bleve vs Lunr.js
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted search engines options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | bleve | Lunr.js |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 93 · Excellent | 29 · At risk |
| Category | Search Engines | Search Engines |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | Go | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | source, binary | source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 11,228 | ★ 9,203 |
| First released | 2014 | 2013 |
| Replaces | Elasticsearch, Algolia | Algolia, Elasticsearch |
What are bleve and Lunr.js?
bleve
An embeddable modern full-text search and indexing library that lets developers add search to applications without running a separate server. It supports analyzers, faceting, and scoring out of the box.
- Embeddable index
- Text analyzers
- Faceted search
- Pluggable storage
Lunr.js
Lunr.js is a small, full-text search library for use in the browser that provides a simple search index without needing a backend service. It is commonly used to add offline search to static sites and documentation.
- Browser-based search
- No backend needed
- Prebuilt index support
- Tiny library size
bleve vs Lunr.js: key differences
Bleve is written in Go, while Lunr.js is built with JavaScript. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for bleve versus MIT for Lunr.js. Lunr.js is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for bleve.
Why pick each one
Choose bleve if…
- No separate server
- Pure Go integration
Watch out for
- Library not turnkey app
- Manual scaling
Choose Lunr.js if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Mature project with 9.2k GitHub stars
- Written in JavaScript
Frequently asked questions
Is bleve or Lunr.js better?
Neither is universally better. bleve has the larger community, while Lunr.js is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are bleve and Lunr.js free and open-source?
Yes. bleve is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Lunr.js under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run bleve and Lunr.js with Docker?
bleve: check the project docs for container support. Lunr.js: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, bleve or Lunr.js?
Lunr.js has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for bleve. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.