Meilisearch review
Updated September 28, 2026 · DeployCue Editorial Team · Facts checked September 26, 2026
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Our verdict
Meilisearch suits teams that want text, vector, semantic and hybrid search from one engine without leaving a free tier behind. Its entry price of $20 sits under the category median, so the cost of starting stays modest for small projects.
Key facts
- Best for
- Search heavy products that want text, vector, semantic and hybrid ranking in one engine.
- Price from
- $20↗
- Database engines
- Full-text, Vector, Semantic, Hybrid↗
- Free tier
- Yes↗
- Legal entity
- Meili↗
- Support channels
- Email, Help-centre, Community↗
- Official website
- meilisearch.com
Facts checked September 26, 2026, 3 sources
Listed in
Pros and cons
Pros
- One engine covers full text, vector and semantic in a single index
- A free tier lets teams evaluate relevance quality before paying
- Entry pricing of $20 sits below the €4.38 median for the category
- Support spans email, help centre and community, so written answers are easy to find
Cons
- Support runs on email, help centre and community only, with no chat or phone channel
- Entry price of $20 is above the €4.38 median, so small projects pay more to start
- The contracting entity is Meili, so teams wanting a broad vendor roster have a narrower choice
Who it suits
- Teams building product search, documentation search or internal tools that want one engine for full text, vector and semantic
- Startups and small teams that can trial on the free tier before committing budget
- Developers who want hybrid ranking without stitching a separate vector store to a text engine
Who should look elsewhere
- RisingWave, if the lowest possible entry price matters more than search features, at $0.23
- UCloud, if you want a wider infrastructure catalogue behind the price, at $0.96
- Vultr, if your priority is general compute pricing rather than a dedicated search engine
Who runs it
Terms of use name Meili as the entity behind the service, which keeps contracts and invoices with one identifiable company. Support is offered through email, help centre and community, so most questions are answered in writing rather than by phone. Teams that need a named counterpart for procurement can start from the legal entity named in the terms.
How Meilisearch compares
Meilisearch vs ScalaHosting9.3 vs 8.3
Meilisearch vs Contabo9.3 vs 9.2
Meilisearch vs Kamatera9.3 vs 9.5- Meilisearch vs Novada9.3 vs 8.9
Meilisearch vs Cloudways9.3 vs 9.2
Meilisearch vs PlanetHoster9.3 vs 8.7
Meilisearch vs Acronis9.3 vs 9.9
Meilisearch vs Aruba9.3 vs 9.3
Meilisearch vs Decodo9.3 vs 9.1
Meilisearch vs Hostinger9.3 vs 9.1- Meilisearch vs MarsProxies9.3 vs 9.0
Meilisearch vs hide.me9.3 vs 8.7
Meilisearch vs Proton Drive9.3 vs 8.3
Meilisearch vs AIS Cloud9.3 vs 8.1
Frequently asked questions
How much does Meilisearch cost to start?+
Managed plans start at $20 per month, which puts the entry point below the €4.38 median for the databases category. A free tier is also offered, so teams can run a project before paying anything.
Is there a free tier?+
A free tier is included, so you can build and test an index at no cost before moving to a paid plan. It is the quickest way to judge relevance quality against your own documents.
What kinds of search does it cover?+
The same engine handles full text, vector and semantic, so you can mix classic keyword matching with ranking by meaning in the same index. That removes the usual need to run a separate vector store beside a text engine.
Who is the legal entity behind the service?+
Terms of use name Meili as the contracting entity, so agreements, invoices and service commitments are held with one identifiable company.
How do I get support?+
Support comes through email, help centre and community. There is no live chat or phone channel listed, so teams that need round the clock voice contact should plan around written answers.
How does the entry price compare with RisingWave and UCloud?+
Entry pricing of $20 compares with $0.23 for RisingWave and $0.96 for UCloud. RisingWave lists the lowest figure, while Meilisearch pairs its higher start with a built in free tier.
How common are free tiers across the databases listed?+
Across the categories we track, 523 brands are listed, and a free tier appears on 81.7% of them, so free options are common in this field.
What do free request allowances usually look like?+
The category median is 1,000,000 free requests a month, with a lower quartile of 500,000 and an upper quartile of 1,000,000. Useful as a benchmark when judging what a free plan should cover.
Sources
- meilisearch.com checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Database engines
“Full-text search ... Semantic search ... Hybrid search ... Vector storage”
- meilisearch.com/pricing checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Free tier, Price from, Support channels
“Can I self-host Meilisearch for free?”
- meilisearch.com/terms-of-use checked September 26, 2026
Backs: Legal entity
“Meilisearch is developed by Meili, a simplified joint stock company under French law”
Compiled from 3 source pages, checked September 26, 2026. We did not open an account.
Meilisearch
Search heavy products that want text, vector, semantic and hybrid ranking in one engine.