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Pyyan / Compare / Qdrant vs pgvector vs Milvus

Qdrant vs pgvector vs Milvus

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Vector Databases · verified 13 Aug 2026

×QdrantQdrantcurrent
×pgvectorPostgreSQLcurrent
×MilvusZillizcurrent
2 slots left
SpecificationQdrantpgvectorMilvus
SummaryThe fastest of the purpose-built stores.Vectors inside the database you already run.Built for billions of vectors.
IndexHNSWHNSW, IVFFlatHNSW, IVF, DiskANN, GPU
Hybrid searchYesYes, with SQLYes
HostingSelf-host and managedSelf-host or any managed PostgresSelf-host and managed
LicenceApache 2.0PostgreSQLApache 2.0
p50 latency4ms~15ms~10ms
CategoryVector DatabasesVector DatabasesVector Databases
OfficialQdrant ↗PostgreSQL ↗Zilliz ↗

Highlighted rows are where these differ.

Qdrant

  • Written in Rust; 10 to 25% faster than Weaviate or Milvus on common workloads
  • Strong filtering alongside vector search
  • Self-host or managed, same engine

Best for latency-sensitive retrieval.

Full spec sheet →

pgvector

  • One database for vectors, rows and joins
  • The honest default: reach for something else only when this stops working

Best for almost everyone, until scale says otherwise.

Full spec sheet →

Milvus

  • Distributed architecture with GPU index support
  • Heavier to operate than the alternatives

Best for very large corpora.

Full spec sheet →