Lunr.js vs Quickwit
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted search engines options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Quickwit
Cloud-native search engine for logs and traces
| Feature | Lunr.js | Quickwit |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 29 · At risk | 93 · Excellent |
| Category | Search Engines | Search Engines |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | source | docker, kubernetes, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 9,203 | ★ 11,670 |
| First released | 2013 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Algolia, Elasticsearch | Splunk, Elasticsearch |
What are Lunr.js and Quickwit?
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
Quickwit
Quickwit is an open-source, cloud-native search engine optimized for log management, distributed tracing and analytics on large datasets stored in object storage. It is designed to be cost efficient at scale.
- Search directly on object storage
- Optimized for logs and traces
- Decoupled compute and storage
- Elasticsearch-compatible API
Lunr.js vs Quickwit: key differences
Lunr.js is written in JavaScript, while Quickwit is built with Rust. Licensing differs — MIT for Lunr.js versus Apache-2.0 for Quickwit. Lunr.js is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Quickwit. Lunr.js is the more established project (first released 2013), while Quickwit arrived in 2021. Quickwit lists first-class Docker deployment; Lunr.js does not.
Why pick each one
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
Choose Quickwit if…
- Very cost effective at scale
- Modern Rust codebase
Watch out for
- Focused on append-only data
Frequently asked questions
Is Lunr.js or Quickwit better?
Neither is universally better. Quickwit 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 Lunr.js and Quickwit free and open-source?
Yes. Lunr.js is licensed under MIT and Quickwit under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Lunr.js and Quickwit with Docker?
Lunr.js: check the project docs for container support. Quickwit: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Lunr.js or Quickwit?
Lunr.js has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Quickwit. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.