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Orama vs Typesense

Orama: Tiny TypeScript full-text, vector and hybrid search engine for browsers, servers and the edge. Typesense: In-memory, typo-tolerant search engine in C++ with vector, hybrid and conversational search.

key differences

  • Licensing: Orama is open source (permissive) (Apache License 2.0); Typesense is open source (copyleft) (GNU GPL v3).
  • Transactions: Orama offers none ACID; Typesense offers limited.
  • Only Typesense has joins, role-based access.
  • Orama can run embedded in your application process.

choose orama for

  • +Static site and documentation search
  • +Offline search in web and mobile apps
  • +Edge-function search over small corpora
  • +Client-side RAG prototypes

best at · Search, Vector search, RAG

choose typesense for

  • +E-commerce and marketplace search
  • +Docs and website search
  • +Geo search for listings
  • +Replacing Algolia to cut per-request costs

best at · Search, Vector search, RAG

OramaTiny TypeScript full-text, vector and hybrid search engine for browsers, servers and the edge.
TypesenseIn-memory, typo-tolerant search engine in C++ with vector, hybrid and conversational search.
overview
Primary model
Search Engine
Search Engine
Also supports
Vector, Document
Document, Vector
Type
Embedded library
Database engine
Status
Active
Active
Developer
Orama (OramaSearch Inc.)
Typesense, Inc.
First release
2022
2017
Latest version
3.1.18 (Dec 19, 2025)
30.2 (Apr 19, 2026)
License
Open source (permissive)Apache License 2.0
Open source (copyleft)GNU GPL v3
Free tier
✓
✓
popularity
WhichDB Score
19.6
28.8
Rank
#165
#95
GitHub stars
10.6K
27.1K
Stack Overflow questions
–
70
scale & guarantees
Comfortable data size
Small (≤ 100 GB)
Small (≤ 100 GB)
Horizontal scaling
None
None
Multi-region
None
Read replicas
ACID
None
Limited
Consistency
Strong
Strong
Schema
Strict
Flexible
Architecture
Embedded, In memory
Primary replica, In memory, 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
Orama search API (TypeScript)
Typesense search API (JSON)
Client languages
JavaScript, TypeScript
JavaScript, Python, PHP, Ruby, Go, Java, Dart, Swift
Best for
Search, Vector search, RAG, Embedded
Search, Vector search, RAG, Geo
Add more to this comparisonNot sure either fits? Try smart match

Orama vs Typesense: FAQ

What is the difference between Orama and Typesense?

Orama: Tiny TypeScript full-text, vector and hybrid search engine for browsers, servers and the edge. Typesense: In-memory, typo-tolerant search engine in C++ with vector, hybrid and conversational search. Licensing: Orama is open source (permissive) (Apache License 2.0); Typesense is open source (copyleft) (GNU GPL v3). Transactions: Orama offers none ACID; Typesense offers limited. Only Typesense has joins, role-based access.

When should I choose Orama over Typesense?

Choose Orama for static site and documentation search; offline search in web and mobile apps; and edge-function search over small corpora. Choose Typesense for E-commerce and marketplace search; docs and website search; and geo search for listings.

Is Orama or Typesense more popular?

Typesense ranks #95 on the WhichDB Score (28.8/100) and Orama ranks #165 (19.6/100). Popularity is not fit: check the requirements that matter for your project.

Are Orama and Typesense open source?

Yes. Orama is open source. License: Apache License 2.0. Yes. Typesense is open source. License: GNU GPL v3.