pgvector vs Milvus(2026)
pgvector is better for teams that need no new infrastructure. Milvus is the stronger choice if best for large-scale deployments. pgvector is open-source (from $0) and Milvus is open-source (from $0).
Full feature breakdown, pricing details, and pros & cons below.
By Bikram Nath
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pgvector
pgvector adds vector similarity search directly to PostgreSQL — store embeddings alongside your relational data and run nearest-neighbor searches with standard SQL.
Starting at $0
Visit pgvectorMilvus
Milvus is an open-source, cloud-native vector database built for scalable similarity search. Designed for billion-scale vectors with high throughput and low latency.
Starting at $0
Visit MilvusHow Do pgvector and Milvus Compare on Features?
| Feature | pgvector | Milvus |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | open-source | open-source |
| Starting price | $0 | $0 |
| PostgreSQL extension | ✓ | — |
| L2/inner product/cosine distance | ✓ | — |
| IVFFLAT indexing | ✓ | — |
| HNSW indexing | ✓ | — |
| Standard SQL | ✓ | — |
| Works with Supabase/RDS | ✓ | — |
| Exact + ANN search | ✓ | — |
| Open source | — | ✓ |
| Billion-scale vectors | — | ✓ |
| Multiple index types (IVF, HNSW) | — | ✓ |
| Cloud-native (Kubernetes) | — | ✓ |
| Attu GUI | — | ✓ |
| Multi-vector search | — | ✓ |
| Managed (Zilliz Cloud) | — | ✓ |
pgvector Pros and Cons vs Milvus
pgvector
Milvus
Should You Use pgvector or Milvus?
For most teams, pgvector is the better default: it offers no new infrastructure and is open-source (from $0). Choose Milvus instead if best for large-scale deployments matters more than not as fast as dedicated vector dbs at scale. There is no universal winner — the right pick depends on your budget, team size, and whether you value no new infrastructure or best for large-scale deployments more.
Choose pgvector if…
- •No new infrastructure
- •Works with existing Postgres
- •SQL interface
Choose Milvus if…
- •Best for large-scale deployments
- •Active CNCF project
- •Multiple index options