Ultra relevant, instant and typo-tolerant full-text search API.
- MIT
- Rust
- Docker
- Actively maintained
Search Engines comparison
Meilisearch vs Typesense: which should you self-host in 2026?
Pick Meilisearch for the easiest instant search with great defaults and on-disk indexes; pick Typesense for an in-memory engine with built-in Raft clustering for high availability.
Both are open source and run on your own server. Below: a side-by-side of license, stack and features, live GitHub activity, and our verdict on who should pick which.
Blazing fast, typo-tolerant open source search engine optimized for developer happiness and ease of use.
- GPL-3.0
- C++
- Docker
- Actively maintained
Head-to-head
Meilisearch vs Typesense, side by side
Hand-checked differences first, then live numbers from GitHub, refreshed with every catalog update.
| Aspect |  Meilisearch |  Typesense |
|---|---|---|
| License | MIT for the core; Enterprise Edition parts under BUSL-1.1 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language/stack | Rust | C++ |
| Storage model | Indexes on disk in memory-mapped files (LMDB), so datasets can exceed RAM | Indexes held in RAM; the docs size memory to the dataset |
| High availability | Single node in the community edition; sharding falls under the Enterprise Edition | Built-in Raft-based clustering in the open-source release |
| Standout features | Typo tolerance, faceting, hybrid keyword and vector search | Typo tolerance, faceting, vector and semantic search, conversational search |
| GitHub stars | 59,497 | 26,631 |
| Commits, last 12 months | 1,966 | 176 |
| Last commit | Oct 5, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
| Latest release | v1.54.3Oct 1, 2026 | v30.2Apr 19, 2026 |
| Main language | Rust | C++ |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| Repository | meilisearch/meilisearch | typesense/typesense |
Swipe the table sideways to see both apps. GitHub figures come from the public API. Highlighted values are the higher of the two.
Verdict
Meilisearch is the friendlier starting point: a single Rust binary, typo tolerance and relevancy that work out of the box, and indexes stored on disk. Typesense keeps the whole index in RAM for consistently fast queries and ships open-source multi-node clustering, so it suits production search that needs high availability on self-hosted nodes.
Best for
Choose Meilisearch for
Developers adding search-as-you-type to an app with minimal tuning.
Best for
Choose Typesense for
Production search clusters that need built-in high availability.
Deploy either in minutes
Not sure yet? Spin up a small VPS or a managed instance, try both for a week, and keep the one that fits.
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Which is faster?
Both are built for sub-second search-as-you-type. Typesense serves from memory, while Meilisearch reads memory-mapped files from disk, so results depend on your dataset and hardware.
Do both support vector search?
Yes. Both offer vector and hybrid search and can generate embeddings with built-in or external models.
Are they free to self-host?
Yes. Meilisearch's core is MIT with some enterprise features under BUSL-1.1, and Typesense is GPL-3.0. Both also sell managed cloud versions.
Which is more popular on GitHub, Meilisearch or Typesense?
Meilisearch has 59,497 GitHub stars against 26,631 for Typesense. Over the last twelve months Meilisearch received 1,966 commits and Typesense received 176, so Meilisearch is the more actively developed of the two right now. Stars measure interest, not fit, so weigh them against the differences above.