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Apache Lucene vs Apache Solr

Apache Lucene: The Java search library at the heart of Elasticsearch, OpenSearch and Solr, now with HNSW vectors. Apache Solr: The original Lucene search server: battle-tested, Apache-governed, now with GPU-accelerated vectors.

key differences

  • Horizontal scaling is manual in Apache Lucene and native in Apache Solr.
  • Only Apache Lucene has columnar storage.
  • Only Apache Solr has joins, secondary indexes, json, ttl / expiry, role-based access.
  • Apache Lucene can run embedded in your application process.

choose apache-lucene for

  • +Embedding search in JVM applications
  • +Building custom search servers
  • +Desktop and IDE search features
  • +Research on retrieval algorithms

best at · Search, Vector search, Embedded

choose apache-solr for

  • +Enterprise and intranet search
  • +Digital library and publishing search
  • +E-commerce catalog faceting
  • +Hybrid keyword and vector retrieval on existing Solr estates

best at · Search, Vector search, RAG

Apache LuceneThe Java search library at the heart of Elasticsearch, OpenSearch and Solr, now with HNSW vectors.
Apache SolrThe original Lucene search server: battle-tested, Apache-governed, now with GPU-accelerated vectors.
overview
Primary model
Search Engine
Search Engine
Also supports
Vector, Spatial
Document, Vector, Spatial
Type
Embedded library
Database engine
Status
Active
Active
Developer
Apache Software Foundation
Apache Software Foundation
First release
1999
2006
Latest version
10.5.2 (Oct 4, 2026)
10.0.0 (Mar 3, 2026)
License
Open source (permissive)Apache License 2.0
Open source (permissive)Apache License 2.0
Free tier
✓
✓
popularity
WhichDB Score
38.6
39.8
Rank
#50
#46
GitHub stars
3.6K
1.7K
Stack Overflow questions
11.9K
20.5K
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Large (≤ 1 PB)
Large (≤ 1 PB)
Horizontal scaling
Manual
Native
Multi-region
None
Read replicas
ACID
Limited
Limited
Consistency
Strong
Eventual
Schema
Flexible
Flexible
Architecture
Embedded
Distributed, Client server
deployment
Self-hosted
✓
✓
Vendor-managed cloud
—
—
Serverless
—
—
Embedded
✓
—
Edge
—
—
Clouds
–
–
capabilities
Transactions
—
—
Joins
—
✓
Secondary indexes
—
✓
Full-text search
✓
✓
Vector search
✓
✓
Geospatial
✓
✓
JSON
—
✓
Change data capture
—
—
Triggers
—
—
Stored procedures
—
—
Materialized views
—
—
TTL / expiry
—
✓
Pub/Sub
—
—
Columnar storage
✓
—
In-memory
—
—
Durable persistence
✓
✓
Compression
✓
✓
Encryption at rest
—
—
Role-based access
—
✓
Time travel
—
—
Branching
—
—
Online schema changes
—
✓
Streaming ingest
—
—
Offline sync
—
—
Runs in WebAssembly
—
—
interfaces
Query languages
Lucene query syntax, Java API
Lucene query syntax, JSON Request API, Streaming Expressions, SQL
Client languages
Java, Kotlin, Scala
Java, Python, JavaScript, PHP, Ruby, .NET
Best for
Search, Vector search, Embedded, Geo
Search, Vector search, RAG, Geo
Add more to this comparisonNot sure either fits? Try smart match

Apache Lucene vs Apache Solr: FAQ

What is the difference between Apache Lucene and Apache Solr?

Apache Lucene: The Java search library at the heart of Elasticsearch, OpenSearch and Solr, now with HNSW vectors. Apache Solr: The original Lucene search server: battle-tested, Apache-governed, now with GPU-accelerated vectors. Horizontal scaling is manual in Apache Lucene and native in Apache Solr. Only Apache Lucene has columnar storage. Only Apache Solr has joins, secondary indexes, json, ttl / expiry, role-based access.

When should I choose Apache Lucene over Apache Solr?

Choose Apache Lucene for embedding search in JVM applications; building custom search servers; and desktop and IDE search features. Choose Apache Solr for enterprise and intranet search; digital library and publishing search; and E-commerce catalog faceting.

Is Apache Lucene or Apache Solr more popular?

Apache Solr ranks #46 on the WhichDB Score (39.8/100) and Apache Lucene ranks #50 (38.6/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are Apache Lucene and Apache Solr open source?

Yes. Apache Lucene is open source. License: Apache License 2.0. Yes. Apache Solr is open source. License: Apache License 2.0.