Compare software

Meilisearch vs Elasticsearch: catalog facts
Meilisearch	Elasticsearch
Freemium Core engine is free under MIT; enterprise edition features use a separate licence.	Freemium Free to download and self-host; Elastic sells a hosted cloud service with a free trial.
Windows, macOS, Linux, Self-hosted	Windows, Self-hosted
RESTful API that is simple to call from any language Hybrid keyword and AI-based search	Full-text, vector and hybrid search through one API Scales horizontally across a cluster
Some enterprise features are under a non-MIT licence Aimed at developers, not end users	Running and tuning a cluster takes operational effort Aimed at developers and operators rather than end users
Downloadable app, Self-hosted	Downloadable app, Self-hosted, Hosted service
Open source	Open source
License: MIT	License not stated
No account needed	No account needed
Not stated if it works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 2, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 2, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.