Zilliz Cloud vs Elasticsearch

Zilliz Cloud8.9Visit Elasticsearch8.4Visit

Higher score Zilliz Cloud #1 in Ai Databases 8.9/10 Free plan · 30-day trial Free planFree trial✓ 2 of 3 features Visit Zilliz Cloud

vs

Elasticsearch #6 in Ai Databases 8.4/10 Free plan · 14-day trial Free planFree trial✓ 0 of 3 features Visit Elasticsearch

• Zilliz Cloud fits best

  Teams wanting a managed vector database with a free tier

• Elasticsearch fits best

  Teams combining vector retrieval with established search

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Side by side

Feature	Zilliz Cloud 8.9/10 Visit ↗	Elasticsearch 8.4/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.9	8.4
Ranking	#1 in Ai Databases	#6 in Ai Databases
Best for	Teams wanting a managed vector database with a free tier	Teams combining vector retrieval with established search
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Free plan + paid
Starting price	—	—
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	30 days	14 days
Free trial length	30 days · no card needed	14 days · no card needed
Deployment	Cloud	Cloud, Self-hosted
Platforms	Web	Web
Support	Docs	Phone, Live chat · 24/7
Integrations	10 integrations	3 integrations
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Zilliz Cloud 2/3 · Elasticsearch 0/3
Metadata filtering	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Hybrid search	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Managed backups	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Specs
Deployment	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Index types	FLAT, IVF_FLAT, IVF_SQ8, IVF_PQ, HNSW, DISKANN, AUTOINDEX, SCANN, HNSW_SQ, HNSW_PQ, HNSW_PRQ, IVF_RABITQ, SPARSE_INVERTED_INDEX, SPARSE_WAND	Not checked yet
Max vector dimensions	32768	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Hybrid dense-sparse, BM25, multimodal, and filtered vector search Free plan includes 5 GB storage and 2.5 million vCUs monthly RBAC, SSO, MFA, private networking, and multiple compliance options	Combines lexical, vector, semantic, and hybrid search Supports filtering, aggregations, and geospatial search Offers self-managed and managed cloud deployments
Cons	Paid pricing varies by usage, deployment, provider, region, and resources Deployment is cloud-only Support channels list documentation only	Paid Elastic Cloud Hosted starts at $99 per month Paid tiers add features in steps across multiple plans Self-managed Basic differs from the managed cloud offering
Our verdict	Zilliz Cloud is a managed Milvus-based vector database for teams building AI applications. It serves prototypes, development workloads, and production systems that need vector similarity search, metadata filtering, hybrid retrieval,… Read the review →	Elasticsearch is a distributed search and analytics engine for structured, unstructured, and vector data. It suits teams that need vector or semantic retrieval alongside established full-text search, filtering, aggregations, and real-time… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Zilliz Cloud — where it wins

  • Hybrid dense-sparse, BM25, multimodal, and filtered vector search
  • Free plan includes 5 GB storage and 2.5 million vCUs monthly
  • RBAC, SSO, MFA, private networking, and multiple compliance options

  Where it doesn't

  • Paid pricing varies by usage, deployment, provider, region, and resources
  • Deployment is cloud-only
  • Support channels list documentation only

• Elasticsearch — where it wins

  • Combines lexical, vector, semantic, and hybrid search
  • Supports filtering, aggregations, and geospatial search
  • Offers self-managed and managed cloud deployments

  Where it doesn't

  • Paid Elastic Cloud Hosted starts at $99 per month
  • Paid tiers add features in steps across multiple plans
  • Self-managed Basic differs from the managed cloud offering

• Zilliz Cloud8.9/10 · Free plan · 30-day trial

  A managed vector database with hybrid search, enterprise controls, and a free tier.

  Visit Zilliz CloudFull verdict →
• Elasticsearch8.4/10 · Free plan · 14-day trial

  A flexible search engine for teams adding vector and hybrid retrieval to established search.

  Visit ElasticsearchFull verdict →