Orama vs Toshi
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted search engines options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Orama | Toshi |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 87 · Excellent | 79 · Good |
| Category | Search Engines | Search Engines |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | source, binary | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 10,561 | ★ 4,256 |
| First released | 2022 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Algolia, Elasticsearch | Elasticsearch |
What are Orama and Toshi?
Orama
Orama is an open-source full-text, vector, and hybrid search engine that runs anywhere JavaScript runs, including the browser, edge functions, and servers. It can power in-app search and documentation search without external infrastructure.
- Runs in the browser
- Full-text and vector search
- Hybrid search
- Tiny footprint
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
Orama vs Toshi: key differences
Orama is written in TypeScript, while Toshi is built with Rust. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Orama versus MIT for Toshi. Orama is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Toshi. Toshi is the more established project (first released 2018), while Orama arrived in 2022. Orama has the considerably larger community, at 10,561 GitHub stars versus 4,256. Toshi lists first-class Docker deployment; Orama does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Orama if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Mature project with 10.6k GitHub stars
- Written in TypeScript
Choose Toshi if…
- Lightweight search server
- Familiar API style
Watch out for
- Less mature than ES
- Smaller feature set
Frequently asked questions
Is Orama or Toshi better?
Orama 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 Orama and Toshi free and open-source?
Yes. Orama is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Toshi under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Orama and Toshi with Docker?
Orama: check the project docs for container support. Toshi: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Orama or Toshi?
Orama has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Toshi. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.