Apache Solr vs Blast
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted search engines options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Apache Solr | Blast |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 81 · Excellent | 14 · At risk |
| Status | Actively maintained | Archived |
| Category | Search Engines | Search Engines |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Java | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, bare-metal | docker, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,674 | ★ 1,073 |
| First released | 2006 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Elasticsearch, Algolia | Elasticsearch |
What are Apache Solr and Blast?
Apache Solr
Apache Solr is a highly reliable, scalable and fault-tolerant open-source search platform built on Apache Lucene. It powers full-text search, faceting and analytics for many large websites and applications.
- Lucene-powered full-text search
- Faceting and rich querying
- Distributed SolrCloud mode
- Extensive plugin ecosystem
Blast
Blast is a full-text search and indexing server written in Go and built on the Bleve library, with support for clustering through the Raft consensus algorithm. It exposes both gRPC and HTTP APIs for indexing and searching documents.
- Distributed clustering
- Bleve-based indexing
- gRPC and HTTP APIs
- Raft consensus
Apache Solr vs Blast: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Blast's repository is archived and no longer developed, while Apache Solr is actively maintained. Apache Solr is written in Java, while Blast is built with Go. Blast is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Apache Solr. Apache Solr is the more established project (first released 2006), while Blast arrived in 2017.
Why pick each one
Choose Apache Solr if…
- Mature and battle-tested
- Powerful faceting
Watch out for
- Configuration is complex
Choose Blast if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.1k GitHub stars)
- Written in Go
Frequently asked questions
Is Apache Solr or Blast better?
Neither is universally better. Apache Solr has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Apache Solr and Blast free and open-source?
Yes. Apache Solr is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Blast under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Apache Solr and Blast with Docker?
Apache Solr: yes. Blast: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Apache Solr or Blast?
Blast has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Apache Solr. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.