# Faiss vs Weaviate

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** Weaviate

| Attribute | Faiss | Weaviate |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 57 (35% (low)) | 62.5 (73% (medium)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 66 | 100 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 5,592 | 15 |
| adoption.github_stars | 41,146 | 16,862 |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"Faiss is a library for efficient similarity search and clustering of dense vectors. It contains algorithms that search in sets of vectors of any size, up to ones that possibly do not fit in RAM. It is indexed under Vector Databases.","source":"https://faiss.ai","question":"What is Faiss?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Faiss is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the MIT licence. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://faiss.ai","question":"Is Faiss free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Faiss supports Windows, macOS and Linux. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://faiss.ai","question":"What platforms does Faiss support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Faiss can be deployed self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://faiss.ai","question":"Can Faiss be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Faiss is published under the MIT licence, a permissive licence that generally allows commercial use and modification. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/facebookresearch/faiss","question":"Is Faiss open source?","confidence":0.95}]` | `[{"answer":"Weaviate is an open-source vector database that supports hybrid search, metadata filtering, and scalable deployments. It enables developers to build AI applications with semantic search capabilities. It is indexed under Vector Databases.","source":"https://weaviate.io/blog/weaviate-cloud-pricing-update","question":"What is Weaviate?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Weaviate offers a free tier, so you can start without paying. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://weaviate.io","question":"Is Weaviate free?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Weaviate supports the web and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://weaviate.io","question":"What platforms does Weaviate support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Weaviate can be deployed cloud / SaaS and self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://weaviate.io/blog/weaviate-cloud-pricing-update","question":"Can Weaviate be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed SOC 2, HIPAA and GDPR for Weaviate. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as Weaviate not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://weaviate.io","question":"What security certifications does Weaviate have?","confidence":0.48},{"answer":"Yes. Weaviate is published under the BSD-3-Clause licence, a permissive licence that generally allows commercial use and modification. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/weaviate/weaviate","question":"Is Weaviate open source?","confidence":0.95},{"answer":"Weaviate is available worldwide. The vendor is headquartered in the Netherlands.","source":"https://weaviate.io","question":"Where is Weaviate available?","confidence":0.75}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"self_hosted":true}` | `{"cloud":true,"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | Faiss is a library for efficient similarity search and clustering of dense vectors. It contains algorithms that search in sets of vectors of any size, up to ones that possibly do not fit in RAM. | A vector database that enables semantic search by storing both objects and vectors, with built-in support for combining vector similarity search with traditional keyword search, retrieval-augmented generation, and reranking capabilities. |
| features.capabilities | `{"ann_index":"HNSW, IVF, PQ, multi-index, NSG","deployment":"self_hosted","serverless":false,"quantization":"product","storage_tier":"disk_backed","licence_class":"permissive_oss","product_class":"extension","distance_metrics":"Euclidean (L2), inner product, L1, Linf","horizontal_scale":"single_node"}` | `{"ann_index":"HNSW","deployment":"self_hosted","consistency":"tunable","quantization":"product","hybrid_search":true,"licence_class":"permissive_oss","multi_tenancy":true,"product_class":"dedicated_dbms","full_text_bm25":true,"horizontal_scale":"sharded_distributed"}` |
| integrations.count | - | 25 |
| language.primary | C++ | Go |
| license.spdx | MIT | BSD-3-Clause |
| market.availability | - | `{"hqCountry":"NL","primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"mac":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` | `{"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"open_source","sourceUrl":"https://faiss.ai","retrievedAt":"2026-08-13T20:46:34.341Z"}` | `{"type":"hybrid","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://weaviate.io","retrievedAt":"2026-08-05T13:28:29.566Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | - | yes |
| pricing.model | commercial | freemium |
| pricing.price_level | free | low |
| pricing.transparent | - | no |
| release.cadence_days | 83 | 1 |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/facebookresearch/faiss/releases/tag/v1.15.1","date":"2026-09-16T19:24:02Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.15.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebookresearch/faiss/releases/tag/v1.15.0","date":"2026-08-03T17:10:58Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.15.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebookresearch/faiss/releases/tag/v1.14.3","date":"2026-06-13T04:03:53Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.14.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebookresearch/faiss/releases/tag/v1.14.2","date":"2026-05-22T20:05:00Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.14.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebookresearch/faiss/releases/tag/v1.14.1","date":"2026-03-06T17:49:04Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.14.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebookresearch/faiss/releases/tag/v1.14.0","date":"2026-03-03T03:19:33Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.14.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebookresearch/faiss/releases/tag/v1.13.2","date":"2025-12-19T23:41:59Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.13.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebookresearch/faiss/releases/tag/v1.13.1","date":"2025-12-03T00:02:15Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.13.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebookresearch/faiss/releases/tag/v1.13.0","date":"2025-11-12T17:18:44Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.13.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebookresearch/faiss/releases/tag/v1.12.0","date":"2025-08-12T16:46:55Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.12.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebookresearch/faiss/releases/tag/v1.11.0","date":"2025-04-25T14:13:55Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.11.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebookresearch/faiss/releases/tag/v1.10.0","date":"2025-01-31T23:29:10Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.10.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebookresearch/faiss/releases/tag/v1.9.0","date":"2024-10-04T21:33:29Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.9.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebookresearch/faiss/releases/tag/v1.8.0","date":"2024-03-01T01:04:25Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.8.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebookresearch/faiss/releases/tag/v1.7.4","date":"2023-04-20T13:45:29Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.7.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebookresearch/faiss/releases/tag/v1.7.3","date":"2022-11-30T15:24:12Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.7.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebookresearch/faiss/releases/tag/v1.7.2","date":"2022-01-10T12:19:49Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.7.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebookresearch/faiss/releases/tag/v1.7.1","date":"2021-05-28T09:08:34Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.7.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebookresearch/faiss/releases/tag/v1.7.0","date":"2021-02-13T14:11:25Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.7.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/facebookresearch/faiss/releases/tag/v1.6.5","date":"2020-12-21T05:24:03Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.6.5"}]` | `[{"url":"https://github.com/weaviate/weaviate/releases/tag/v1.39.8","date":"2026-10-01T18:18:57Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.39.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/weaviate/weaviate/releases/tag/v1.38.18","date":"2026-10-01T14:55:17Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.38.18"},{"url":"https://github.com/weaviate/weaviate/releases/tag/v1.40.0-rc.2","date":"2026-09-30T20:12:35Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.40.0-rc.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/weaviate/weaviate/releases/tag/v1.39.7","date":"2026-09-25T13:18:52Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.39.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/weaviate/weaviate/releases/tag/v1.39.6","date":"2026-09-22T14:55:53Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.39.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/weaviate/weaviate/releases/tag/v1.38.17","date":"2026-09-22T12:47:57Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.38.17"},{"url":"https://github.com/weaviate/weaviate/releases/tag/v1.40.0-rc.1","date":"2026-09-19T16:20:42Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.40.0-rc.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/weaviate/weaviate/releases/tag/v1.38.16","date":"2026-09-18T12:38:55Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.38.16"},{"url":"https://github.com/weaviate/weaviate/releases/tag/v1.40.0-rc.0","date":"2026-09-15T20:18:04Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.40.0-rc.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/weaviate/weaviate/releases/tag/v1.39.5","date":"2026-09-15T08:24:52Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.39.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/weaviate/weaviate/releases/tag/v1.38.15","date":"2026-09-14T19:02:47Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.38.15"},{"url":"https://github.com/weaviate/weaviate/releases/tag/v1.37.17","date":"2026-09-14T18:05:08Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.37.17"},{"url":"https://github.com/weaviate/weaviate/releases/tag/v1.39.4","date":"2026-09-11T17:51:37Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.39.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/weaviate/weaviate/releases/tag/v1.39.3","date":"2026-09-07T13:49:58Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.39.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/weaviate/weaviate/releases/tag/v1.38.14","date":"2026-09-07T12:19:29Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.38.14"},{"url":"https://github.com/weaviate/weaviate/releases/tag/v1.37.16","date":"2026-09-07T12:56:10Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.37.16"},{"url":"https://github.com/weaviate/weaviate/releases/tag/v1.38.13","date":"2026-08-27T10:13:43Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.38.13"},{"url":"https://github.com/weaviate/weaviate/releases/tag/v1.37.15","date":"2026-08-27T06:41:32Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.37.15"},{"url":"https://github.com/weaviate/weaviate/releases/tag/v1.39.2","date":"2026-08-26T17:21:38Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.39.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/weaviate/weaviate/releases/tag/v1.38.12","date":"2026-08-25T12:21:22Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.38.12"}]` |
| reliability.sla_pct | - | 99.95 |
| reliability.status_page | yes | yes |
| security.disclosure_policy | - | yes |
| security.gdpr | - | yes |
| security.hipaa | - | yes |
| security.scorecard | 6.2 | 6.7 |
| security.soc2 | - | yes |
| security.trust_center | - | https://weaviate.io/blog/tags/security |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=pypi&package_name=faiss-cpu&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` | `{"count":5,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=go&package_name=github.com%2Fweaviate%2Fweaviate&per_page=100","last_12m":3,"max_severity":"HIGH"}` |

## Capabilities (Vector Databases)

| Capability | Faiss | Weaviate |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Deployment | Self-hosted | Self-hosted |
| Serverless / consumption pricing | ✗ | - |
| **Index** |  |  |
| ANN index (HNSW / IVF / DiskANN / ScaNN / flat) | HNSW, IVF, PQ, multi-index, NSG | HNSW |
| Distance metrics (cosine / dot / Euclidean) | Euclidean (L2), inner product, L1, Linf | - |
| **Query** |  |  |
| Metadata filtering | - | - |
| Hybrid search (dense + sparse fusion) | - | ✓ |
| Built-in BM25 / lexical | - | ✓ |
| **Storage** |  |  |
| Quantization | Product | Product |
| On-disk vs in-memory | Disk-backed | - |
| **Scale** |  |  |
| Multi-tenancy (namespaces / collections / tenants) | - | ✓ |
| Horizontal scale | Single-node | Sharded / distributed |
| **Consistency** |  |  |
| Consistency | - | Tunable |
| **Licensing** |  |  |
| Licence class | Permissive OSS | Permissive OSS |
| **Classification** |  |  |
| Purpose-built vs feature-of-parent | Extension | Dedicated DBMS |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T21:50:37.147Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*