Typesense is a fast, open-source search engine that has earned its reputation as a strong Algolia alternative. It is written in C++ and optimized for low-latency server-side search. But it still requires you to run and maintain a server. Sprigr takes a different path: search compiled to WebAssembly that runs entirely in the browser. No server to manage, no network latency, no per-query costs.
Start Free — No Credit CardHow Sprigr's client-side architecture compares to Typesense's self-hosted server approach.
| Sprigr | Typesense | |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Client-side (WebAssembly) | Self-hosted server (C++) |
| Search latency | <10ms (local computation) | 1–5ms server-side + network round-trip |
| Infrastructure | None (runs in browser) | Requires server(s) to operate |
| Pricing model | Flat fee | Free (self-hosted) / usage-based (Cloud) |
| Free tier | Free forever (1K objects) | Free (self-hosted, you pay for servers) |
| Data privacy | Zero server-side processing | Queries processed on your server |
| Offline support | Yes | No |
| Setup complexity | One script tag | Server provisioning + configuration |
| Typo tolerance | Yes | Yes (core feature) |
| Hybrid semantic search | Yes (keyword + vector RRF) | Yes (vector search support) |
| Index size limit | ~50K records (client-side) | Millions of records |
| Open source | No | Yes (GPL-3.0) |
| API compatibility | Algolia-compatible REST API | Custom REST API |
Sprigr is the better fit when these priorities matter most to your project.
Typesense is free to download, but running it requires servers. You pay for compute, storage, monitoring, and scaling. With Sprigr, search runs in the browser. There are no servers to provision, no infrastructure to manage, and no costs that scale with query volume. Your bill stays flat no matter how many searches your users run.
With Typesense, every search query is sent to a server, whether yours or Typesense Cloud's. With Sprigr, search queries never leave the user's browser. No data is transmitted to any server, no queries are logged externally, and no cross-border data transfers occur. This simplifies GDPR and privacy compliance significantly.
Typesense is fast on the server side, often returning results in a few milliseconds. But the user still waits for the network round-trip, which adds 20 to 100+ milliseconds depending on geography and connection. Sprigr executes searches locally in the browser, so results appear in under 10 milliseconds regardless of network conditions or user location.
Typesense is an excellent product. Here is where it genuinely outperforms a client-side approach.
Client-side search has a practical ceiling. Loading tens of millions of records into a browser is not feasible. If your dataset exceeds roughly 50,000 records, Typesense's server-side C++ engine handles that scale comfortably. It is designed to index and search millions of documents with low memory overhead.
Typesense is open-source under GPL-3.0. You can inspect the source code, customize the engine, and run it on your own hardware with complete control. If your team has the DevOps capacity and prefers owning the entire search infrastructure, Typesense gives you that level of control.
Typesense supports multi-node clusters with automatic failover and replication. If your application requires high-availability guarantees with redundant nodes across regions, Typesense's built-in clustering and Raft-based consensus protocol deliver that reliability at scale.
Typesense stores documents in collections with a defined schema. Sprigr uses schema-free JSON objects similar to Algolia. To migrate, export your Typesense collections as JSON, map your fields to Sprigr's record format, and import them via the REST API. In most cases, this is a straightforward field-by-field mapping since both systems work with JSON documents.
On the frontend, you replace the Typesense client library and search calls with Sprigr's single script tag. Since Sprigr handles search locally in the browser, you remove the network-dependent search calls entirely. The result is simpler frontend code with fewer dependencies and no search server to maintain.
Typesense's search parameters like query_by, filter_by, and sort_by have analogous concepts in Sprigr's configuration. Searchable attributes, facet filters, and custom ranking all translate directly. The main difference is that Sprigr's search runs client-side, so there is no API call per keystroke once the index is loaded.
Self-hosted infrastructure costs, monitoring, and maintenance. Or Typesense Cloud from $30/mo.
Fully managed. Zero infrastructure. Unlimited client-side searches. Free tier: 1K objects.
Typesense is open-source and free to self-host under the GPL-3.0 license. You can download and run it on your own servers at no software cost. However, you are responsible for the underlying server infrastructure, maintenance, upgrades, and scaling. Typesense Cloud, the hosted version, uses usage-based pricing based on RAM, CPU, and cluster size. Sprigr offers a permanent free tier with 1,000 objects and paid plans starting at $49 per month with no infrastructure to manage.
No. Typesense is a server-side search engine written in C++ that requires a dedicated server process to run. All search queries are sent over the network to the Typesense server and results are returned via HTTP. Sprigr takes a fundamentally different approach: the search engine is compiled to WebAssembly and runs entirely in the user's browser. This eliminates the network round-trip and allows search to work offline.
Typesense Cloud pricing is based on the resources your cluster consumes: RAM, CPU cores, and the number of nodes. Costs increase as your index grows and as you add high-availability nodes. Sprigr uses a flat-fee model with no per-query charges and no infrastructure costs. Since searches run client-side in the browser, there are no server resources consumed per query. Sprigr has a permanent free tier with 1,000 objects, and paid plans start at $49 per month.
Both are fast, but in different ways. Typesense is highly optimized at the server level and can return results in single-digit milliseconds. However, the end-to-end latency that the user experiences includes a network round-trip, which typically adds 20 to 100+ milliseconds depending on geography, connection quality, and server location. Sprigr runs in the browser via WebAssembly, so there is no network hop at all. Searches complete in under 10 milliseconds regardless of the user's connection speed or location.
Yes. Export your Typesense collections as JSON and import them into Sprigr via the REST API. Both systems work with JSON documents, so migration is primarily a field-mapping exercise. Typesense's search parameters like query_by and filter_by have direct equivalents in Sprigr's searchable attributes and facet filters. The main change is on the frontend, where you replace network-based search calls with Sprigr's client-side script tag.
Free forever. No credit card required. No per-query charges, ever.
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