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10 top picks · 2 audience rankings

Best open source search engines

The best open source search engine is MeiliSearch (MIT, 59,692 GitHub stars, Docker image). ElasticSearch stands out for the most GitHub stars, and SearXNG stands out for its Python codebase.

This page also breaks the picks down by team size and use: MeiliSearch leads for startups; ElasticSearch for enterprise.

Updated · data from GitHub, refreshed daily

Top picks

  1. Rank 1:

    MeiliSearch

    meilisearch/meilisearch

    Ultra relevant, instant and typo-tolerant full-text search API.

    Active · last commit Oct 27, 2026

    Search EnginesRustDocker

    Stands out for a permissive MIT license. MeiliSearch has 59,692 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 2,096 commits in the last year; it replaces Algolia.

  2. Rank 2:

    ElasticSearch

    elastic/elasticsearch

    Distributed, RESTful search and analytics engine.

    Active · last commit Oct 28, 2026

    Search EnginesJava

    Stands out for the most GitHub stars. ElasticSearch has 78,420 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0, SSPL 1.0 or Elastic License 2.0 (your choice) license and had 14,809 commits in the last year; it replaces Algolia.

  3. Rank 3:

    SearXNG

    searxng/searxng

    Internet metasearch engine which aggregates results from various search services and databases (Fork of Searx).

    Active · last commit Oct 27, 2026

    Search EnginesPythonDocker

    Stands out for its Python codebase. SearXNG has 38,938 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 817 commits in the last year.

At a glance

Open source search engines compared

Ranked on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits across the 15 apps in the search engines category. Projects with fewer than 12 commits in the last 12 months rank below every more active project.

Top 10 picks compared, data as of Oct 28, 2026
AppStands out forLicenseGitHub starsCommits (12 mo)Last commitDocker image
MeiliSearcha permissive MIT licenseMIT59,6922,096Oct 27, 2026Yes
ElasticSearchthe most GitHub starsAGPL-3.0, SSPL 1.0 or Elastic License 2.0 (your choice)78,42014,809Oct 28, 2026No
SearXNGits Python codebaseAGPL-3.038,938817Oct 27, 2026Yes
Typesenseits C++ codebaseGPL-3.027,058266Oct 28, 2026Yes
OpenSearcha permissive Apache-2.0 licenseApache-2.013,9191,464Oct 27, 2026Yes
Manticore Search–GPL-3.012,0741,301Oct 27, 2026Yes
Hister–AGPL-3.06,1672,389Oct 27, 2026Yes
Yacy–GPL-2.04,084211Sep 23, 2026Yes
Apache Solr–Apache-2.01,6911,011Oct 28, 2026Yes
Fess–Apache-2.01,142757Oct 28, 2026Yes

1 of 3 · 10 picks

Top picks

10 of the 15 apps in the search engines category.

  1. 1

    MeiliSearch

    Ultra relevant, instant and typo-tolerant full-text search API.

    Stands out for a permissive MIT license. MeiliSearch has 59,692 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 2,096 commits in the last year; it replaces Algolia.

  2. 2

    ElasticSearch

    Distributed, RESTful search and analytics engine.

    Stands out for the most GitHub stars. ElasticSearch has 78,420 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0, SSPL 1.0 or Elastic License 2.0 (your choice) license and had 14,809 commits in the last year; it replaces Algolia.

  3. 3

    SearXNG

    Internet metasearch engine which aggregates results from various search services and databases (Fork of Searx).

    Stands out for its Python codebase. SearXNG has 38,938 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 817 commits in the last year.

  4. 4

    Typesense

    Blazing fast, typo-tolerant open source search engine optimized for developer happiness and ease of use.

    Stands out for its C++ codebase. Typesense has 27,058 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 266 commits in the last year; it replaces Algolia.

  5. 5

    OpenSearch

    Distributed and RESTful search engine.

    Stands out for a permissive Apache-2.0 license. OpenSearch has 13,919 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,464 commits in the last year; it replaces Algolia.

  6. 6

    Manticore Search

    Full-text search and data analytics, with fast response time for small, medium and big data (alternative to Elasticsearch).

    Manticore Search has 12,074 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,301 commits in the last year; it replaces Algolia.

  7. 7

    Hister

    Personal web search engine with automatic indexing of visited websites. Supports offline local result previews, local files, multi-user handling and optional semantic search.

    Hister has 6,167 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 2,389 commits in the last year.

  8. 8

    Yacy

    Peer based, decentralized search engine server.

    Yacy has 4,084 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 211 commits in the last year.

  9. 9

    Apache Solr

    Enterprise search platform featuring full-text search, hit highlighting, faceted search, real-time indexing, dynamic clustering, and rich document (e.g., Word, PDF) handling.

    Apache Solr has 1,691 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,011 commits in the last year.

  10. 10

    Fess

    Powerful and easily deployable Enterprise Search Server.

    AI-nativeFess has 1,142 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 757 commits in the last year.

2 of 3 · 5 picks

Which open source search engine is best for startups?

For startups, MeiliSearch ranks first (MIT, 59,692 GitHub stars), followed by SearXNG and ElasticSearch. Ranked for startups on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses, project websites and recent commits.

  1. 1

    MeiliSearch

    Ultra relevant, instant and typo-tolerant full-text search API.

    MeiliSearch has 59,692 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 2,096 commits in the last year; it replaces Algolia. For startups it also scores on a Docker image, a permissive license (MIT), a project website and a commit in the last 90 days.

  2. 2

    SearXNG

    Internet metasearch engine which aggregates results from various search services and databases (Fork of Searx).

    SearXNG has 38,938 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 817 commits in the last year. For startups it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license, a project website and a commit in the last 90 days.

  3. 3

    ElasticSearch

    Distributed, RESTful search and analytics engine.

    ElasticSearch has 78,420 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0, SSPL 1.0 or Elastic License 2.0 (your choice) license and had 14,809 commits in the last year; it replaces Algolia. For startups it also scores on an open-source license, a project website and a commit in the last 90 days.

  4. 4

    OpenSearch

    Distributed and RESTful search engine.

    OpenSearch has 13,919 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,464 commits in the last year; it replaces Algolia. For startups it also scores on a Docker image, a permissive license (Apache-2.0), a project website and a commit in the last 90 days.

  5. 5

    Typesense

    Blazing fast, typo-tolerant open source search engine optimized for developer happiness and ease of use.

    Typesense has 27,058 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 266 commits in the last year; it replaces Algolia. For startups it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license, a project website and a commit in the last 90 days.

3 of 3 · 5 picks

Which open source search engine is best for enterprise?

For enterprise, ElasticSearch ranks first (AGPL-3.0, SSPL 1.0 or Elastic License 2.0 (your choice), 78,420 GitHub stars), followed by MeiliSearch and SearXNG. Ranked for enterprise on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, open-source licenses and recent commits.

  1. 1

    ElasticSearch

    Distributed, RESTful search and analytics engine.

    ElasticSearch has 78,420 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0, SSPL 1.0 or Elastic License 2.0 (your choice) license and had 14,809 commits in the last year; it replaces Algolia. For enterprise it also scores on an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  2. 2

    MeiliSearch

    Ultra relevant, instant and typo-tolerant full-text search API.

    MeiliSearch has 59,692 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 2,096 commits in the last year; it replaces Algolia. For enterprise it also scores on an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  3. 3

    SearXNG

    Internet metasearch engine which aggregates results from various search services and databases (Fork of Searx).

    SearXNG has 38,938 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 817 commits in the last year. For enterprise it also scores on an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  4. 4

    Typesense

    Blazing fast, typo-tolerant open source search engine optimized for developer happiness and ease of use.

    Typesense has 27,058 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 266 commits in the last year; it replaces Algolia. For enterprise it also scores on an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

  5. 5

    OpenSearch

    Distributed and RESTful search engine.

    OpenSearch has 13,919 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,464 commits in the last year; it replaces Algolia. For enterprise it also scores on an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days.

FAQ

Questions and answers

Still curious? Email info@appsgit.com.

Is MeiliSearch free?

Yes. MeiliSearch is open-source software released under the MIT license, so you can self-host it at no cost. You only pay for the server it runs on, and some projects also offer an optional paid cloud plan.

Can I self-host these search engines with Docker?

Yes, 9 of the 10 picks. MeiliSearch, SearXNG and Typesense publish Docker images, so you can run them on a VPS or home server with Docker Compose. The others install from their own packages or source; follow each project's install guide.

Are all of these search engines open source?

All 10 apps on this list are open source. You can self-host and modify each one under its license.

Which of these search engines is the most actively developed?

ElasticSearch, with 14,809 commits in the last 12 months and a latest release, v9.5.5, from October 2026. Activity is a good sign that bugs and security issues get fixed.

How is this list ranked?

Ranked on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits across the 15 apps in the search engines category. Projects with fewer than 12 commits in the last 12 months rank below every more active project.

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