Algolia vs Typesense
SEPT 2026 auditA comparison of Algolia and Typesense built from values read directly from each provider's own documentation, with the source recorded against every figure.
The short answer
Choose 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.
Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved
Choose Typesense if…
Running it yourself. Open source, in-memory, and unusually complete for the category — vector search, semantic search and built-in RAG sit beside fuzzy search, faceting and geo search in one engine rather than across tiers.
Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved
Consider something else if…
- 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.
- Typesense: You need to know the hosted cost before committing. Typesense Cloud publishes no plan: the pricing page is a configurator that prices whatever cluster you specify, and support is a separate purchase quoted at $5,200 a year.
5 sourced criteria separate them — see where, with sources, below.
Pick the criteria you care about. The chart counts how many of them lean toward each provider — the same read as scanning the bars below, just totalled for the ones you chose.
Algolia 0
Typesense 0
At a glance.
| Criterion | Algolia | Typesense |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | ||
| 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. | None published. typesense.org/pricing redirects to a cluster configurator rather than a plan table, so the cost depends entirely on the RAM, CPU and node count you choose and there is no entry figure to quote. |
| 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. | Free to self-host; the managed cloud prices a cluster you specify rather than a tier you pick. Support and migration consulting are sold separately, quoted at $5,200 for a year of prioritised business support. |
| Observability | ||
| Self-hostable | Not supported | Supported |
| Vector | ||
| 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 search, semantic search and built-in RAG are listed alongside fuzzy search, faceted navigation and geo search — one engine rather than a separate product. |
Where they differ.
Free tier
- Algolia
- Yes
- Typesense
- No
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Algolia Pricing ↗
“Get started building your best search experiences ever with access to some of our features to start for free. No credit card required.”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
- Typesense Cloud Pricing ↗
“1-Year Prioritized Business Support & Migration Consulting $5,200 value to switch to Typesense”
Read 2026-09-15 · official 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.
- Typesense
- None published. typesense.org/pricing redirects to a cluster configurator rather than a plan table, so the cost depends entirely on the RAM, CPU and node count you choose and there is no entry figure to quote.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Algolia Pricing ↗
“Grow Keyword search Start for free 10K search requests /month included then $0.50 per additional 1K search requests 100K records included then $0.40 per additional 1K records”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
- Typesense — Open Source Alternative to Algolia + Pinecone ↗
“Home About Docs Downloads Roadmap Typesense Cloud Blog Support Quick Start”
Read 2026-09-15 · official site
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.
- Typesense
- Free to self-host; the managed cloud prices a cluster you specify rather than a tier you pick. Support and migration consulting are sold separately, quoted at $5,200 for a year of prioritised business support.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Algolia Pricing ↗
“Grow Plus NEW Keyword search with AI capabilities Start for free 10K search requests /month included then $1.75 per additional 1K search req”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
- Typesense Cloud Pricing ↗
“1-Year Prioritized Business Support & Migration Consulting $5,200 value to switch to Typesense”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
Self-hostable
- Algolia
- Not supported
- Typesense
- Supported
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Algolia Pricing ↗
“Get started building your best search experiences ever with access to some of our features to start for free. No credit card required.”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
- Typesense — Open Source Alternative to Algolia + Pinecone ↗
“Typesense is a lightning-fast, open-source search engine designed to deliver instant, relevant search results.”
Read 2026-09-15 · official site
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.
- Typesense
- Vector search, semantic search and built-in RAG are listed alongside fuzzy search, faceted navigation and geo search — one engine rather than a separate product.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Algolia Pricing ↗
“Grow Plus NEW Keyword search with AI capabilities Start for free 10K search requests /month included then $1.75 per additional 1K search req”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
- Typesense — Open Source Alternative to Algolia + Pinecone ↗
“Autocomplete Faceted Navigation Geo Search Fuzzy Search Vector Search Semantic Search Recommendations Built-in RAG”
Read 2026-09-15 · official site
When these numbers change, hear about it. Sources are re-checked monthly; a repricing goes out as a short note.
Documented by only one.
These criteria are published by one provider and not the other. An absence here means we have not found a source, not that the feature is missing.
Questions this comparison answers.
Entry paid plan: Algolia or Typesense?
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.
Typesense: None published. typesense.org/pricing redirects to a cluster configurator rather than a plan table, so the cost depends entirely on the RAM, CPU and node count you choose and there is no entry figure to quote.
Free tier: Algolia or Typesense?
Algolia: Yes
Typesense: No
Should I choose Algolia or Typesense?
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 Typesense if Running it yourself. Open source, in-memory, and unusually complete for the category — vector search, semantic search and built-in RAG sit beside fuzzy search, faceting and geo search in one engine rather than across tiers.