Zilliz (Milvus) vs Elasticsearch
Side-by-side from the Top 11 ranking of The 11 Best Vector Databases (2026). Last verified May 31, 2026.
The short answer
Zilliz (Milvus) ranks higher on Top 11 (#3 vs #7) for AI engineers building RAG and semantic search at scale. The go-to for massive-scale, enterprise deployments based on open-source Milvus.
At a glance
| Zilliz (Milvus) | Elasticsearch | |
|---|---|---|
| Top 11 rank | #3 / The 11 Best Vector Databases (2026) | #7 / The 11 Best Vector Databases (2026) |
| Score (out of 9.4) | 9 | 8.3 |
| Best for | Enterprise-grade massive scalability | Vector search for existing Elastic users |
| Pricing | $$$ (Free to custom/enterprise) | $$$ (Free to custom/enterprise) |
| HQ | Redwood City, USA | Mountain View, USA |
| Founded | 2017 | 2012 |
Zilliz (Milvus)
The go-to for massive-scale, enterprise deployments based on open-source Milvus.
zilliz.comMethodology and scoring weights live at /methodology. No vendor pays for placement — see about.