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Databases · head to head

RavenDB vs Zilliz

RavenDB logo

RavenDB

Databases

The fully transactional NoSQL document database

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Zilliz logo

Zilliz

Databases

Managed vector database and vector lakebase for AI applications

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: RavenDB the free Developer licence bars commercial use and expires every 6 months, requiring renewal; Zilliz pricing structure not publicly disclosed, requires sales contact
  • They diverge on capability: RavenDB covers ACID Transactions, Zilliz covers Vector indexing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which RavenDB and Zilliz actually diverge.

Attributes where RavenDB and Zilliz differ
AttributeRavenDBZilliz
Pricing modelfreemiumcontact-sales
PlatformsLinux, Windows, Mac, Docker, WebCloud, Self-hosted
Founded20102017

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Databases).

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 RavenDB

  • ACID Transactions
  • Auto-indexing
  • Full-text Search
  • Graph Queries
  • Distributed Counters
  • Time Series
  • Document Compression
  • .NET

Only in Zilliz

  • Vector indexing
  • Distributed architecture
  • SQL interface
  • Tensor support
  • Real-time search
  • Cloud-native
  • Open-source compatible

What people use each for

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

RavenDB

  • Running a distributed document database with ACID transactionsnot Zilliz
  • Self hosting a multi node database cluster on your own hardwarenot Zilliz
  • Replicating operational data out to analytics systems through ETLnot Zilliz

Zilliz

  • Build retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) systemsnot RavenDB
  • Implement semantic search over documentsnot RavenDB
  • Create multimodal search with text and imagesnot RavenDB
  • Power recommendation engines with vector similaritynot RavenDB
  • Enable similarity search on user embeddingsnot RavenDB

Where each one falls short

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

RavenDB

  • The free Developer licence bars commercial use and expires every 6 months, requiring renewal
  • The free Community licence caps a customer at 60 cores and forces you to stay on the latest major version
  • The Professional licence is limited to a single database, a 5 node cluster, 40 cores and 240 GB RAM
  • Sharding across nodes, ETL to OLAP, Elasticsearch and Kafka, and data archival are Enterprise only
  • Enterprise and AI licence pricing is contact us only with no published rate

Zilliz

  • Pricing structure not publicly disclosed, requires sales contact
  • Operational complexity for self-hosted Milvus deployments
  • Learning curve for those unfamiliar with vector databases
  • Limited built-in analytics compared to some alternatives

Pricing, plan by plan

RavenDB

Free
  • CommunityFree
    • 3 cores
    • 6GB RAM
    • Community support
  • Professional$499/year
    • Production use
    • Professional support
    • Advanced features

Zilliz

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Zilliz review.

Which should you pick?

Choose RavenDB if

  • You need acid transactions.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Mac, Docker, Web.
  • You also want auto-indexing.
RavenDB review

Choose Zilliz if

  • You need vector indexing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Cloud, Self-hosted.
  • You also want distributed architecture.
Zilliz review

Questions people ask

Is RavenDB or Zilliz better?
Neither clearly leads. RavenDB starts at Free and Zilliz at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, RavenDB or Zilliz?
RavenDB starts at Free and Zilliz at Free.
Does RavenDB or Zilliz run on more platforms?
RavenDB runs on Linux, Windows, Mac, Docker, Web. Zilliz runs on Cloud, Self-hosted.
Can I use RavenDB for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is RavenDB best used for?
RavenDB is most often used for running a distributed document database with acid transactions, self hosting a multi node database cluster on your own hardware, replicating operational data out to analytics systems through etl. Of those, running a distributed document database with acid transactions and self hosting a multi node database cluster on your own hardware are not what Zilliz is typically brought in for.
What can RavenDB do that Zilliz cannot?
RavenDB covers ACID Transactions, Auto-indexing, Full-text Search, Graph Queries. Zilliz covers Vector indexing, Distributed architecture, SQL interface, Tensor support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

RavenDB: Is RavenDB free or open source?

RavenDB is open source under the AGPLv3 license and available on GitHub. It also offers a free developer license with enterprise-level features limited to 9 cores, 36GB max RAM, 3 nodes, and non-commercial use.

Source
Zilliz: What is the difference between Milvus and Zilliz Cloud?

Milvus is the open-source vector database that you can self-host. Zilliz Cloud is the fully managed service built on Milvus that removes operational overhead and handles scaling automatically.

Source
RavenDB: Can I use RavenDB commercially for free?

RavenDB offers a free Community License that permits commercial deployment with unlimited databases and sizes, subject to a 60-core maximum per customer and requirement to run the latest major version.

Source
Zilliz: How many vectors can Zilliz handle?

Milvus and Zilliz Cloud can store and search billions of vectors through their distributed architecture that separates storage and compute layers.

Source
RavenDB: What commercial licensing options does RavenDB offer?

RavenDB offers Professional, Enterprise, and AI tiers for commercial use. Pricing for these tiers requires contacting their sales team at [email protected].

Source
Zilliz: Is Milvus open-source?

Yes, Milvus is open-source under the Apache License 2.0 and is part of the LF AI & Data Foundation.

Source
RavenDB: Does RavenDB offer a cloud hosting option?

RavenDB Cloud provides a fully managed cloud database with maintenance, failover, and backups included. Pricing is available at cloud.ravendb.net/pricing.

Source
Zilliz: What pricing does Zilliz Cloud offer?

Zilliz Cloud pricing is not publicly listed and requires contacting their team to discuss your specific scale and use case requirements.

Source
RavenDB: Is there a refund window if I purchase RavenDB?

RavenDB offers a 30-day refund window for purchased licenses.

Source
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