Milvus
An open-source vector database for similarity search in AI applications, from laptop to large clusters.
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About Milvus
Milvus stores vector embeddings and runs fast similarity search over them, which makes it a common backend for retrieval-augmented generation, semantic search and recommendation features. It comes in three forms: Milvus Lite, installed with pip for notebooks and prototypes; Milvus Standalone, a single-machine deployment; and Milvus Distributed, which scales horizontally to billions of vectors.
It integrates with LangChain, LlamaIndex, Haystack, DSPy and others. Related tools include the Attu web GUI, a CLI and a backup utility. Milvus 3.0 adds S3-based storage. A managed version is sold separately as Zilliz Cloud.
Strengths
- Runs from a pip install up to a distributed cluster
- Integrations with major LLM frameworks
- Companion GUI, CLI and backup tools
- Large, active project
Limitations
- Distributed deployments take real operational effort
- A database for developers, not an end-user app
Details
- Pricing
- FreeFree and open source to self-host; a managed version is available as the paid Zilliz Cloud.
- License
- Open source, license not stated
- Developer
- The Milvus contributors
- Platforms
- Linux, Self-hosted
- How it runs
- Downloadable app, Self-hosted
- Account
- Not required
- Works offline
- Yes
- Best suited for
- Developers building semantic search or RAG features who want to host their own vector store
- Categories
- Database tools, AI developer tools
- Last verified
- Added
- Sources
Alternatives to Milvus
Compare allSoftware that can replace Milvus for an important use case, and what changes if you switch.
Qdrant
An open-source vector search engine written in Rust for similarity search in AI applications.
Qdrant is a Rust vector search engine under Apache-2.0 with self-hosted and managed options, though advanced cloud and enterprise features are paid.
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