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Apache Solr VS Sphinx (search engine)

Compare Apache Solr VS Sphinx (search engine) and see what are their differences

Apache Solr logo Apache Solr

Solr is an open source enterprise search server based on Lucene search library, with XML/HTTP and...

Sphinx (search engine) logo Sphinx (search engine)

Sphinx is a fulltext FLOSS search engine that provides text search functionality to client applications. Sphinx (search engine) - WikiMili, The Free Encyclopedia - WikiMili, The Free Encyclopedia
  • Apache Solr Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-28
  • Sphinx (search engine) Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-30

Apache Solr features and specs

  • Scalability
    Apache Solr is highly scalable, capable of handling large amounts of data and numerous queries per second. It supports distributed search and indexing, which allows for horizontal scaling by adding more nodes.
  • Flexibility
    Solr provides flexible schema management, allowing for dynamic field definitions and easy handling of various data types. It supports a variety of search query types and can be customized to meet specific search requirements.
  • Rich Feature Set
    Solr comes with a wealth of features out-of-the-box, including faceted search, result highlighting, multi-index search, and advanced filtering capabilities. It also offers robust analytics and joins support.
  • Community and Documentation
    Being an open-source project, Apache Solr has a strong community and comprehensive documentation, which ensures continuous improvements, updates, and extensive support resources for developers.
  • Integrations
    Solr integrates well with a variety of databases and data sources, and it provides REST-like APIs for ease of integration with other applications. It also has strong support for popular programming languages like Java, Python, and Ruby.
  • Performance
    Solr is built on top of Apache Lucene, which provides high performance for searching and indexing. It is optimized for speed and can handle rapid data ingestion and real-time indexing.

Possible disadvantages of Apache Solr

  • Complexity
    The initial setup and configuration of Apache Solr can be complex, particularly for those not already familiar with search engines and indexing concepts. Managing a distributed Solr installation also requires considerable expertise.
  • Resource Intensive
    Running Solr, especially for large datasets, can be resource-intensive in terms of both memory and CPU. It requires careful tuning and adequate hardware to maintain performance.
  • Learning Curve
    The learning curve for Apache Solr can be steep due to its extensive feature set and the complexity of its configuration options. New users may find it challenging to get up to speed quickly.
  • Consistency Issues
    In distributed setups, ensuring data consistency can be challenging, particularly for users unfamiliar with managing clustered environments. There may be delays or issues with synchronizing indexes across multiple nodes.
  • Maintenance
    Ongoing maintenance of a Solr instance, including monitoring, tuning, and scaling, can be labor-intensive. This requires dedicated effort to keep the system running efficiently over time.
  • Limited Real-time Capabilities
    Although Solr provides near real-time indexing, it may not be as effective as some specialized real-time search engines. For applications requiring truly real-time capabilities, additional solutions might be necessary.

Sphinx (search engine) features and specs

  • High Performance
    Sphinx is known for its high speed and efficiency in performing full-text searches, making it suitable for applications with large volumes of data.
  • Scalability
    It can scale well with the increase in data size and query load, making it a good choice for growing businesses.
  • Flexibility
    Sphinx offers flexibility in terms of configuration and customization, allowing users to tailor the search engine to their specific needs.
  • Open Source
    As an open-source search engine, Sphinx allows users to modify and adapt the software according to their project requirements without licensing fees.

Possible disadvantages of Sphinx (search engine)

  • Complex Setup
    The initial setup and configuration of Sphinx can be complex and may require significant time and technical expertise, which could be challenging for beginners.
  • Limited Community Support
    Compared to more popular search engines like Elasticsearch, Sphinx has a smaller community, potentially leading to fewer resources and support options available online.
  • Documentation
    While there is documentation available, it might not be as extensive or up-to-date as other search engines, creating potential hurdles for users trying to implement or troubleshoot issues.
  • Feature Set
    Sphinx might lack some of the advanced features and integrations offered by newer, more comprehensive search engines, which could limit its applicability for certain complex requirements.

Apache Solr videos

Solr Index - Learn about Inverted Indexes and Apache Solr Indexing

More videos:

  • Review - Solr Web Crawl - Crawl Websites and Search in Apache Solr

Sphinx (search engine) videos

No Sphinx (search engine) videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Apache Solr and Sphinx (search engine))
Custom Search Engine
83 83%
17% 17
Custom Search
81 81%
19% 19
Search Engine
82 82%
18% 18
Search API
81 81%
19% 19

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Apache Solr and Sphinx (search engine)

Apache Solr Reviews

Top 10 Site Search Software Tools & Plugins for 2022
Apache Solr is optimized to handle high-volume traffic and is easy to scale up or down depending on your changing needs. The near real-time indexing capabilities ensure that your content remains fresh and search results are always relevant and updated. For more advanced customization, Apache Solr boasts extensible plug-in architecture so you can easily plug in index and...
5 Open-Source Search Engines For your Website
Apache Solr is the popular, blazing-fast, open-source enterprise search platform built on Apache Lucene. Solr is a standalone search server with a REST-like API. You can put documents in it (called "indexing") via JSON, XML, CSV, or binary over HTTP. You query it via HTTP GET and receive JSON, XML, CSV, or binary results.
Source: vishnuch.tech
Elasticsearch vs. Solr vs. Sphinx: Best Open Source Search Platform Comparison
Solr is not as quick as Elasticsearch and works best for static data (that does not require frequent changing). The reason is due to caches. In Solr, the caches are global, which means that, when even the slightest change happens in the cache, all indexing demands a refresh. This is usually a time-consuming process. In Elastic, on the other hand, the refreshing is made by...
Source: greenice.net
Algolia Review – A Hosted Search API Reviewed
If you’re not 100% satisfied with Algolia, there are always alternative methods to accomplish similar results, such as Solr (open-source & self-hosted) or ElasticSearch (open-source or hosted). Both of these are built on Apache Lucene, and their search syntax is very similar. Amazon Elasticsearch Service provides a fully managed Elasticsearch service which makes it easy to...
Source: getstream.io

Sphinx (search engine) Reviews

We have no reviews of Sphinx (search engine) yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Apache Solr seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 19 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Apache Solr mentions (19)

  • List of 45 databases in the world
    Solr — Open-source search platform built on Apache Lucene. - Source: dev.to / 10 months ago
  • Considerations for Unicode and Searching
    I want to spend the brunt of this article talking about how to do this in Postgres, partly because it's a little more difficult there. But let me start in Apache Solr, which is where I first worked on these issues. - Source: dev.to / 10 months ago
  • Swirl: An open-source search engine with LLMs and ChatGPT to provide all the answers you need 🌌
    Using the Galaxy UI, knowledge workers can systematically review the best results from all configured services including Apache Solr, ChatGPT, Elastic, OpenSearch, PostgreSQL, Google BigQuery, plus generic HTTP/GET/POST with configurations for premium services like Google's Programmable Search Engine, Miro and Northern Light Research. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
  • Looking for software
    Apache Solr can be used to index and search text-based documents. It supports a wide range of file formats including PDFs, Microsoft Office documents, and plain text files. https://solr.apache.org/. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • 'google-like' search engine for files on my NAS
    If so, then https://solr.apache.org/ can be a solution, though there's a bit of setup involved. Oh yea, you get to write your own "search interface" too which would end up calling solr's api to find stuff. Source: over 2 years ago
View more

Sphinx (search engine) mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Sphinx (search engine) yet. Tracking of Sphinx (search engine) recommendations started around May 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Apache Solr and Sphinx (search engine), you can also consider the following products

ElasticSearch - Elasticsearch is an open source, distributed, RESTful search engine.

Algolia - Algolia's Search API makes it easy to deliver a great search experience in your apps & websites. Algolia Search provides hosted full-text, numerical, faceted and geolocalized search.

Typesense - Typo tolerant, delightfully simple, open source search 🔍

Meilisearch - Ultra relevant, instant, and typo-tolerant full-text search API

Swiftype - The simplest way to add search to your website or application. Sign up for free.

Manticore search - https://www.