Blast vs Orama
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted search engines options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Blast | Orama |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 14 · At risk | 87 · Excellent |
| Status | Archived | Actively maintained |
| Category | Search Engines | Search Engines |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, source | source, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,073 | ★ 10,561 |
| First released | 2017 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Elasticsearch | Algolia, Elasticsearch |
What are Blast and Orama?
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
Orama
Orama is an open-source full-text, vector, and hybrid search engine that runs anywhere JavaScript runs, including the browser, edge functions, and servers. It can power in-app search and documentation search without external infrastructure.
- Runs in the browser
- Full-text and vector search
- Hybrid search
- Tiny footprint
Blast vs Orama: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Blast's repository is archived and no longer developed, while Orama is actively maintained. Blast is written in Go, while Orama is built with TypeScript. Orama is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Blast. Blast is the more established project (first released 2017), while Orama arrived in 2022. Orama has the considerably larger community, at 10,561 GitHub stars versus 1,073. Blast lists first-class Docker deployment; Orama does not.
Why pick each one
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
Choose Orama if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Mature project with 10.6k GitHub stars
- Written in TypeScript
Frequently asked questions
Is Blast or Orama better?
Orama is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Blast if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Blast and Orama free and open-source?
Yes. Blast is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Orama under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Blast and Orama with Docker?
Blast: yes. Orama: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Blast or Orama?
Orama has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Blast. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.