read units
  • Standard$50/month
    • Unlimited storage ($0.33/GB/month)
    • 20 indexes per project
    • 100K namespaces
  • Enterprise$500/month
    • 99.95% uptime SLA
    • BYOC (Bring Your Own Cloud) option
    • Private endpoints

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 Pinecone if

  • You need vector similarity search.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want metadata filtering.
Pinecone review

Questions people ask

Is Milvus or Pinecone better?
Neither clearly leads. Milvus starts at Free and Pinecone at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Milvus or Pinecone?
Milvus starts at Free and Pinecone at Free.
Does Milvus or Pinecone run on more platforms?
Milvus runs on Linux, Mac, Windows, Web. Pinecone runs on Web.
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 Pinecone is typically brought in for.
What can Milvus do that Pinecone cannot?
Milvus covers Billion-scale vectors, Multiple index types, GPU acceleration, Data partitioning. Pinecone covers Vector similarity search, Metadata filtering, Namespace partitioning, Real-time updates. Both handle Hybrid search, Hugging Face, LangChain, LlamaIndex.

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
Pinecone: Does Pinecone offer a free plan?

Yes, Pinecone's Starter tier is free and includes 2GB storage, 2M write units/month, 1M read units/month, and supports up to 2 users and 1 project.

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
Pinecone: What are Pinecone's storage costs on the Standard plan?

On the Standard plan, storage costs $0.33/GB per month. Read units cost $16-18 per million units; write units cost $4-4.50 per million units.

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
Pinecone: What support options does Pinecone provide?

Starter tier includes community Discord support. Builder tier includes free support. Standard tier support costs $29/month for Developer or $250/month for Pro. Enterprise tier includes Pro support.

Source
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