Apache Solr vs tinysearch

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted search engines options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
FeatureApache Solrtinysearch
CategorySearch EnginesSearch Engines
LicenseApache-2.0MIT
LanguageJavaRust
Setup difficultyHardMedium
Min. RAM1,024 MB64 MB
Deploymentdocker, kubernetes, bare-metalbinary, source
GitHub stars★ 1,650★ 2,953
First released20062019
ReplacesElasticsearch, AlgoliaAlgolia

Why pick each one

Choose Apache Solr if…

  • Mature and battle-tested
  • Powerful faceting
Apache Solr details

Choose tinysearch if…

  • Released under the MIT license
  • Active community (3k GitHub stars)
  • Written in Rust
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
tinysearch details

Frequently asked questions

Is Apache Solr or tinysearch better?

tinysearch is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Apache Solr if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are Apache Solr and tinysearch free and open-source?

Yes. Apache Solr is licensed under Apache-2.0 and tinysearch under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Apache Solr and tinysearch with Docker?

Apache Solr: yes. tinysearch: check the project docs for container support.

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