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Machine Learning · head to head

Milvus vs Weaviate

Milvus logo

Milvus

Machine Learning

Open-source vector database for scalable similarity search

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Weaviate logo

Weaviate

Machine Learning

Open-source vector database

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Milvus vector dimensions are capped at 32,768; Weaviate the free tier caps at 100,000 objects, 1 GB of memory and a single collection
  • They diverge on capability: Milvus covers Billion-scale vectors, Weaviate covers Vector and keyword search.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Milvus and Weaviate actually diverge.

Attributes where Milvus and Weaviate differ
AttributeMilvusWeaviate
Founded20172019

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (freemium), free tier (Yes), platforms (Linux, Mac, Windows, Web), 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

Only in Weaviate

  • Vector and keyword search
  • Built-in vectorizers
  • GraphQL API
  • Multi-tenancy
  • OpenAI
  • Cohere

Both cover

  • Hybrid search
  • Hugging Face
  • LangChain
  • LlamaIndex
  • Linux support
  • Mac support
  • Windows support
  • 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 Weaviate
  • Storing and querying embeddings for retrieval augmented generationnot Weaviate
  • Similarity search over images, audio or text at scalenot Weaviate

Weaviate

  • Running a vector database for semantic and hybrid searchnot Milvus
  • Generating and storing embeddings alongside the objects they describenot 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

Weaviate

  • The free tier caps at 100,000 objects, 1 GB of memory and a single collection
  • Billing is per million vector dimensions rather than per record, so wider embeddings cost proportionally more for the same object count
  • Premium is a prepaid contract starting at $400 a month rather than pay as you go
  • Storage rates do not fall consistently with tier, and Premium Dedicated is $0.1505 per GiB against $0.12 on the cheaper Flex plan
  • The Query Agent is metered separately, free to 1,000 requests a month and $30 a month plus overage beyond

Pricing, plan by plan

Milvus

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

Weaviate

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Full features
    • Self-hosted
  • ServerlessFree
    • Managed service
    • Auto-scaling

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 Weaviate if

  • You need vector and keyword search.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Mac, Windows, Web.
  • You also want built-in vectorizers.
Weaviate review

Questions people ask

Is Milvus or Weaviate better?
Neither clearly leads. Milvus starts at Free and Weaviate at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Milvus or Weaviate?
Milvus starts at Free and Weaviate at Free.
Does Milvus or Weaviate run on more platforms?
Both run on Linux, Mac, Windows, Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
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 Weaviate is typically brought in for.
What can Milvus do that Weaviate cannot?
Milvus covers Billion-scale vectors, Multiple index types, GPU acceleration, Data partitioning. Weaviate covers Vector and keyword search, Built-in vectorizers, GraphQL API, Multi-tenancy. 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
Weaviate: What pricing options does Weaviate offer?

Weaviate provides a free tier with usage-based pricing, plus enterprise options. Visit the pricing page for detailed information on plans.

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.

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Weaviate: Does Weaviate offer customer support?

Yes, support is included with Weaviate's cloud offerings. Enterprise customers receive first-class support from their global team of experts.

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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
Weaviate: Can I deploy Weaviate on my own infrastructure?

Yes. Weaviate is open source and deployment-agnostic. You can run it in your own cloud environment or use their managed cloud service.

Source
Weaviate: What data security features does Weaviate provide?

Weaviate includes security & governance, RBAC, SOC 2 and HIPAA compliance, along with multi-tenancy and high availability for enterprise requirements.

Source
Weaviate: How do I get started with Weaviate?

Sign up for their cloud tier, create your first dataset, connect an LLM, and build your AI app. Documentation and quickstart guides are available for Python, Go, TypeScript, and JavaScript.

Source
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