# Algolia vs Meilisearch

Canonical: https://inetgeek.com/compare/algolia-vs-meilisearch/

Every value below is read from Algolia's and Meilisearch's own documentation. See https://inetgeek.com/methodology/ for how.

## At a glance

| Criterion | Algolia | Meilisearch |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Free tier | Yes | No |
| Entry paid plan | No monthly fee. Grow starts at zero and bills $0.50 per additional 1,000 search requests beyond 10,000 a month, plus $0.40 per additional 1,000 records beyond 100,000. Grow Plus, which adds AI, charges $1.75 per additional 1,000 searches. No magnitude is recorded because a usage rate and a plan fee are not the same number. | $20/month for Meilisearch Cloud. The usage-based plan is $30/month for a base of 100,000 documents and 50,000 searches; the resource-based plan starts at $23/month for an XS instance. |
| Pricing model | Two meters at once: search requests and records, each with an included allowance and a per-1,000 overage. The AI tier changes the search rate and not the record rate. | Two shapes offered side by side: usage-based from $30/month against a document and search allowance, or resource-based from $23/month for a named instance size. Self-hosting is free. |
| Self-hostable | Not supported | Supported |
| Hybrid search (vector + keyword) | Sold as a higher tier rather than a feature flag: Grow Plus is keyword search with AI capabilities, at $1.75 per additional 1,000 searches against Grow's $0.50. | Vector and hybrid search are listed as product features, and the pricing page sells a document size specifically for embeddings — AI, 12KB, described as documents with embeddings. |

## Where they differ

### Free tier

- Algolia: Yes ([source](https://www.algolia.com/pricing))
- Meilisearch: No ([source](https://www.meilisearch.com/pricing))

### Entry paid plan

- Algolia: No monthly fee. Grow starts at zero and bills $0.50 per additional 1,000 search requests beyond 10,000 a month, plus $0.40 per additional 1,000 records beyond 100,000. Grow Plus, which adds AI, charges $1.75 per additional 1,000 searches. No magnitude is recorded because a usage rate and a plan fee are not the same number. ([source](https://www.algolia.com/pricing))
- Meilisearch: $20/month for Meilisearch Cloud. The usage-based plan is $30/month for a base of 100,000 documents and 50,000 searches; the resource-based plan starts at $23/month for an XS instance. ([source](https://www.meilisearch.com/pricing))

### Pricing model

- Algolia: Two meters at once: search requests and records, each with an included allowance and a per-1,000 overage. The AI tier changes the search rate and not the record rate. ([source](https://www.algolia.com/pricing))
- Meilisearch: Two shapes offered side by side: usage-based from $30/month against a document and search allowance, or resource-based from $23/month for a named instance size. Self-hosting is free. ([source](https://www.meilisearch.com/pricing))

### Self-hostable

- Algolia: Not supported ([source](https://www.algolia.com/pricing))
- Meilisearch: Supported ([source](https://www.meilisearch.com/pricing))

### Hybrid search (vector + keyword)

- Algolia: Sold as a higher tier rather than a feature flag: Grow Plus is keyword search with AI capabilities, at $1.75 per additional 1,000 searches against Grow's $0.50. ([source](https://www.algolia.com/pricing))
- Meilisearch: Vector and hybrid search are listed as product features, and the pricing page sells a document size specifically for embeddings — AI, 12KB, described as documents with embeddings. ([source](https://www.meilisearch.com/pricing))

## Which should you choose?

Pick Algolia if Search you do not want to operate. No monthly fee, a standing free plan at 10,000 searches and 50,000 records, and relevance tuning that works out of the box — you pay per search and per record instead of per server.

Pick Meilisearch if A managed search engine with a bill you can predict: $20/month to start, or $30 against a documented allowance of 100,000 documents and 50,000 searches. Vector and hybrid search are in the product rather than a tier up.

Consider something else: Algolia — Traffic is the thing that grows. Beyond the free allowance it is $0.50 per additional 1,000 searches and $0.40 per additional 1,000 records, and $1.75 per 1,000 once you want the AI tier — a bill that rises with success, against three engines you can run yourself for the cost of operations.

Consider something else: Meilisearch — You want to try before paying, or never pay at all. There is no free plan — the only free access is 14 days — and Typesense and OpenSearch are equally self-hostable if operations is the trade you would rather make.

## Documented by only one

- Kind of free offer: Meilisearch: Free trial
- What the free plan includes: Algolia: 10,000 search requests a month, 50,000 records, 5,000 recommendation requests and 5,000 crawls, with no credit card required.

## Questions this comparison answers

**Entry paid plan: Algolia or Meilisearch?**

Algolia: No monthly fee. Grow starts at zero and bills $0.50 per additional 1,000 search requests beyond 10,000 a month, plus $0.40 per additional 1,000 records beyond 100,000. Grow Plus, which adds AI, charges $1.75 per additional 1,000 searches. No magnitude is recorded because a usage rate and a plan fee are not the same number.
Meilisearch: $20/month for Meilisearch Cloud. The usage-based plan is $30/month for a base of 100,000 documents and 50,000 searches; the resource-based plan starts at $23/month for an XS instance.

**Free tier: Algolia or Meilisearch?**

Algolia: Yes
Meilisearch: No

**Should I choose Algolia or Meilisearch?**

Pick Algolia if Search you do not want to operate. No monthly fee, a standing free plan at 10,000 searches and 50,000 records, and relevance tuning that works out of the box — you pay per search and per record instead of per server.
Pick Meilisearch if A managed search engine with a bill you can predict: $20/month to start, or $30 against a documented allowance of 100,000 documents and 50,000 searches. Vector and hybrid search are in the product rather than a tier up.