Meilisearch is a robust and flexible user-centric search engine that can be used with any application or website.It's an alternative to Algolia and ElasticSearch.
Started by Parisian company Meili SAS since 2018, it is designed as an out-of-the-box answer for developers aiming to enhance search interactions for end-users without the burden of seasoned search engines like Elasticsearch or Algolia. This review, composed on the facts available until March 12, 2025, explores its features, use cases, comparisons, community visibility, and the latest developments and summarizes the complete analysis for would-be users.
Key Features and Functionality
Meilisearch is designed for speed and simplicity with a variety of notable features:
Speed: It offers search-as-you-type functionality, returning results in less than 50 milliseconds, faster than the blink of an eye, ensuring an uninterrupted user experience.
Relevance and Accuracy: It includes typo tolerance, where appropriate matches for even misspelled queries are provided, and supports full language options, including Chinese, Japanese, Hebrew, and Latin-based languages. The new developments have included AI-driven hybrid search, which combines full-text and semantic search for enhanced relevancy.
Ease of Use: Its zero-configuration defaults and RESTful API enable deployment in minutes, making it ideal for developers who have no search engine expertise. It also supports loosely typed documents, reducing the need for strict data structure definitions.
Customizability: While being out-of-the-box ready, Meilisearch offers customization capabilities like facet search, filtering, sorting, and geosearch, which cater to specific use cases.
A list of significant features is provided below:
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Key Feature
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Description
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Lightning Fast
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Search-as-you-type returns answers in less than 50 milliseconds.
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Plug-n-play
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Deploy in minutes with smart presets, zero configuration needed.
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Ultra Relevant
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Advanced full-text search with out-of-the-box great relevancy, enhanced by AI.
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Apps & Sites
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Suitable for private/public data, websites, and apps, with comprehensive language support.
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Use Cases and Real-World Applications
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Bookshop.org: An online bookstore based in Brooklyn, NY, reported a 43% increase in search-based purchases after switching from Elasticsearch, with a purchase conversion rate rising from 14% to 20% (Bookshop.org Story). This was attributed to improved search relevancy and reduced maintenance costs, allowing focus on core business activities.
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OCTO Technology: Integrated Meilisearch for CMS solutions, benefiting from seamless data consolidation and excellent performance.
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Qogita: Noted cost-effectiveness and developer experience, enhancing agile product delivery in B2B trade.
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HitPay: Highlighted easy integration and higher out-of-the-box relevancy, streamlining search operations.
The product (Meilisearch) starts at 30 USD.
