Hound 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?
Hound
Lightning-fast code search across many Git repositories
VS
ParadeDB
Postgres extension for full-text and analytical search
| Feature | Hound | ParadeDB |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Search Engines | Search Engines |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,865 | ★ 9,135 |
| First released | 2015 | 2023 |
| Replaces | GitHub Code Search | Elasticsearch |
Why pick each one
Choose Hound if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 5.9k GitHub stars
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 Hound or ParadeDB better?
Neither is universally better. ParadeDB has the larger community, while Hound is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Hound and ParadeDB free and open-source?
Yes. Hound is licensed under MIT and ParadeDB under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Hound and ParadeDB with Docker?
Hound: yes. ParadeDB: yes.