Toshi vs Typesense
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted search engines options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Typesense
Open-source typo-tolerant search engine optimized for speed
| Feature | Toshi | Typesense |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 79 · Good | 95 · Excellent |
| Category | Search Engines | Search Engines |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Rust | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker, kubernetes, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,256 | ★ 26,587 |
| First released | 2018 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Elasticsearch | Algolia, Elasticsearch |
What are Toshi and Typesense?
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
Typesense
Typesense is an open-source, typo-tolerant search engine built for fast and relevant search experiences. It offers a developer-friendly API and is positioned as an Algolia and Elasticsearch alternative.
- Typo-tolerant instant search
- Built-in high availability clustering
- Geo and vector search support
- Developer-friendly API
Toshi vs Typesense: key differences
Toshi is written in Rust, while Typesense is built with C++. Licensing differs — MIT for Toshi versus GPL-3.0 for Typesense. Toshi is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Typesense. Typesense has the considerably larger community, at 26,587 GitHub stars versus 4,256.
Why pick each one
Choose Toshi if…
- Lightweight search server
- Familiar API style
Watch out for
- Less mature than ES
- Smaller feature set
Choose Typesense if…
- Fast and easy to operate
- Open-source clustering
Watch out for
- Smaller plugin ecosystem
Frequently asked questions
Is Toshi or Typesense better?
Typesense 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 Toshi and Typesense free and open-source?
Yes. Toshi is licensed under MIT and Typesense under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Toshi and Typesense with Docker?
Toshi: yes. Typesense: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Toshi or Typesense?
Toshi has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Typesense. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.