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This ensures users know how to report issues with the documentation. # Compare Medusa Search to Other Search Engines In this guide, you'll compare [Medusa Search](../page.mdx) to the search engines that Medusa projects commonly use, so you can decide which one fits your project. Each engine also has a detailed comparison guide, linked from every section. [Sign up for Cloud](../../sign-up/page.mdx) to use Medusa Search and other Cloud features. ## The Engines at a Glance Medusa Search is a managed search service for Cloud projects. It stores your search indexes outside of your database and serves search queries for them, from full-text queries with relevance ranking to vector search over embeddings. The [Search Module](https://docs.medusajs.com/resources/infrastructure-modules/search) drives every engine through a provider, so the [`query.search`](https://docs.medusajs.com/learn/fundamentals/query/search) calls you write and the [index definitions](https://docs.medusajs.com/resources/infrastructure-modules/search/index-definitions) you declare for your own entities stay the same. What changes is which provider serves them: |Engine|What it is|Who provides the module provider| |---|---|---| |Medusa Search|A managed search service that Cloud runs for every environment of your project.|Medusa, as the | |PostgreSQL|Full-text search inside the database your Medusa application already uses.|Medusa, as the | |Algolia|A hosted search product with deep relevance tuning, merchandising, and analytics.|You, as a Search Module Provider you build and maintain.| |Meilisearch|An open-source search engine you self-host, or run on Meilisearch Cloud.|You, as a Search Module Provider you build and maintain.| *** ## Summary Comparison The following table compares the four engines across the concerns that usually decide the choice. Refer to each engine's detailed guide for the behavior behind a row. |Concern|Medusa Search|PostgreSQL|Algolia|Meilisearch| |---|---|---|---|---| |Setup|Medusa provisions it per environment.|Run |Create an account, an index, and keys per environment.|Run the engine yourself, or create a Meilisearch Cloud project.| |Who operates it|Medusa.|You, as part of your database.|Algolia.|You when you self-host, or Meilisearch on their cloud.| |Integration code you maintain|None by default. Medusa manages the infrastructure for you.|None for products. An index definition per custom entity you search.|A provider you build, and an index definition per entity you search.|A provider you build, and an index definition per entity you search.| |Local development|Unavailable. The PostgreSQL provider covers local instead.|The default provider locally, with no extra service.|No local engine. Local development points at a real index.|The same engine runs locally as a binary or container.| |Relevance tuning|A weight per searchable field.|Four relevance tiers that weights collapse onto.|Ranking rules, synonyms, and merchandising controls.|Ranking rules, synonyms, and stop words.| |Vector and hybrid search|Supported on the Scale and Enterprise plans, with embeddings it can create for you on the Enterprise plan.|Not supported. The provider ignores a vector field and rejects a vector query.|Supported through Algolia's own vector features.|Supported, with an embedder that can compute the embeddings.| |Per-environment isolation|Medusa manages one set of indexes per environment for you.|Tables in the environment's database, so they travel with it.|You name and provision an index per environment.|You provision an index or an instance per environment.| |What you pay for|No separate subscription. Your plan includes an allowance of search requests.|Your database's own resources, which search shares with checkout. Other Cloud costs may apply depending on your usage, as explained in the |A subscription priced on stored records and search requests. Other Cloud costs may apply depending on your usage, as explained in the |Your own infrastructure, or a Meilisearch Cloud subscription. Other Cloud costs may apply depending on your usage, as explained in the | *** ## Detailed Comparisons Each guide compares Medusa Search to one engine across setup, integration, indexing, search capabilities, storefront querying, and cost: - [PostgreSQL](../postgres/page.mdx): The provider Medusa registers by default, and the one your local development uses. - [Algolia](../algolia/page.mdx): A hosted search product with relevance tuning, merchandising, and analytics. - [Meilisearch](../meilisearch/page.mdx): An open-source engine you self-host, or run on Meilisearch Cloud. *** ## Migrate to Medusa Search If you already run Algolia or Meilisearch and you're moving to Medusa Search, the following guides cover the end-to-end steps, including how to map your index settings and backfill your documents: - [Migrate from Algolia to Medusa Search](../migrate-from-algolia/page.mdx) - [Migrate from Meilisearch to Medusa Search](../migrate-from-meilisearch/page.mdx) --- The best way to deploy Medusa is through Medusa Cloud where you get autoscaling production infrastructure fine tuned for Medusa. 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