Meilisearch vs Summa
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?
Meilisearch
Fast, typo-tolerant search engine for applications
VS
Summa
Full-text search server able to run in the browser via WASM
| Feature | Meilisearch | Summa |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Search Engines | Search Engines |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | Rust | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, binary | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 58,904 | ★ 291 |
| First released | 2018 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Algolia, Elasticsearch | Elasticsearch |
Why pick each one
Choose Summa if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Rust
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Meilisearch or Summa better?
Meilisearch is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Summa if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Meilisearch and Summa free and open-source?
Yes. Meilisearch is licensed under MIT and Summa under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Meilisearch and Summa with Docker?
Meilisearch: yes. Summa: yes.