Meilisearch vs Vespa
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
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Vespa
Open-source big data serving engine for search and recommendation
| Feature | Meilisearch | Vespa |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Search Engines | Search Engines |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Rust | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 4,096 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, binary | docker, kubernetes, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 58,904 | ★ 7,043 |
| First released | 2018 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Algolia, Elasticsearch | Elasticsearch, Algolia |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Meilisearch or Vespa better?
Meilisearch is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Vespa if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Meilisearch and Vespa free and open-source?
Yes. Meilisearch is licensed under MIT and Vespa under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Meilisearch and Vespa with Docker?
Meilisearch: yes. Vespa: yes.