shouldiuse.io

VERDICT

Should I use Milvus?

Open-source vector database built for scale - milvus.io

Depends. Buy it if you run AI similarity search at serious scale and have infra staff to operate a distributed database. Skip it for small apps or prototypes — pgvector or a lightweight hosted vector DB does that job with far less pain.

Confidence

Medium. Based on ~20 public sources. Lens-review results for 'Zeiss Milvus' cameras and an unrelated ITSM 'Milvus' were excluded.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support qualityNo support evidence in sources reviewed
  • Security posture

Pricing

Free (self-hosted)

Milvus Open Source

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes
Zilliz CloudPay-as-you-go

Best for

  • RAG and AI search teams at scale
  • Billion-scale similarity search
  • Engineering orgs wanting open source
  • Teams with dedicated DevOps capacity

Not for

  • Hobby projects or apps under ~1M vectors
  • Teams with no DevOps or Kubernetes experience
  • Buyers wanting zero-maintenance managed simplicity
  • Anyone who can't patch promptly after CVEs

Gotchas - check before you buy

high

CVE-2025-64513: unauthenticated auth bypass in the proxy. Patch immediately if internet-exposed.

high

Unauthenticated denial-of-service via management stop affects 2.6.22 and 3.0.0.

medium

Free software, not free to run: infra bills dominate; vendor claims up to 80% optimizable.

medium

Managed path is Zilliz Cloud pay-as-you-go; costs vary with usage at scale.

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Called the fastest open-source vector database by user benchmarks
  • Handles billion-scale image search in documented production cases
  • Open source and free to self-host
  • Won Reddit's bake-off over Qdrant for production ANN search
  • Large community with 35K+ GitHub stars

Cons

  • Distributed system; steep learning curve for vector DB newcomers
  • Authentication bypass CVE disclosed November 2025
  • Self-hosting costs real money despite 'free' label
  • Recurring vulnerabilities across versions demand constant patching discipline

Sources & method

Analyzed 9/20/2026 - 10 sources - Active CVE history through 2025–2026; safe with fast patching.

official x4review x3security x2news x1
  • Unauthenticated authentication bypass in Milvus Proxy (CVE-2025-64513), Disclosed Nov 10, 2025; an unauthenticated attacker could bypass auth. Fix shipped in Milvus 2.5.27 line.
  • Unauthenticated denial of service via management stop, Affects Milvus 2.6.22 and 3.0.0, per VulnCheck advisory (Apr 2026).
  • CVE-2026-26190, Milvus listed in Aqua Security's vulnerability database (Feb 2026); details thin in reviewed sources.
  • Vulnerabilities in official Docker image, GitHub issue flags high/medium/low vulnerabilities in the official Milvus v2.5.8 image.

Key stats

  • Value for money: 5/5

    Rating

  • Free (self-hosted)

    Starting price

  • 10

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 5/5. Free open source; managed option exists
  • Ease of use: 2/5. Distributed architecture; beginners report confusion
  • Feature depth: 5/5. Billion-scale search; users call it fastest open-source
  • Support quality. No support evidence in sources reviewed
  • Security posture: 2/5. Multiple recent unauthenticated vulnerabilities
  • 4.7/5 Review rating 11 reviews (Crystil aggregator)
  • Free Starting price Open source, self-hosted
  • 35K+ GitHub stars Milestone per official blog
  • $60M Funding Zilliz Series B, 2022 (TechCrunch)

Pricing

Milvus Open Source

Free (self-hosted)

  • Full database
  • You own infra and ops

Zilliz Cloud

Pay-as-you-go

  • Fully managed
  • Available via AWS Marketplace

Security

Active CVE history through 2025–2026; safe with fast patching.

  • Unauthenticated authentication bypass in Milvus Proxy (CVE-2025-64513)Disclosed Nov 10, 2025; an unauthenticated attacker could bypass auth. Fix shipped in Milvus 2.5.27 line.³
  • Unauthenticated denial of service via management stopAffects Milvus 2.6.22 and 3.0.0, per VulnCheck advisory (Apr 2026).⁴
  • CVE-2026-26190Milvus listed in Aqua Security's vulnerability database (Feb 2026); details thin in reviewed sources.
  • Vulnerabilities in official Docker imageGitHub issue flags high/medium/low vulnerabilities in the official Milvus v2.5.8 image.

What users say

Users praise Milvus's speed and scale; friction centers on setup complexity and running costs.

“I found Milvus to be the fastest open-source vector”
Reddit, r/vectordatabase
“Hello, I am a bit of a noob when it comes to vector”
Reddit, r/vectordatabase

Companies that use it

  • Reddit²
  • Vipshop
Full analysis

Based on ~20 public sources. Lens-review results for 'Zeiss Milvus' cameras and an unrelated ITSM 'Milvus' were excluded.

Top open-source vector DB for billion-scale AI search; ops-heavy and overkill for small projects. Mind recent CVEs.

Methodology

Based on ~20 public sources. Lens-review results for 'Zeiss Milvus' cameras and an unrelated ITSM 'Milvus' were excluded.

Sources

  1. I found Milvus to be the fastest open-source vector databasereddit.com
    review
  2. Choosing a vector database for ANN search at Redditmilvus.io
    official
  3. CVE-2025-64513 Authentication Bypass Advisorygithub.com
    security
  4. Milvus Unauthenticated DoS via Management Stop — VulnCheckvulncheck.com
    security
  5. How to Cut Vector Database Costs by Up to 80%milvus.io
    official
  6. Zilliz raises $60M, relocates to SF — TechCrunchtechcrunch.com
    news
  7. Zilliz Cloud Pricingzilliz.com
    official
  8. pgvector vs Milvus: 5 key differencesinstaclustr.com
    review
  9. Milvus Review — 4.7 from 11 Reviews (Crystil)growth.crystil.com
    review
  10. Our Journey to 35K+ GitHub Starsmilvus.io
    official

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