What is Apache Solr used for?

Apache Solr is an open-source search platform built on Lucene that supports full-text, vector and geospatial search for applications and enterprises. It is a good fit for adding site search to a large content catalog, running enterprise document search and building vector search into an application.

Is Apache Solr open source?

Yes. Apache Solr is open source under the Apache-2.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at apache/solr and is written mainly in Java.

Yes. Apache Solr is open source, so the software itself is free to use.

Can I self-host Apache Solr?

Yes. Apache Solr can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.

What is Apache Solr an alternative to?

Apache Solr is an open-source alternative to Elastic, Algolia, Amazon OpenSearch Service and Azure AI Search. Other open-source alternatives to Elastic include Vespa, OpenSearch and Manticore Search.

Is Apache Solr actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to Apache Solr was on 2 October 2026. The project has 1.7k stars on GitHub.

Apache Solr: open-source alternative to Elastic, Algolia

About Apache Solr

Apache Solr is a search platform from the Apache Software Foundation, built on top of Apache Lucene. It lets organizations index large collections of documents and query them quickly, and its README describes support for full-text, vector and geospatial search used by many large organizations.

Solr is a server you run yourself and talk to over HTTP. It includes example configurations to get started, a reference guide with a deployment guide and tutorials, and an administration interface available on the local server once it is running. The project topics also link it to NoSQL-style storage, information retrieval and backend search engine use cases.

The software is written in Java and released under the Apache-2.0 licence, with downloads on the Apache site. It can be installed from a distribution, run with the official Docker image, or deployed on Kubernetes using the Solr Operator. Support comes through mailing lists, Slack and IRC. It suits engineering teams adding search to websites, catalogs or internal tools without relying on a hosted search vendor.

Key features

Full-text search built on Lucene
Vector and geospatial search support
Official Docker image
Kubernetes support through the Solr Operator
Built-in examples to get started
Reference guide with tutorials

Good fit for

→Adding site search to a large content catalog
→Running enterprise document search
→Building vector search into an application

Built with: Java
Tags: search-engine; lucene; solr; apache; full-text-search; java; vector-search; kubernetes; information-retrieval

Apache Solr: questions and answers

What is Apache Solr used for?: Apache Solr is an open-source search platform built on Lucene that supports full-text, vector and geospatial search for applications and enterprises. It is a good fit for adding site search to a large content catalog, running enterprise document search and building vector search into an application.
Is Apache Solr open source?: Yes. Apache Solr is open source under the Apache-2.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at apache/solr and is written mainly in Java.
Is Apache Solr free?: Yes. Apache Solr is open source, so the software itself is free to use.
Can I self-host Apache Solr?: Yes. Apache Solr can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.
What is Apache Solr an alternative to?: Apache Solr is an open-source alternative to Elastic, Algolia, Amazon OpenSearch Service and Azure AI Search. Other open-source alternatives to Elastic include Vespa, OpenSearch and Manticore Search.
Is Apache Solr actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to Apache Solr was on 2 October 2026. The project has 1.7k stars on GitHub.