Elasticsearch vs ParadeDB
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?
Elasticsearch
Distributed search and analytics engine
VS
ParadeDB
Postgres extension for full-text and analytical search
| Feature | Elasticsearch | ParadeDB |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Search Engines | Search Engines |
| License | Elastic-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Java | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, bare-metal | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 77,808 | ★ 9,135 |
| First released | 2010 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Algolia, Splunk | Elasticsearch |
Why pick each one
Choose ParadeDB if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 9.1k GitHub stars
- Written in Rust
Frequently asked questions
Is Elasticsearch or ParadeDB better?
Neither is universally better. Elasticsearch has the larger community, while ParadeDB is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Elasticsearch and ParadeDB free and open-source?
Yes. Elasticsearch is licensed under Elastic-2.0 and ParadeDB under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Elasticsearch and ParadeDB with Docker?
Elasticsearch: yes. ParadeDB: yes.