tinysearch vs ZincSearch

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?
FeaturetinysearchZincSearch
CategorySearch EnginesSearch Engines
LicenseMITApache-2.0
LanguageRustGo
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM64 MB256 MB
Deploymentbinary, sourcedocker, kubernetes, binary
GitHub stars★ 2,953★ 17,884
First released20192021
ReplacesAlgoliaElasticsearch, Algolia

Why pick each one

Choose tinysearch if…

  • Released under the MIT license
  • Active community (3k GitHub stars)
  • Written in Rust
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
tinysearch details

Choose ZincSearch if…

  • Simple to run
  • Much lighter than Elasticsearch
ZincSearch details

Frequently asked questions

Is tinysearch or ZincSearch better?

ZincSearch is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider tinysearch if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are tinysearch and ZincSearch free and open-source?

Yes. tinysearch is licensed under MIT and ZincSearch under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run tinysearch and ZincSearch with Docker?

tinysearch: check the project docs for container support. ZincSearch: yes.

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