Lunr.js vs Tantivy
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?
Lunr.js
Small full-text search library for the browser
VS
Tantivy
Full-text search engine library written in Rust
| Feature | Lunr.js | Tantivy |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Search Engines | Search Engines |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | JavaScript | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | source | source, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 9,202 | ★ 15,656 |
| First released | 2013 | 2016 |
| Replaces | Algolia, Elasticsearch | Elasticsearch |
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
Frequently asked questions
Is Lunr.js or Tantivy better?
Neither is universally better. Tantivy 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 Tantivy free and open-source?
Yes. Lunr.js is licensed under MIT and Tantivy under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Lunr.js and Tantivy with Docker?
Lunr.js: check the project docs for container support. Tantivy: check the project docs for container support.