vioscaleAI
Comparison

Algolia vs Meilisearch

On the evidence we track, Algolia leads this comparison with a composite score of 82/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Algolia full profile →Meilisearch full profile →
Machine formatsMarkdownJSONGraphQLMarkdown is open. JSON and GraphQL need a free key.
★Algolia82
Meilisearch65
Score
vioscaleAI score
Algolia82 / 100medium · 70%
Meilisearch65 / 100medium · 67%
Pricing
Free tier
Algolia✓
Meilisearch✓
Model
Algoliafreemium
Meilisearchfreemium
Price level
Algolialow
Meilisearchmid
Starting price
Algolia$0.40
Meilisearch$20
Transparent
Algolia✓
Meilisearch✓
Integrations
Count
Algolia4
Meilisearch23
Security
Certifications
Disclosure policy
Algolia✓
Meilisearch✓
Gdpr
Algolia✓
Meilisearch✓
Hipaa
Algolia✓
Meilisearch–
Iso27001
Algolia✓
Meilisearch–
Soc2
Algolia✓
Meilisearch✓
Trust center
Vulnerabilities
Reliability
Sla pct
Algolia99.99
Meilisearch99.999
Status page
Algolia✓
Meilisearch✓
Adoption
Dependent repos
Algolia–
Meilisearch17
Github stars
Algolia–
Meilisearch59,573
Activity
Commits last 30d
Algolia–
Meilisearch100
Release
Cadence days
Algolia–
Meilisearch4
History
Algolia–
Meilisearch20 items
Language
Primary
Algolia–
MeilisearchRust
Market
Availability
Content
Faq
Algolia7 items
Meilisearch6 items

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for search engines. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Deployment
Deployment
AlgoliaManaged
MeilisearchManaged
Architecture
Index engine
Algolia-
Meilisearch-
Query
Query DSL (JSON / SQL / params / GraphQL)
Algolia-
MeilisearchJSON (HTTP API)
Faceting & filtering
AlgoliaYes
MeilisearchYes
Geo search
Algolia✗
Meilisearch✓
Relevance
Typo tolerance / fuzzy
AlgoliaBuilt-in
MeilisearchBuilt-in
Relevance tuning
AlgoliaRanking rules
MeilisearchRanking rules
Vector
Vector / hybrid search
AlgoliaDense + lexical fusion
MeilisearchDense + lexical fusion
Scale
Distributed / horizontal scale
AlgoliaClustered
MeilisearchSharded
Multi-tenancy (indexes / collections / tenants)
Algolia✓
Meilisearch✓
Ingest
Real-time indexing
AlgoliaNear-real-time
Meilisearch-
Workload
Log / analytics workload
Algolia✓
Meilisearch✓
Licensing
Licence class
AlgoliaProprietary
MeilisearchPermissive OSS

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

Algolia

Leader

A search infrastructure built for AI-driven workflows, featuring RAG integration for grounded generative responses and no-code ranking and merchandising control.

Independently observed

Meilisearch

A cloud-hosted and self-hosted search engine that combines full-text and semantic search. It's designed for rapid integration with zero configuration required and includes features like faceting, geosearch, and vector storage.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

Algolia

Leader
from $0.40/recordUsage-basedFree tier

Free tier with 10K monthly requests and 100K records. Grow: $0.50 per 1K additional requests. Grow Plus: $1.75 per 1K additional requests. Elevate: custom pricing.

  • GrowFree
    • Keyword Search + Browse
    • Query suggestions
    • Rules: 10/index
    • Manual synonyms
    • Data transformation
    • +3 more
  • Grow Plus10K search requests/month and 100K records included, then $1.75 per 1K requests and $0.40 per 1K records
    • Everything in Grow
    • Rules: 10,000/index
    • AI Ranking
    • Advanced Personalization
    • Query Categorization
    • +2 more
  • ElevateContact sales
    • Everything in Grow Plus
    • NeuralSearch
    • AI Collections
    • Smart Groups
    • Real-time personalization
    • +4 more
as of verify ↗

Meilisearch

from $20/moHybridFree tier14-day trial

From $20/month with 14-day free trial. Free self-hosted option. Custom enterprise pricing available.

  • CloudFrom $20/month with usage or resource-based pricing
    • 14-day free trial
    • Email support
    • Fully managed infrastructure
    • Usage-based or resource-based billing
    • Automatic scaling
    • +1 more
  • Self-HostedFree
    • Full infrastructure control
    • No usage limits
    • MIT license
  • EnterpriseContact sales
    • Custom infrastructure
    • Dedicated resources
    • Up to 99.999% SLA
    • Dedicated Slack support channel
    • SSO SAML
    • +7 more
as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platforms
Web
Algolia✓
Meilisearch✓
CLI
Algolia✗
Meilisearch✓
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
Algolia✓
Meilisearch✓
Self-hosted
Algolia✗
Meilisearch✓
Hybrid
Algolia✗
Meilisearch✓

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

Algolia

Leader
7 total
  • Shopify
  • Analytics tools
  • Data pipelines
  • Ecommerce platforms
  • Slack
  • Stripe
  • Zendesk
Independently observed

Meilisearch

36 total
  • JavaScript
  • TypeScript
  • Python
  • PHP
  • Ruby
  • Go
  • Rust
  • Java
  • .NET
  • Swift
  • Dart
  • Laravel
  • Rails
  • Symfony
  • Strapi
  • Firebase
  • React
  • Vue
  • Angular
  • Docker
  • Kubernetes
  • meilisync
  • MCP
  • JavaScript SDK
  • +12 more
Independently observed
Still deciding?

Algolia or Meilisearch: which one depends on you

A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.

Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.