Algolia vs Meilisearch Cloud
Default scenario: At 1M records, 5M searches / month, estimated bills are $27,360/yr for Meilisearch Cloud and $34,260/yr for Algolia. That’s a $6,900 difference before accounting for different features or operating costs.
The services may differ in features, performance, support and the work you need to do yourself. Read the notes and test what matters to your setup.
Your selected usage
1M records, 5M searches / month
- Algolia: $34,260/yr estimated
- Meilisearch Cloud: $27,360/yr estimated
Estimated costs at different usage levels
| Usage | Algolia | Meilisearch Cloud |
|---|---|---|
| Docs site10K records, 100K searches / month | $540/yrGrow · $0 records + $45 searches | $270/yrResource-based XS (0.5 vCPU, 1 GB) · $0 records + $0 searches |
| E-commerce1M records, 5M searches / month | $34,260/yrGrow · $360 records + $2,495 searches | $27,360/yrUsage-based · $270 records + $1,980 searches |
| Marketplace20M records, 50M searches / month | $395,460/yrGrow · $7,960 records + $24,995 searches | $311,760/yrUsage-based · $5,970 records + $19,980 searches |
Resource-priced vendors (billed by RAM/cluster) are mapped to the smallest plan that fits; see notes. Try your own numbers against all search providers.
Side by side
| Algolia | Meilisearch Cloud | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Hosted search-as-a-service billed per search request and per stored record. Pay-as-you-go Grow plan; enterprise features need an Elevate contract. | Managed Meilisearch from Paris-based Meili. Choose usage-based billing (per document and search) or resource-based instances. |
| Headquarters | 🇺🇸 United States | 🇫🇷 France |
| Parent jurisdiction | 🇺🇸 United States | 🇫🇷 France |
| EU self-serve plan | Available; check eligible plans and regions | Available; check eligible plans and regions |
| GDPR DPA | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | payg | payg |
| Free tier | Build/Free plan with 10,000 search requests per month and 50,000 records. | 14-day free trial, no credit card required. |
| Open source | No | Yes · self-hostable |
| Source last checked | 2026-10-06 | 2026-10-06 |
| Pricing evidence | Published rates | Modeled rates |
Which should you choose?
Meilisearch Cloud has the lower estimated bill at every usage level we tested, from 100K records, 500K searches / month to 100M records, 500M searches / month.
Choose Algolia if…
Our data shows no advantage on price, residency, jurisdiction or licensing. Compare features in the notes below.
Choose Meilisearch Cloud if…
- it has the lower estimated bill at Docs site, E-commerce and Marketplace usage
- you want a provider whose parent company is outside the US (France)
- you want open-source software you can run yourself
Based on estimated list-price bills and the facts above. Features, performance and support aren’t scored.
Algolia pricing
Calculated from the listed vendor rates; exclusions still apply.
| Plan | 1k additional records / month | 1k additional searches |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 |
| Grow | $0.4 | $0.5 |
Grow: 10,000 search requests and 100,000 records included each month, then $0.50 per 1,000 search requests and $0.40 per 1,000 records. With search-as-you-type, every keystroke can be a billable request. Grow Plus (AI ranking, synonyms and personalization features) has the same record price but $1.75 per 1,000 searches. NeuralSearch, SSO and the 99.999% SLA require Elevate (annual contract; volume discounts with annual commitment). Grow and Grow Plus can be hosted in the US, UK or EU West. Algolia was founded in Paris and is headquartered in San Francisco.
Algolia plan limits, full rates and cheaper alternatives · official pricing page
Meilisearch Cloud pricing
Published rates converted using workload assumptions. Read the notes. Resource sizing assumes 1 KB records. Large usage-based estimates may require a negotiated plan.
| Plan | Base fee / month | 1k additional records / month | 1k additional searches |
|---|---|---|---|
| Usage-based | $30 | $0.3 | $0.4 |
| Resource-based XS (0.5 vCPU, 1 GB) | $22.53 | $0 | $0 |
| Resource-based S (1 vCPU, 2 GB) | $39.78 | $0 | $0 |
| Resource-based M (2 vCPU, 4 GB) | $74.28 | $0 | $0 |
| Resource-based L (2 vCPU, 8 GB) | $143.28 | $0 | $0 |
| Resource-based XL (4 vCPU, 16 GB) | $313.06 | $0 | $0 |
Usage-based: $30/month base with 100k documents and 50k searches, then $0.30 per 1,000 documents and $0.40 per 1,000 searches. The site's estimator switches to "contact us" above $1,000/month, so large workloads are negotiated. Resource-based: instances from the estimator are XS $17.73, S $34.98, M $69.48, L $138.48 and XL $304.96 per month, plus disk at $0.15/GiB-month (32 GiB minimum, $4.80). Sizing uses the vendor's own estimator at ~1 KB per record: RAM of at least 3 times the data size, and 1 vCPU per 1M searches/month. That vCPU rule is conservative, which is why mid-size and large presets fall back to usage-based pricing. Larger instances (2XL and up) are Enterprise. Regions include Frankfurt, Paris and London. Prices vary by region (e.g. XS $14.88 in N. Virginia). Meili SAS, Paris.
Meilisearch Cloud plan limits, full rates and cheaper alternatives · official pricing page
Frequently asked questions
Is Algolia cheaper than Meilisearch Cloud?
Meilisearch Cloud has the lower estimated bill at every usage level we tested, from 100K records, 500K searches / month to 100M records, 500M searches / month. At 1M records, 5M searches / month, the estimates are $34,260/yr for Algolia and $27,360/yr for Meilisearch Cloud. Estimates use list prices and leave out features, support and operating costs.
Do Algolia and Meilisearch Cloud offer EU data residency?
Both offer EU data residency on a self-serve plan. Check which plans and regions qualify.
Do Algolia and Meilisearch Cloud have a free tier or trial?
Algolia: Build/Free plan with 10,000 search requests per month and 50,000 records. Meilisearch Cloud: 14-day free trial, no credit card required.
Where are Algolia and Meilisearch Cloud based?
Algolia is headquartered in the United States. Meilisearch Cloud is headquartered in France.