Battle of the Giants: A Comprehensive Comparison of 15 Leading Search Engine Providers
Welcome to the first article in our series comparing search engine providers across critical functionalities. In this article, we will be comparing 15 leading search engine providers, including Algolia, Amazon CloudSearch, Azure Search, Elasticsearch, Google Cloud Search, IBM Watson Discovery, Lucene, Solr, Sphinx, Google Search Appliance, Microsoft Azure Cognitive Search, Oracle Secure Enterprise Search, Salesforce Einstein Search, Splunk, and Swiftype. We will examine their pricing models, ease of use, extensibility, search types and capabilities, privacy, security, and more, to help you find the provider that best fits your business needs. Let's get started with a detailed analysis of each provider's features and functionalities.
Table of content
Algolia, Amazon Cloudsearch, Azure Search, Elasticsearch, Google cloud search
IBM Watson Discovery, Lucene, Solr, Sphinx, Google Search Appliance
Microsoft Azure Cognitive Search,Oracle Secure Enterprise Search,Salesforce Einstein Search,Splunk,Swiftype
Algolia, Amazon Cloudsearch, Azure Search, Elasticsearch, Google cloud search
| Feature | Algolia | Amazon CloudSearch | Azure Search | Elasticsearch | Google Cloud Search | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Analytics (user behavior and A/B testing) | Yes | Limited | Yes | Yes | Limited | |
| Reporting (usage and performance) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Pricing | Pay-as-you-go pricing based on usage | Pay-as-you-go pricing based on usage | Pay-as-you-go pricing based on usage | Open-source (free) and paid plans based on usage | Pay-as-you-go pricing based on usage | |
| Free Tier | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Availability | SaaS and on-premise | SaaS | SaaS | SaaS and on-premise | SaaS | |
| Scalability | Highly scalable with a distributed architecture | Highly scalable with a distributed architecture | Highly scalable with a distributed architecture | Highly scalable with a distributed architecture | Highly scalable with a distributed architecture | |
| GDPR Compliancy | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Customizability | Highly customizable search experience | Limited customization | Limited customization | Highly customizable search experience | Limited customization | |
| Data sources | Multiple data sources (API, database, content management systems, etc.) | Multiple data sources (API, database, content management systems, etc.) | Multiple data sources (API, database, content management systems, etc.) | Multiple data sources (API, database, content management systems, etc.) | Multiple data sources (API, database, content management systems, etc.) | |
| Search Types | Full-text, faceted, geo-search, real-time indexing | Full-text, faceted, geo-search, real-time indexing | Full-text, faceted, geo-search | Full-text, faceted, geo-search, real-time indexing | Full-text, faceted, geo-search, real-time indexing | |
| Ease of use | Easy to set up and use with pre-built components and SDKs | Requires some technical expertise to set up and use | Easy to use with pre-built components and widgets | Requires some technical expertise to set up and use | Easy to use with pre-built components and widgets | |
| REST API Availability | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Available ISO certifications | ISO/IEC 27001:2013 | ISO/IEC 27001:2013, ISO/IEC 27017:2015 | ISO/IEC 27001:2013, ISO/IEC 27018:2014 | ISO/IEC 27001:2013, ISO/IEC 27018:2019 | ISO/IEC 27001:2013, ISO/IEC 27017:2015, ISO/IEC 27018:2014 | |
| Available Security certifications | SOC 2 Type II | SOC 1/2/3, PCI DSS, HIPAA | SOC 1/2/3, PCI DSS, HIPAA | SOC 2 Type II, PCI DSS | SOC 1/2/3, PCI DSS, HIPAA | |
| Developer friendliness (1-10) | 9 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 8 | |
| Marketeeer friendliness (1-10) | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 | |
| Support Level | Standard support available to all customers | Basic support included in AWS subscription | Standard support included in Azure subscription | Standard support available for enterprise users | Standard support included in GCP subscription | |
| SLA | 99.99% uptime | 99.99% uptime | 99.99% uptime | Depending on subscription | 99.99% uptime | |
| Critical Error Response Time | 5 minutes | 30 minutes | 30 minutes | Dependent on subscription | 4 hours | |
| SSO Capability | Yes | N/A | Yes | N/A | N/A | |
| Integration with Azure AD | SAML 2.0, OIDC | N/A | SAML 2.0, OIDC, WS-Fed | N/A |
IBM Watson Discovery, Lucene, Solr, Sphinx, Google Search Appliance
| Feature | IBM Watson Discovery | Lucene | Solr | Sphinx | Google Search Appliance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Analytics (user behavior and A/B testing) | Yes | No | No | No | Limited | |
| Reporting (usage and performance) | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Pricing | Custom pricing based on business needs | Open-source (free) | Open-source (free) | Open-source (free) | N/A | |
| Free Tier | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | N/A | |
| Availability | SaaS | Open-source | Open-source | Open-source | Discontinued | |
| Scalability | Highly scalable with a distributed architecture | Highly scalable with a distributed architecture | Highly scalable with a distributed architecture | Highly scalable with a distributed architecture | N/A | |
| GDPR Compliancy | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | N/A | |
| Customizability | Limited customization | Highly customizable search experience | Highly customizable search experience | Highly customizable search experience | Discontinued | |
| Data sources | Multiple data sources (API, database, content management systems, etc.) | Multiple data sources (API, database, content management systems, etc.) | Multiple data sources (API, database, content management systems, etc.) | Multiple data sources (API, database, content management systems, etc.) | Discontinued | |
| Search Types | Full-text, faceted, entity, sentiment | Full-text, faceted, geo-search | Full-text, faceted, geo-search Full-text, faceted | Full-text, faceted, geo-search, real-time indexing | Full-text, faceted, geo-search | |
| Ease of use | Requires some technical expertise to set up and use | Requires some technical expertise to set up and use | Requires some technical expertise to set up and use | Requires some technical expertise to set up and use | Discontinued | |
| REST API Availability | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | N/A | |
| Available ISO certifications | ISO/IEC 27001:2013, ISO/IEC 27018:2019 | ISO/IEC 27001:2013 | ISO/IEC 27001:2013 | ISO/IEC 27001:2013 | None | |
| Available Security certifications | SOC 1/2/3, PCI DSS, HIPAA | None | None | None | None | |
| Developer friendliness (1-10) | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 | Discontinued | |
| Marketeeer friendliness (1-10) | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | Discontinued | |
| Support Level | Basic support included in IBM Cloud subscription | Community support available through Apache | Community support available through Apache | Community support available through forums | Basic support included in GCP subscription | |
| SLA | Depending on subscription | Dependent on implementation | Dependent on implementation | Dependent on implementation | Dependent on implementation | |
| Critical Error Response Time | Dependent on subscription | Dependent on implementation | Dependent on implementation | Dependent on implementation | Dependent on implementation | |
| SSO Capability | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
| Integration with Azure AD | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Microsoft Azure Cognitive Search,Oracle Secure Enterprise Search,Salesforce Einstein Search,Splunk,Swiftype
| Feature | Microsoft Azure Cognitive Search | Oracle Secure Enterprise Search | Salesforce Einstein Search | Splunk | Swiftype | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Analytics (user behavior and A/B testing) | Yes | Limited | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Reporting (usage and performance) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Pricing | Pay-as-you-go pricing based on usage | N/A | Custom pricing based on business needs | Custom pricing based on business needs | Pay-as-you-go pricing based on usage | |
| Free Tier | Yes | N/A | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Availability | SaaS | On-premise | SaaS | SaaS | SaaS | |
| Scalability | Highly scalable with a distributed architecture | N/A | Highly scalable with a distributed architecture | Highly scalable with a distributed architecture | Highly scalable with a distributed architecture | |
| GDPR Compliancy | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Customizability | Limited customization | Limited customization | Limited customization | Highly customizable search experience | Highly customizable search experience | |
| Data sources | Multiple data sources (API, database, content management systems, etc.) | Multiple data sources (API, database, content management systems, etc.) | Limited data sources (structured and unstructured) | Multiple data sources (API, database, content management systems, etc.) | Multiple data sources (API, database, content management systems, etc.) | |
| Search Types | Full-text, faceted, geo-search | Full-text, faceted | Full-text, faceted, machine data | Full-text, faceted, machine data | Full-text, faceted, machine data | |
| Ease of use | Requires some technical expertise to set up and use | Requires some technical expertise to set up and use | Requires some technical expertise to set up and use | Requires some technical expertise to set up and use | Easy to use with pre-built components and widgets | |
| REST API Availability | Yes | N/A | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Available ISO certifications | ISO/IEC 27001:2013, ISO/IEC 27018:2019 | ISO/IEC 27001:2013, ISO/IEC 27017:2015, ISO/IEC 27018:2019 | ISO/IEC 27001:2013, ISO/IEC 27018:2019 | ISO/IEC 27001:2013, ISO/IEC 27018:2019 | ISO/IEC 27001:2013 | |
| Available Security certifications | SOC 1/2/3, PCI DSS, HIPAA | SOC 1/2/3, PCI DSS, HIPAA | SOC 2 Type II, PCI DSS | SOC 2 Type II, PCI DSS, HIPAA | SOC 2 Type II | |
| Developer friendliness (1-10) | 7 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | |
| Marketeeer friendliness (1-10) | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | |
| Support Level | Standard support included in Azure subscription | Basic support included in Oracle subscription | Standard support included in Salesforce subscription | Standard support available for enterprise users | Basic support included in Elastic subscription | |
| SLA | 99.9% uptime | Dependent on subscription | 99.9% uptime | Dependent on subscription | Dependent on subscription | |
| Critical Error Response Time | 30 minutes | Dependent on subscription | 1 hour | Dependent on subscription | Dependent on subscription | |
| SSO Capability | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
| Integration with Azure AD | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |