Milvus vs Weaviate

Detailed side-by-side comparison to help you choose the right tool

Milvus

🔴Developer

AI Knowledge Tools

Milvus: Open-source vector database to analyze and search billions of vectors with millisecond latency at enterprise scale.

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Starting Price

Free

Weaviate

🔴Developer

AI Knowledge Tools

Open-source vector database enabling hybrid search, multi-tenancy, and built-in vectorization modules for AI applications requiring semantic similarity and structured filtering combined.

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Starting Price

Free

Feature Comparison

Scroll horizontally to compare details.

FeatureMilvusWeaviate
CategoryAI Knowledge ToolsAI Knowledge Tools
Pricing Plans4 tiers4 tiers
Starting PriceFreeFree
Key Features
  • Billion-Scale Vector Search
  • Multiple Index Types (IVF, HNSW, DiskANN, GPU)
  • Hybrid Search (Vector + Scalar Filtering)
  • Workflow Runtime
  • Tool and API Connectivity
  • State and Context Handling

Milvus - Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Enterprise-grade open-source vector database built for scale
  • Handles billion-scale vector datasets efficiently
  • Multiple index types for different performance/accuracy tradeoffs
  • Zilliz Cloud option for managed deployments
  • Strong community and LF AI Foundation backing

Cons

  • Complex setup for self-hosted distributed deployments
  • Heavier resource requirements than lighter alternatives
  • Steeper learning curve due to enterprise feature set
  • Overkill for small-scale prototyping scenarios

Weaviate - Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Open-source vector database with rich hybrid search capabilities
  • Supports both vector and keyword search in one system
  • Built-in module system for vectorization and ML models
  • Self-hostable or managed cloud — flexible deployment options
  • GraphQL API provides powerful and flexible querying

Cons

  • Self-hosting requires significant operational expertise
  • Resource-intensive for large-scale deployments
  • Learning curve for the module and schema system
  • Cloud pricing can be significant for production workloads

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🔒 Security & Compliance Comparison

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Security FeatureMilvusWeaviate
SOC2✅ Yes✅ Yes
GDPR✅ Yes
HIPAA
SSO🏢 Enterprise
Self-Hosted🔀 Hybrid🔀 Hybrid
On-Prem✅ Yes✅ Yes
RBAC✅ Yes✅ Yes
Audit Log
Open Source✅ Yes✅ Yes
API Key Auth✅ Yes✅ Yes
Encryption at Rest✅ Yes✅ Yes
Encryption in Transit✅ Yes✅ Yes
Data ResidencyUS, EU
Data Retentionconfigurableconfigurable
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