From $20 per month · Free plan🇺🇸
Fully managed vector database with integrated embedding models, full-text search and an assistant component for RAG applications.
Milvus overview and key facts (October 2026)
Distributed open-source vector database under the LF AI & Data Foundation, built for billions of vectors and hybrid search.
Free
What is Milvus?
Milvus is an open-source vector database written in Go and C++ for search over large volumes of unstructured data. It is hosted by the LF AI & Data Foundation, with Zilliz as its main contributor, and scales from a local file to distributed Kubernetes clusters.
Milvus separates compute and storage, supports many index types with quantization, multi-tenancy at database, collection or partition level, and hot and cold storage. Security features include mandatory authentication, TLS and role-based access control. The repository has more than 46,000 GitHub stars and was last updated on September 28, 2026. Zilliz offers a managed Milvus service called Zilliz Cloud with a free tier.
Milvus AI features and use cases
- Searches billions of vectorsThe distributed architecture scales horizontally and supports indexes such as DiskANN and GPU acceleration. Large platforms can run image, text or product search over very large collections.
- Combines dense and sparse retrievalMilvus stores dense vectors, BM25 full-text and learned sparse embeddings in one collection and runs hybrid search across them. RAG systems get better recall for exact terms and paraphrases.
- Starts locally before scalingMilvus Lite runs as a local file through the Python SDK. Developers prototype retrieval on a laptop and move to a cluster or Zilliz Cloud with the same client.
What sets Milvus apart
- Governed by the LF AI & Data Foundation under Apache 2.0.
- Kubernetes-native distributed architecture with separate compute and storage.
- Same client for Milvus Lite, self-hosted clusters and Zilliz Cloud.
Where Milvus is strongest
Available internationally
Milvus is an internationally used open-source project without a stated country focus.
Questions to ask before you buy Milvus
Running a distributed Milvus cluster requires Kubernetes skills for upgrades, backups and monitoring. Plan who operates it, or compare the cost of Zilliz Cloud. The Apache 2.0 license allows commercial use. Enable authentication and TLS, since access control must be configured by the operator.
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Questions about Milvus
Is Milvus free for commercial use?
Yes. Milvus is licensed under Apache 2.0, which allows commercial use. You pay only for your own infrastructure or for a managed service.
Who maintains Milvus?
The project is part of the LF AI & Data Foundation, and Zilliz is its major contributor.
Is there a managed version?
Yes. Zilliz Cloud offers Milvus as a managed service with a free tier and paid serverless and dedicated plans.
Milvus update historyno updates yet
No changes recorded for Milvus yet.
Changes the vendor made and confirmed user reports, each checked against the vendor's own pages. We review every tool monthly.
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