Meilisearch vs Toshi
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted search engines options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Meilisearch
Fast, typo-tolerant search engine for applications
VS
Toshi
Full-text search server built on the Tantivy engine
| Feature | Meilisearch | Toshi |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 100 · Excellent | 79 · Good |
| 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 | ★ 59,391 | ★ 4,256 |
| First released | 2018 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Algolia, Elasticsearch | Elasticsearch |
What are Meilisearch and Toshi?
Meilisearch
Meilisearch is an open-source, lightning-fast search engine designed for instant, typo-tolerant search-as-you-type experiences. It is easy to integrate via its REST API and ships as a single binary.
- Typo-tolerant instant search
- Single binary deployment
- Faceted search and filtering
- Simple REST API
Toshi
Toshi is a self-hosted full-text search server that exposes an Elasticsearch-like JSON REST API on top of the Tantivy search engine. It targets developers who want a simple, fast search service in Rust.
- JSON REST API
- Tantivy-backed indexing
- Fast Rust core
- Simple to run
Meilisearch vs Toshi: key differences
Both projects are written in Rust. Meilisearch has the considerably larger community, at 59,391 GitHub stars versus 4,256.
Why pick each one
Choose Meilisearch if…
- Extremely easy to set up
- Fast and lightweight
Watch out for
- Fewer features than Elasticsearch
Choose Toshi if…
- Lightweight search server
- Familiar API style
Watch out for
- Less mature than ES
- Smaller feature set
Frequently asked questions
Is Meilisearch or Toshi better?
Meilisearch is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Toshi if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Meilisearch and Toshi free and open-source?
Yes. Meilisearch is licensed under MIT and Toshi under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Meilisearch and Toshi with Docker?
Meilisearch: yes. Toshi: yes.