Manticore Search vs MeiliSearch: What are the differences?

Introduction

Manticore Search and MeiliSearch are both search engines that offer powerful search capabilities for websites and applications. However, there are key differences between the two that make them suitable for different use cases and requirements.

1. Data Indexing and Searching: Manticore Search supports real-time indexing and searching of structured and unstructured data, providing high-performance and accurate search results. On the other hand, MeiliSearch focuses on providing fast and relevant search results for textual data, with support for typo-tolerance and advanced ranking algorithms.

2. Scalability and Distributed Architecture: Manticore Search offers a distributed architecture that allows for horizontal scalability, making it suitable for handling large datasets and high traffic scenarios. MeiliSearch, while highly efficient for small to medium-sized datasets, does not currently support distributed deployments out of the box.

3. Querying and Filtering Options: Manticore Search provides a wide range of querying options, including boolean queries, wildcard searches, proximity searches, and attribute filters. MeiliSearch, on the other hand, focuses on simplicity and ease of use, providing straightforward search queries and filtering options.

4. Customization and Extensibility: Manticore Search offers extensive customization options, allowing users to define custom tokenizers, index fields with different types, and apply their own ranking algorithms. MeiliSearch, although extensible to some extent, provides a more limited set of customization options compared to Manticore Search.

5. Full-text Search vs. Search-as-you-type: Manticore Search is primarily designed for full-text search, where users can search for any term or phrase within the indexed data. MeiliSearch, on the other hand, places a strong emphasis on "search-as-you-type" functionality, providing instant search suggestions and results as the user types, making it ideal for interactive search experiences.

6. Open Source vs. Self-hosted: Manticore Search is an open-source project, allowing users to freely modify and distribute the software according to their needs. MeiliSearch, while also providing a self-hosted version, is not fully open-source and has commercial licensing options for enterprise support and additional features.

In Summary, Manticore Search offers a highly customizable and scalable search solution for structured and unstructured data, while MeiliSearch focuses on simplicity, speed, and real-time search experiences, with a strong emphasis on "search-as-you-type" functionality.