MariaDB vs Milvus comparison

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MariaDB and The Milvus Project are both solutions in the Open Source Databases category. MariaDB is ranked #9 with an average rating of 8.4, while The Milvus Project is ranked #14. MariaDB holds a 5.6% mindshare in OSD, compared to The Milvus Project’s 4.6% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of MariaDB users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of The Milvus Project users who would recommend it.

MariaDB

Read 62 MariaDB reviews

7,586 Views
4,172 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

Milvus

Read 5 Milvus reviews

4,841 Views
2,856 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

MariaDB

Milvus

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 2026

MariaDB and Milvus compete in the database management space, with MariaDB specializing in traditional relational databases and Milvus focusing on vector similarity search. MariaDB has an advantage in cost-effective relational data handling, while Milvus excels in advanced vector processing for specialized applications.

Features: MariaDB provides features like scalability, complex querying, and robust security, making it suitable for handling significant relational data tasks. Milvus, on the other hand, supports large-scale data indexing, real-time similarity search, and seamless integration with machine learning frameworks, making it ideal for specialized data processing tasks.

Room for Improvement: MariaDB could enhance its vector handling capabilities and offer more seamless integrations with emerging technologies. Additionally, it may benefit from improved user interface designs and performance monitoring tools. Milvus could improve its user-friendliness for those new to vector databases, optimize the learning curve, and expand its integrations with additional data processing tools.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: MariaDB is straightforward to deploy, leveraging SQL familiarity for easy integration and setup with existing systems. Its established customer service is a significant benefit. Milvus uses a flexible cloud-native deployment model but may present a learning curve due to its specialized nature. Its customer support is tailored to its niche focus.

Pricing and ROI: MariaDB typically has lower initial setup costs, appealing to businesses managing relational databases. In contrast, Milvus requires a higher investment, justifiable by its advanced vector processing capabilities, offering substantial ROI in data-intensive applications requiring specialized analysis.

To learn more, read our detailed MariaDB vs. Milvus Report (Updated: September 2026).

Buyer's Guide

MariaDB vs. Milvus

September 2026

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

MariaDB

Ranking in Open Source Databases

9th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Relational Databases Tools (9th)

Milvus

Ranking in Open Source Databases

14th

Average Rating

7.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Vector Databases (13th)

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Open Source Databases category, the mindshare of MariaDB is 5.6%, down from 6.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Milvus is 4.6%, down from 5.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Open Source Databases Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
MariaDB	5.6%
Milvus	4.6%
Other	89.8%

Open Source Databases

Featured Reviews

Anand Bandi

Co-Founder at Vsigma IT Labs Pvt Ltd

Has supported web application data needs but requires design adjustments to manage complex queries efficiently

Complex queries in MariaDB where the query needs to parse thousands of lines or data values face some performance issues. For small and medium-size volume, it is pretty good. If it goes beyond certain data and complex queries, we see performance issues. We tried the advanced replication feature between different regions, replicating data specifically residing on MariaDB to two different regions of MariaDB data, and there were some technical snags in terms of slowness and longer processing time. Point-in-time recovery in MariaDB is good for small databases. When data volume increases beyond 5 GB or 10 GB per day or runs into double-digit GBs, we found some performance issues. For data below 10 GB, it works fine. Performance is the primary focus area for MariaDB, particularly during transactions or complex query jobs where slow performance is observed. MariaDB is scalable and easy to scale.

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Sameer Bhangale

Leader, Data Science Practice at a computer software company with 5,001-10,000 employees

Provides quick and easy containerization, but documentation is not very user-friendly

Milvus' documentation is not very user-friendly and doesn't help me get started quickly. Chroma DB provides super user-friendly documentation, enabling new users to get started quickly. Chroma DB's setup doesn't have many dependencies, whereas Milvus usually comes with some dependencies because of the way it needs to be deployed. Unlike Milvus, it's very easy to do POCs with Chroma DB.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"It is very simple to install, and the commands are exactly the same as MySQL."

"It is a scalable solution. It easily scales up and scales down."

"The product has been stable and reliable."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is the query speed it offers."

"MariaDB performs well as the backend database for our cloud-based telephony solution."

"The product is easy to use and not hard to learn, therefore, when someone asks me for a good DB to use, then I tell them about MariaDB."

"MariaDB is easy to install and is stable and scalable."

"MariaDB is scalable."

More MariaDB pros

"I like the accuracy and usability."

"Milvus has good accuracy and performance."

"Milvus offers multiple methods for calculating similarities or distances between vectors, such as L2 norm and cosine similarity. These methods help in comparing different vectors based on specific use cases. For instance, in our use case, we find that the L2 distance works best, but you can experiment with different methods to find the most suitable one for your needs."

"The best feature of Milvus was finding the closest chunk from a huge amount of data."

"The solution is well containerized, and since containerization is quick and easy for me, I can scale it up quickly."

Cons

"The stability of the solution isn't perfect."

"It would be helpful if I could specify multiple drives for the database storage."

"The stability could always continue to be improved upon."

"It would be good if they can maybe improve the mass import in the database."

"The customer service and support are okay. But the response time is slow. Moreover, the material is not available freely."

"It should work across all fields like SQLite, as it is the basis of any application, even apps for phones and the like."

"The maintenance and performance could be a bit better."

"Lacks time series data and additional driving support would be helpful."

More MariaDB cons

"Milvus has higher resource consumption, which introduces complexity in implementation."

"I've heard that when we store too much data in Milvus, it becomes slow and does not work properly."

"Milvus' documentation is not very user-friendly and doesn't help me get started quickly."

"Milvus could make it simpler. Simplifying the requirements and making it more accessible. It could be more user-friendly."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's an open-source solution."

"The price of this solution represents a very good compromise between the cost and what it offers."

"The cost is quite good. You can have the open source, free version, which has adequate capacity."

"This is an open-source product, which can be used free of charge."

"The licensing cost is approximately $4000.00 per year and the licensing is based on the software and the number of posts that you make."

"The solution is free, but if you want the enterprise version you will need to pay for some licenses but the cost is less than other solutions, such as Oracle."

"The price could be less expensive."

"The tool is open-source."

More MariaDB pricing and cost advice

"Milvus is an open-source solution."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Comms Service Provider

10%

Computer Software Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

University

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

Financial Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	28
Midsize Enterprise	12
Large Enterprise	26

No data available

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for MariaDB?

MariaDB is in the pricey range, especially for huge databases handling terabytes of data. The cost depends on the volume of data and different features enabled during configuration, such as backup ...

See all answers

What needs improvement with MariaDB?

The key area where MariaDB could be improved is its native GUI tooling; while the command-line interface works perfectly fine, the built-in visual tools for administration, management, and query de...

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What is your primary use case for MariaDB?

My main use case for MariaDB was web applications, and I have been using MariaDB for just about a year now as I was in the development team. A specific web application where I used MariaDB is a hea...

See all answers

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Comparisons

MySQL vs MariaDB

Compared 13% of the time

PostgreSQL vs MariaDB

Compared 11% of the time

Firebird SQL vs MariaDB

Compared 9% of the time

SQL Server vs MariaDB

Compared 7% of the time

Oracle Database vs MariaDB

Compared 6% of the time

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Elastic Search vs Milvus

Compared 11% of the time

PostgreSQL vs Milvus

Compared 8% of the time

MongoDB Enterprise Advanced vs Milvus

Compared 7% of the time

LanceDB vs Milvus

Compared 6% of the time

MySQL vs Milvus

Compared 6% of the time

More Milvus Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

MariaDB

September 2026

Download MariaDB product report

Buyer's Guide

Open Source Databases

September 2026

Download Milvus product report

Overview

MariaDB is a robust database solution known for its scalability, speed, and user-friendliness. It supports seamless integration and provides reliable performance in handling large datasets, offering strong community backing alongside its open-source nature.

MariaDB is renowned for efficiently managing large databases and complex relationships while being stable and easy to integrate. With advanced features like replication, encryption, and SQL compatibility, it offers fast query processing. Its straightforward installation and management processes facilitate seamless enterprise integrations and ensure high performance in real-time data scenarios. However, enhancements in enterprise integration, clustering, and scalability are necessary. Addressing challenges with complex queries, security, and user experience would be advantageous, alongside offering robust technical support and a competitive pricing model.

What are the key features of MariaDB?

Scalability: Handles large databases and complex relationships effectively.
User-Friendliness: Offers easy integration and management.
Speed: Provides fast query processing using multi-core processing efficiently.
Advanced Features: Includes replication, encryption, and SQL compatibility.
Open-Source: Encourages strong community support and continuous improvement.

What benefits should users consider when evaluating MariaDB?

Performance: High performance in real-time data processing.
Integration: Seamless integration with enterprise systems and SaaS applications.
Community Support: Strong open-source community for troubleshooting and development.
Cost-Effectiveness: Competitive pricing compared to proprietary databases.
Compatibility: MySQL compatibility for easier transitions and migrations.

MariaDB is extensively utilized in backend support for cloud telephony platforms, ERP systems, and financial software, being crucial for web application development and data storage. Entities favor its compatibility with MySQL for complex join queries and its support for structured data management in SaaS applications.

MariaDB

Milvus is a powerful tool for efficiently storing and retrieving large-scale vectors or embeddings. It is widely used in applications such as similarity search, recommendation systems, image and video retrieval, and natural language processing.

With its fast and accurate search capabilities, scalability, and support for multiple programming languages, Milvus is suitable for a wide range of industries and use cases.

Users appreciate its efficient search capabilities, ability to handle large-scale data, support for various data types, and user-friendly interface.

Milvus enables easy retrieval of information from vast datasets, regardless of the data format, and is praised for its high performance and scalability. The intuitive and easy-to-use interface is also highlighted as a valuable aspect of the platform.

The Milvus Project

Sample Customers

Google, Wikipedia, Tencent, Verizon, DBS Bank, Deutsche Bank, Telefónica, Huatai Securities

1. Alibaba Group 2. Tencent 3. Baidu 4. JD.com 5. Meituan 6. Xiaomi 7. Didi Chuxing 8. ByteDance 9. Huawei 10. ZTE 11. Lenovo 12. Haier 13. China Mobile 14. China Telecom 15. China Unicom 16. Ping An Insurance 17. China Life Insurance 18. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China 19. Bank of China 20. Agricultural Bank of China 21. China Construction Bank 22. PetroChina 23. Sinopec 24. China National Offshore Oil Corporation 25. China Southern Airlines 26. Air China 27. China Eastern Airlines 28. China Railway Group 29. China Railway Construction Corporation 30. China Communications Construction Company 31. China Merchants Group 32. China Evergrande Group

Buyer's Guide

MariaDB vs. Milvus

September 2026

Free Report: MariaDB vs. Milvus

Find out what your peers are saying about MariaDB vs. Milvus and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.

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