Quickwit vs RediSearch
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted search engines options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Quickwit
Cloud-native search engine for logs and traces
VS
RediSearch
Full-text and vector search module for Redis
| Feature | Quickwit | RediSearch |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 93 · Excellent | 90 · Excellent |
| Category | Search Engines | Search Engines |
| License | Apache-2.0 | RSALv2 |
| Language | Rust | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, binary | docker, kubernetes, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 11,670 | ★ 6,242 |
| First released | 2021 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Splunk, Elasticsearch | Elasticsearch, Algolia |
What are Quickwit and RediSearch?
Quickwit
Quickwit is an open-source, cloud-native search engine optimized for log management, distributed tracing and analytics on large datasets stored in object storage. It is designed to be cost efficient at scale.
- Search directly on object storage
- Optimized for logs and traces
- Decoupled compute and storage
- Elasticsearch-compatible API
RediSearch
RediSearch, part of the Redis Query Engine, adds full-text search, secondary indexing and vector search capabilities to Redis. It enables fast querying over data already stored in Redis.
- Full-text search inside Redis
- Secondary indexing of Redis data
- Vector similarity search
- Aggregations and queries
Quickwit vs RediSearch: key differences
Both projects are written in Rust. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Quickwit versus RSALv2 for RediSearch. RediSearch is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Quickwit. RediSearch is the more established project (first released 2017), while Quickwit arrived in 2021.
Why pick each one
Choose Quickwit if…
- Very cost effective at scale
- Modern Rust codebase
Watch out for
- Focused on append-only data
Choose RediSearch if…
- Very fast, in-memory
- Reuses existing Redis
Watch out for
- Source-available, not OSI licensed
Frequently asked questions
Is Quickwit or RediSearch better?
Neither is universally better. Quickwit has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Quickwit and RediSearch free and open-source?
Yes. Quickwit is licensed under Apache-2.0 and RediSearch under RSALv2. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Quickwit and RediSearch with Docker?
Quickwit: yes. RediSearch: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Quickwit or RediSearch?
RediSearch has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Quickwit. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.