Good search turns browsers into buyers and readers. Bad search frustrates users and drives them away. Three search engines dominate the developer space.
Engine Comparison
| Factor | Algolia | Meilisearch | Typesense |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Hosted SaaS | Open-source + Cloud | Open-source + Cloud |
| License | Proprietary | MIT | GPLv3 |
| Self-hosting | No | Yes (free) | Yes (free) |
| Language | C++ | Rust | C++ |
| Latency | <50ms | <50ms | <50ms |
| Typo tolerance | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent |
| Faceted search | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Filtering | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Sorting | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Geo search | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| AI/semantic search | Yes (NeuralSearch) | Yes (hybrid) | Yes (vector search) |
| Synonyms | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-language | 70+ languages | All languages | All languages |
| Analytics | Built-in | Basic | Basic |
| A/B testing | Built-in | No | No |
| Personalization | Yes | No | No |
| Recommend | Yes (AI) | No | No |
| Free tier | 10K searches/month | Self-hosted unlimited | Self-hosted unlimited |
| Cloud pricing | $1/1K searches | $30/month (starter) | $0.50/hour |
| InstantSearch UI | Official widgets | Compatible | Compatible |
| React/Next.js | Official SDK | Official SDK | Official SDK |
When Algolia Wins
- Enterprise e-commerce: Personalization, analytics, A/B testing
- Large catalogs: Millions of products with fast faceting
- Non-technical teams: Dashboard-based configuration
- Global presence: CDN-distributed search infrastructure
- Advanced features: Recommend, NeuralSearch, Query Rules
When Meilisearch Wins
- Budget-sensitive: Free self-hosting, affordable cloud
- Privacy requirements: Data stays on your servers
- Developer experience: Simplest API and setup
- Documentation sites: Faster setup than Algolia
- Prototyping: Docker container running in 30 seconds
When Typesense Wins
- Vector/semantic search: Built-in embedding and vector search
- High-availability: Raft-based clustering
- Cost control: Self-hosted with no per-search pricing
- Hybrid search: Combine keyword + semantic queries
- Custom ranking: Fine-grained relevance tuning
Pricing at Scale (100K Searches/Month)
| Engine | Self-Hosted | Cloud |
|---|---|---|
| Algolia | Not available | ~$100/month |
| Meilisearch | ~$20/month server | ~$60/month |
| Typesense | ~$20/month server | ~$35/month |
Our Recommendation
For most projects, we recommend Meilisearch self-hosted. It provides excellent search quality, typo tolerance, and sub-50ms responses at zero per-search cost. For e-commerce clients needing personalization and analytics, Algolia justifies its premium pricing. Typesense is our pick when semantic/vector search is needed.
Add powerful search to your website or application.