Manticore Search vs Milvus
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted search engines options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Manticore Search
Fast, low-footprint database for search
VS
Milvus
Open-source vector database built for scalable similarity search
| Feature | Manticore Search | Milvus |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Search Engines | Search Engines |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | C++ | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 4,096 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, bare-metal | docker, kubernetes, helm |
| GitHub stars | ★ 11,928 | ★ 45,556 |
| First released | 2017 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Elasticsearch, Algolia | Pinecone, Elasticsearch |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Manticore Search or Milvus better?
Neither is universally better. Milvus has the larger community, while Manticore Search is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Manticore Search and Milvus free and open-source?
Yes. Manticore Search is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Milvus under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Manticore Search and Milvus with Docker?
Manticore Search: yes. Milvus: yes.