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Algolia vs Amazon AWS CloudSearch comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Algolia
Ranking in Search as a Service
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Amazon AWS CloudSearch
Ranking in Search as a Service
8th
Average Rating
8.4
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Search as a Service category, the mindshare of Algolia is 9.8%, up from 8.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Amazon AWS CloudSearch is 5.4%, down from 9.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Search as a Service Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Algolia9.8%
Amazon AWS CloudSearch5.4%
Other84.8%
Search as a Service
 

Featured Reviews

Zaid bin junaid  - PeerSpot reviewer
Product Manager at Flash.co
Navigation has needed simplification while AI search has delivered faster, more relevant answers
Algolia has multiple features, but the one I love most is the AI-powered relevance, which helps us search anything within our systems. It ensures that search results are optimized using accuracy and personalization for our organization. The second feature I value is real-time indexing, which provides instant updates and ensures that search results reflect the latest content and inventory. Additionally, Algolia tailors search based on user behavior. For example, as a user, it tailors the behavior by giving preferences and context. It works on LLM models, which is the main reason they are able to personalize behavior. Another feature I appreciate is the ability to monitor search performance and conversion metrics. The reason Algolia's AI-powered relevance and real-time indexing have made a difference is that the features provided have given us an outstanding service. It works extremely well with no downtime, no defects, and no bugs. Whatever we search for, it provides instant results. That is why we prefer them over others.
HarishMahanta - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr PeopleSoft Consultant at People Tech
A reasonably priced solution that provides scalability, stability, reliability, and security
In terms of what needs improvement, I would say that it needs to keep its cost competitive in the market, especially in comparison to other clouds. Let's say we have various clouds in the market, like Google Cloud, Oracle Cloud, and AWS Cloud. However, security-wise, I don't think AWS is bad. It's good only, especially in comparison to Oracle Cloud, if you really use Oracle, while also considering the fact that PeopleSoft is an Oracle product. AWS is a separate cloud, and Oracle has its own cloud. If you are in a new PeopleSoft and Oracle and you are using a third-party cloud, it means it is not easy since we can't think it is easy. I mean, if you are using Oracle products and you are using Oracle Cloud, it will be easier for you. However, it has a cost in comparison to AWS. Oracle Cloud is too costly. According to region, we segregate because it depends on the organization's strength. Let's say your organization has 1,000 customers. In that case, on a daily basis, let's say one customer was released or discontinued using the product. Then, you have to remove the solution. However, if you use Oracle Cloud, that space will remain there. In the case of AWS, they will immediately cut down their space, meaning in terms of reuse ability, it will reduce the cost. In our case, AWS is the best in the market, actually. We have various clouds like Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure Cloud, the features of which are very different. There are a lot of features in AWS Cloud since I am not in the market providing service on the products. I am just using that tool to access our clients' database and deliver our day-to-day service. I interact with the clients regarding their issues, whatever they are facing. There is this one kind of interface we use to access things because they are in AWS Cloud. If your customer is in Oracle Cloud, then there will be a different approach to accessing it. In our case, we can use AWS or Oracle, so it doesn't matter to us.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The Algolia solution really helped us to improve our conversion rate and click through rate."
"It has many fine-tuning configurations. Essentially, every single piece of information you pass through it is a free document you can tailor."
"The tool is easy to use, but you need to know how it works."
"The tool provides users with personalization features that can be used to improve user interface."
"Algolia provides some cool functionalities like filtering, indexing, and searching."
"We were working with search products, brands, and different attributes specific to the product; it's faster and easier. The implementation is easy."
"The tool is worth the money, and I have seen an ROI."
"It's scalable. It can be scaled massively."
"The most valuable feature of Amazon AWS CloudSearch is its ability to receive data quickly. You can access your data easily in a short time."
"It's the best solution for any company. It has a hosting ERP system for any task. AWS is stable. AWS is more flexible and its elastic concept is a new concept. AWS is also very secure. It has many layers of security, like hardware security and software security. This is a big issue."
"The initial setup is straightforward."
"It is remarkably efficient and beneficial."
"The best feature is its scalability in that Cloud is always on the fly."
"Document indexing, text-based search API, and Geospatial searches are all good features."
"The quality of the solution is good."
"It will remain alive in the market. The solution will be stable in the market."
 

Cons

"Joining is quite complex."
"When indexing the products, one may face some issues with the tool."
"The deployment could be easier for beginners."
"I think they could improve the analytics view."
"Algolia is not adopted that much, and it would be great if it were made more popular."
"Algolia provides a certification, which is pretty basic, and I think it can be improved in terms of a bit more detail and more elaborative content."
"The documentation for the service is not as good as it could be."
"The documentation is not beginner-friendly."
"AWS CloudSearch's documentation isn't very clear. Also, the on-premise version of the solution is less stable than the cloud version."
"We'd like to see more database features."
"The price of the solution can be expensive."
"A reboot should be enhanced."
"I would say that it needs to keep its cost competitive in the market, especially in comparison to other clouds."
"I do not have any suggestions for improvements at this time."
"Latlon data type only supports single value per document. All other types support multiple values. We faced issues with this because we had scenarios where, for each document, we needed to store multiple latlon values for different geographical locations."
"Maybe they are common in Egypt, but you should make a request on Amazon to create a function to monitor CPU performance, memory, and files. It is very difficult in AWS. I would tell them it should be simple, just drag and drop. I think they could develop this option so we can drag and drop to monitor performance of the processor and memory."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I have heard that Algolia is an expensive solution."
"The product is cheap."
"Algolia is a cool, super-easy-to-use, and affordable tool."
"We are currently on a contract with Algolia for licensing and price."
"In terms of the cost of Algolia, the tool is really expensive for us in Brazil since it comes to about half a million dollars."
"For any developer starting out, it is worth it."
"On a scale of one to ten, where one point is cheap, and ten points are expensive, I rate the pricing as medium or reasonable."
"Our license costs around $4,000 per month."
"We chose AWS because of its cost and stability."
"Amazon AWS CloudSearch charging is based on how many resources you consume or and the solution is known to be a bit expensive."
"There was no license needed to use this solution."
"In comparison to IBM and Microsoft, the pricing is more favorable."
"I'm not sure how much we pay a year. It might be around $30,000 a year."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
14%
Performing Arts
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
University
7%
Computer Software Company
19%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Educational Organization
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise4
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise6
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Algolia?
The pricing, setup cost, and licensing for Algolia are based on a pay-as-you-go model, which is very efficient. The costs are very transparent and have detailed breakdowns for any kind of queries c...
What needs improvement with Algolia?
Algolia provides good value for money. However, personally, I feel the UI is a bit difficult to understand and could be more user-centric. The navigation part of Algolia is different from other too...
What is your primary use case for Algolia?
Algolia is used in my organization primarily for AI search to enhance product search for recommendations. It helps us support our knowledge bases, particularly Confluence, and maximizes the outcome...
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Overview

 

Sample Customers

Birchbox, Twitch, Lacoste, Stripe, WW, Medium, Cousera, National Geographic, Zendesk, Magento
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Find out what your peers are saying about Algolia vs. Amazon AWS CloudSearch and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.