Pagefind vs ParadeDB
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted search engines options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Pagefind | ParadeDB |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | ≈5-minute setup |
| Health score | 88 · Excellent | 92 · Excellent |
| Category | Search Engines | Search Engines |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Rust | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | source, binary | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,481 | ★ 9,301 |
| First released | 2022 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Algolia, Elasticsearch | Elasticsearch |
What are Pagefind and ParadeDB?
Pagefind
Pagefind is a fully static search library that indexes a built website and serves search entirely from the browser without a backend. It is designed to be low-bandwidth and easy to add to any static site.
- Browser-side search index
- No backend required
- Low bandwidth
- Multilingual support
ParadeDB
ParadeDB is an open-source PostgreSQL-based platform that adds Elasticsearch-grade full-text search and analytics directly inside the database. It uses BM25 indexing so search can run alongside existing relational data.
- Search inside Postgres
- BM25 full-text indexing
- Analytical queries
- No separate search cluster
Pagefind vs ParadeDB: key differences
Both projects are written in Rust. Licensing differs — MIT for Pagefind versus AGPL-3.0 for ParadeDB. Pagefind is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for ParadeDB. ParadeDB lists first-class Docker deployment; Pagefind does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Pagefind if…
- Zero server cost
- Trivial to deploy
Watch out for
- Static content only
- Index rebuild on changes
Choose ParadeDB if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 9.3k GitHub stars
- Written in Rust
Frequently asked questions
Is Pagefind or ParadeDB better?
Neither is universally better. ParadeDB has the larger community, while Pagefind is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Pagefind and ParadeDB free and open-source?
Yes. Pagefind is licensed under MIT and ParadeDB under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Pagefind and ParadeDB with Docker?
Pagefind: check the project docs for container support. ParadeDB: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Pagefind or ParadeDB?
Pagefind has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for ParadeDB. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.