Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Faiss vs Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB comparison

Meta and Microsoft are both solutions in the Vector Databases category. Meta is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.0, while Microsoft is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.2. Meta holds a 5.6% mindshare in VD, compared to Microsoft’s 4.8% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Meta users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.
Faiss
Read 3 Faiss reviews
  • 3,536 Views
  • 3,288 Comparison Views
100% willing to recommend
Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB
Read 102 Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB reviews
  • 7,050 Views
  • 2,750 Comparison Views
95% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report
Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 13, 2025

Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB and Faiss compete in the domain of data management and retrieval, with Azure Cosmos DB offering comprehensive global database solutions and Faiss providing efficient local similarity search capabilities. In terms of scalability and support, Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB has a clearer edge with its extensive service offerings, while Faiss shines in performance for niche applications.

Features: Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB offers global distribution, multi-model data support, and real-time processing. Faiss provides rapid similarity search, efficient for image and vector data, and is suited for high-speed retrieval tasks in machine learning environments. Azure Cosmos DB integrates service support for various data models, whereas Faiss is tailored for performance-focused tasks.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB has a straightforward deployment process globally with extensive customer support options. Faiss suits localized deployment but requires technical expertise in machine learning and indexing. Azure Cosmos DB presents clearer pathways for services, while Faiss demands specialized knowledge but excels in search efficiency once properly set up.

Pricing and ROI: Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB's pricing model emphasizes its scalability and global reach, often leading to higher costs but delivering significant returns for businesses utilizing these features. Faiss is typically free with a need for technical setup, offering high ROI for specialized vector search applications. Azure Cosmos DB is structured for scalable investments, whereas Faiss is cost-effective for specific performance needs.

DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE REPORT
To learn more, read our detailed Faiss vs. Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB Report (Updated: July 2025).
Buyer's Guide
Faiss vs. Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB
July 2025
Download the complete report
Helped 867,676 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Faiss
Ranking in Vector Databases
5th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
3.3
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
Open Source Databases (12th)
Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB
Ranking in Vector Databases
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
102
Ranking in other categories
Database as a Service (DBaaS) (5th), NoSQL Databases (2nd), Managed NoSQL Databases (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Vector Databases category, the mindshare of Faiss is 5.6%, down from 14.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB is 4.8%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Vector Databases Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB4.8%
Faiss5.6%
Other89.6%
Vector Databases
 

Featured Reviews

Kalindu Sekarage - PeerSpot reviewer
Integration improves accuracy and supports token-level embedding
The best features FAISS offers for my team include seamless integration with Colbert and the ability to use FAISS via the Ragatouille framework, which is tailor-made for using the Colbert model. Feature-wise, FAISS allows for more accurate result retrieval, and retrieval speed is also good when comparing the index size. Regarding features, I also emphasize that the usability of FAISS is very seamless, particularly its integration with Colbert and Ragatouille. FAISS has positively impacted my organization by helping us increase the accuracy of retrieval documents; when we store documents in token-level embedding, the accuracy will be high. Additionally, we do not need any external server to host FAISS, allowing us to integrate it with our backend framework, making it a very flexible framework.
Read full review
MichaelJohn - PeerSpot reviewer
Very efficient for application-facing scenarios
There are several areas for improvement. Firstly, having a local development emulator or simulator for Azure Cosmos DB would be beneficial. It would be very handy to have a Docker container that developers can use locally. Although, I know there is a free tier and so on and so forth, having a local environment would be nice. For example, SQL Server is very portable. You can even install it on your machine. That is the number one thing that is missing in Azure Cosmos DB. The second improvement area is the IDE of choice. That means how you interact with Azure Cosmos DB. For example, with SQL Server, you have SQL Server Management Studio. I know there is a little bit of support for Azure Cosmos DB in Azure Data Studio, but it is not heavily advertised or it does not feel like first-class citizen support. Developer experience or developer tooling is missing in terms of interacting with the database. Better developer tools or an IDE for interacting with Azure Cosmos DB would enhance the developer experience. Lastly, there is some mixed messaging about what Azure Cosmos DB is, given its multiple APIs. There are so many Azure Cosmos DB APIs available. There is NoSQL. There are MongoDB, Gremlin, and others. There is still some mixed messaging for others who are new to Azure Cosmos DB about what Azure Cosmos DB is. Is this like MongoDB, but then there is also MongoDB in Azure Cosmos DB? I know it well, and I know that the default one is just NoSQL, but others I have interacted with over the last ten years or so get confused.
Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The product has better performance and stability compared to one of its competitors."
"I used Faiss as a basic database."
"The best feature of Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB is API access, which makes it very easy to interact with the database without needing to write queries."
"We achieved a strong return on investment."
"The solution is stable."
"Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB is very easy to use."
"The graphical representation of data is the most valuable feature of the solution."
"The best feature is the velocity to make a query."
"With Azure being our main cloud, the valuable features of Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB include integration with other Azure products that we're using and governance inside Azure. For integration with other products inside the Azure cloud, it was a better choice."
"The efficiency of search capabilities is significant, particularly when it comes to the flexibility of conducting in-depth, almost recursive searches that are both efficient and cost-effective."
More Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB pros
 

Cons

"One of the drawbacks of Faiss is that it works only in-memory. If it could provide separate persistent storage without relying on in-memory, it would reduce the overhead."
"It would be beneficial if I could set a parameter and see different query mechanisms being run."
"It could be more accessible for handling larger data sets."
"The price can always be lower, but currently, it's not a problem."
"The challenge for us is always scale."
"Currently, I have no suggestions for enhancement or new implementations in Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB. However, the cost can sometimes be high, especially during cross-partition queries with large data amounts."
"I would give a low rating to Microsoft support, as whenever I talked to them, I never got a solution. I had to guide them."
"The model with autoscaling for RU is complicated to optimize RU consumption."
"One of our biggest pain points is the backup and restore functionality needs improvement. They've gotten a little better in this area. SQL Server's long-term retention is amazing, and you can restore data from years ago. You need to open a support Microsoft ticket to restore your Cosmos DB backup, and it comes in on a different Cosmos account. It's just kind of a headache to restore data."
"I am disappointed with the lack of compatibility of the Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB emulator with Mac."
"The pricing of the solution is an area with certain shortcomings."
More Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is an open-source tool."
"Faiss is an open-source solution."
"The pricing for Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB is good. Initially, it seemed like an expensive way to manage a NoSQL data store, but so many improvements that have been made to the platform have made it cost-effective."
"Cosmos DB is a PaaS, so there are no upfront costs for infrastructure. There are only subscriptions you pay for Azure and things like that. But it's a PaaS, so it's a subscription service. The license isn't perpetual, and the cost might seem expensive on its face, but you have to look at the upkeep for infrastructure and what you're saving."
"From a startup point of view, it appears to be expensive. If I were to create my startup, it would not have the pricing appeal compared to the competition, such as Supabase. All those other databases are well-advertised by communities. I know there is a free tier with Azure Cosmos DB. It is just not well advertised."
"Cost isn’t a big hurdle for us right now. The solution is not costly."
"Pricing is mid- to high-end."
"Our experience with the pricing and setup cost is that it aligns with what we expect based on the pricing we see. However, I would absolutely like it to be less if possible."
"There is a licensing fee."
"Because of the lack of understanding about RUs, the costs become unpredictable. It sometimes goes over the budget."
More Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB pricing and cost advice
report
See which vendors are best for you
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Vector Databases solutions are best for your needs.
See recommendations
867,676 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
18%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Educational Organization
8%
Legal Firm
13%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business31
Midsize Enterprise19
Large Enterprise55
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Faiss?
I used Faiss as a basic database.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Faiss?
I did not purchase FAISS through the AWS Marketplace because FAISS is an open-source product. My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing is straightforward, as there is no cost for acqui...
See all answers
What needs improvement with Faiss?
I currently do not think there is anything to be improved based on our experience, as Faiss performs as we expected for our workflow. I would like to see improvement in the fact that FAISS currentl...
See all answers
What do you like most about Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB?
The initial setup is simple and straightforward. You can set up a Cosmos DB in a day, even configuring things like availability zones around the world.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB?
The pricing for Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB is good, but there is a developer factor to consider. It could be economical or expensive depending on usage. Guidance about query consumption of Request U...
See all answers
What needs improvement with Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB?
In terms of improvement for Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB, while it eliminates the burden of managing database infrastructure, we realized it might not be possible to use various models simultaneously ...
See all answers
 

Comparisons

Elastic Search vs Faiss Logo
Elastic Search vs Faiss
Compared 10% of the time
Milvus vs Faiss Logo
Milvus vs Faiss
Compared 10% of the time
Chroma vs Faiss Logo
Chroma vs Faiss
Compared 9% of the time
Redis vs Faiss Logo
Redis vs Faiss
Compared 9% of the time
Pinecone vs Faiss Logo
Pinecone vs Faiss
Compared 4% of the time
More Faiss Competitors
Chroma vs Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB Logo
Chroma vs Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB
Compared 11% of the time
Pinecone vs Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB Logo
Pinecone vs Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB
Compared 10% of the time
MongoDB Enterprise Advanced vs Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB Logo
MongoDB Enterprise Advanced vs Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB
Compared 7% of the time
Amazon DynamoDB vs Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB Logo
Amazon DynamoDB vs Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB
Compared 6% of the time
Microsoft Azure SQL Database vs Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB Logo
Microsoft Azure SQL Database vs Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB
Compared 3% of the time
More Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Open Source Databases
August 2025
Faiss reportDownload Faiss product report
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB
August 2025
Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB reportDownload Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB product report
 

Also Known As

No data available
Microsoft Azure DocumentDB, MS Azure Cosmos DB
 

Overview

Faiss is a powerful library for efficient similarity search and nearest neighbor retrieval in large-scale datasets. It is widely used in image and text processing, recommendation systems, and natural language processing. 

Users appreciate its speed, scalability, and ability to handle high-dimensional data effectively. Faiss also offers easy integration and extensive support for different programming languages. 

Its valuable features include efficient search capabilities, support for large-scale datasets, various similarity measures, easy integration, and comprehensive documentation and community support.

Meta

Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB is a globally distributed, multi-model database service providing scalability, user-friendliness, and seamless integration, suitable for managing large volumes of structured and unstructured data across diverse applications.

Azure Cosmos DB is renowned for its scalability, stability, and ease of integration, offering robust support for multiple data models and APIs. Its capacity for handling unstructured data efficiently and providing real-time analytics makes it ideal for applications requiring high performance and global distribution. With features like automatic failover and integration with Microsoft products, users benefit from cost optimization and secure data handling. Enhancement opportunities include simplifying queries, improving documentation, and expanding backup and analytics functionalities.

What are the most important features of Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB?
  • Scalability and Autoscaling: Efficiently handles growing data and user demands.
  • Multi-Model Support: Adapts to different data models seamlessly.
  • Global Distribution: Provides low-latency access across multiple regions.
  • Automatic Failover: Ensures high availability and reliability.
  • Integration with Microsoft Products: Offers seamless connectivity with Azure services.
What benefits should users look for in Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB reviews?
  • Performance and Speed: Exceptionally fast processing for real-time data analytics.
  • Cost Optimization: Tools for managing expenses effectively.
  • Secure Data Handling: Implements strong data security measures.
  • Flexible Data Ingestion: Supports diverse data ingestion methods.

Azure Cosmos DB is frequently used in sectors like web, mobile, IoT, and analytics. It supports applications as a key-value store, processes real-time data, and enables global scalability with low-latency access. Its big data management capabilities and integration with Azure services enhance its utility across industries.

Microsoft
 

Sample Customers

1. Facebook 2. Airbnb 3. Pinterest 4. Twitter 5. Microsoft 6. Uber 7. LinkedIn 8. Netflix 9. Spotify 10. Adobe 11. eBay 12. Dropbox 13. Yelp 14. Salesforce 15. IBM 16. Intel 17. Nvidia 18. Qualcomm 19. Samsung 20. Sony 21. Tencent 22. Alibaba 23. Baidu 24. JD.com 25. Rakuten 26. Zillow 27. Booking.com 28. Expedia 29. TripAdvisor 30. Rakuten 31. Rakuten Viber 32. Rakuten Ichiba
TomTom, KPMG Australia, Bosch, ASOS, Mercedes Benz, NBA, Zero Friction, Nederlandse Spoorwegen, Kinectify
Buyer's Guide
Faiss vs. Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB
July 2025
Free Report: Faiss vs. Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB
Find out what your peers are saying about Faiss vs. Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
DOWNLOAD NOW
867,676 professionals have used our research since 2012.
See our Faiss vs. Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB report.
See our list of best Vector Databases vendors.

We monitor all Vector Databases reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.