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Pyyan / Compare / Vertex AI Vector Search vs Qdrant vs Milvus

Vertex AI Vector Search vs Qdrant vs Milvus

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Vector Databases · verified 13 Aug 2026

×Vertex AI Vector SearchGooglecurrent
×QdrantQdrantcurrent
×MilvusZillizcurrent
2 slots left
SpecificationVertex AI Vector SearchQdrantMilvus
SummaryGoogle's own, built on ScaNN.The fastest of the purpose-built stores.Built for billions of vectors.
IndexScaNNHNSWHNSW, IVF, DiskANN, GPU
Hybrid searchYesYesYes
HostingManagedSelf-host and managedSelf-host and managed
LicenceProprietaryApache 2.0Apache 2.0
p50 latency~15ms4ms~10ms
CategoryVector DatabasesVector DatabasesVector Databases
OfficialGoogle ↗Qdrant ↗Zilliz ↗

Highlighted rows are where these differ.

Vertex AI Vector Search

  • The research behind it powers Google's own retrieval
  • Tied to the platform

Best for workloads already on Google Cloud.

Full spec sheet →

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 →

Milvus

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

Best for very large corpora.

Full spec sheet →