Milvus vs Weaviate
Milvus: Cloud-native, distributed open-source vector database built for billions of vectors. Weaviate: Open-source AI-native vector database with hybrid search, modules for embeddings and multi-tenancy.
key differences
- Milvus is built for larger datasets (Multi-PB) than Weaviate (≤ 1 PB).
- Only Milvus has change data capture, ttl / expiry, online schema changes, streaming ingest.
- Only Weaviate has geospatial.
- Milvus can run embedded in your application process.
choose milvus for
- +Billion-scale semantic and image search
- +RAG platforms serving many teams
- +Recommendation and deduplication
- +Multimodal retrieval over lakehouse data
best at · Vector search, RAG, Search
choose weaviate for
- +RAG over documents with hybrid retrieval
- +Multi-tenant SaaS semantic search
- +Product and content recommendation
- +Agent memory stores
best at · Vector search, RAG, Search
Milvus vs Weaviate: FAQ
What is the difference between Milvus and Weaviate?
Milvus: Cloud-native, distributed open-source vector database built for billions of vectors. Weaviate: Open-source AI-native vector database with hybrid search, modules for embeddings and multi-tenancy. Milvus is built for larger datasets (Multi-PB) than Weaviate (≤ 1 PB). Only Milvus has change data capture, ttl / expiry, online schema changes, streaming ingest. Only Weaviate has geospatial.
When should I choose Milvus over Weaviate?
Choose Milvus for billion-scale semantic and image search; RAG platforms serving many teams; and recommendation and deduplication. Choose Weaviate for RAG over documents with hybrid retrieval; multi-tenant SaaS semantic search; and product and content recommendation.
Is Milvus or Weaviate more popular?
Milvus ranks #35 on the WhichDB Score (45.9/100) and Weaviate ranks #65 (33.4/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.
Are Milvus and Weaviate open source?
Yes. Milvus is open source. License: Apache License 2.0. Yes. Weaviate is open source. License: BSD-3-Clause (core); enterprise features under the Weaviate License.