Fast, typo-tolerant search for a site, free up to 10K requests a month. Algolia is a hosted search API known for fast results and typo tolerance, used for site search and recommendations. The free Build plan needs no credit card and includes 10K search requests a month, 50K records, 5K recommendation requests a month and 5K crawls a month. Paid use is metered. The Grow plan charges $0.50 per 1,000 search requests past the first 10,000 and $0.40 per 1,000 records past 100,000, and Grow Plus charges $1.75 per 1,000 requests. G2 shows 4.5 from about 450 reviews that praise speed and quick integration, and the loudest complaint is price at scale. Capterra shows 4.7 from 74 reviews. A Hacker News thread titled 'Algolia is insanely expensive' shows the same worry.
Free tier quotas
Plan
Build (free)
Card
No credit card required, per the pricing page
Search requests
10K a month
Records
50K
Recommendation requests
5K a month
Crawls
5K a month
Indices per application
10 on the free plan, per the service limits page
Last sniffed Oct 3, 2026. Always confirm on the official pricing page.
👍 Good boy
+The free Build plan needs no credit card and includes 10K search requests, 50K records, 5K recommendation requests and 5K crawls a month.
+G2 shows 4.5 from about 450 reviews. G2's pricing page summary says reviewers cite sub-50ms search speeds, typo tolerance and rapid integration.
+A G2 comparison with Site Search 360 says reviewers praise how quickly results appear and the API integration.
+Billing is by usage unit. One unit is 1,000 search requests or 1,000 records, charged on whichever is higher, not the sum, per Algolia's support article.
+Capterra shows 4.7 from 74 reviews, and one reviewer called Algolia one of the least expensive options.
+Grow overage is $0.50 per 1,000 search requests, well below Grow Plus at $1.75, so a team that does not need the AI features pays less per request.
👎 Watch out
−Price is the top complaint. G2's summary, with 36 mentions, says pricing is expensive, with many features locked behind higher tiers and limited customization on lower plans.
−A G2 reviewer wrote 'Pricing can become quite expensive as usage scales, especially for high traffic or large datasets.' Another said the price is higher than competitors and not accessible to everyone, though worth it.
−A G2 reviewer wrote that Algolia has become significantly more expensive compared with before, and a Capterra reviewer said the pricing model is now considerably more expensive.
−An enterprise G2 reviewer named cost scaling at high volumes, managing complex data relationships without duplicating data, and heavy configuration overhead as pain points.
−A G2 reviewer said the cost can feel steep for smaller teams or early-stage projects.
−The free plan is capped at 10 indices per application and 50K records. A Hacker News thread is titled 'Algolia is insanely expensive'. One comment there claims savings of up to 96% with a product that has no per-record or per-search charges, but the excerpt shows no author or test.
The catch
The free plan is built for small projects. It stops at 10K search requests and 50K records, and after that you move to a metered plan.
Billing uses usage units. One unit is 1,000 search requests or 1,000 records, and you are charged on whichever is higher, not both. A site with few records but heavy search traffic pays for the requests, and a large catalog with light traffic pays for the records.
Price is the most repeated complaint in G2, Capterra and Hacker News, and several reviewers say it rose over time. Model your traffic before you commit: at the Grow rate, 1 million extra requests costs about $500 and at Grow Plus about $1,750, before records.
What’s included
✓Hosted search API
✓Typo tolerance
✓Recommendations
✓Crawler
✓Indices per application: 10 free, 50 Grow, 1,000 Premium
✓Analytics and top searches
✓Usage-unit billing
✓AI search features on Grow Plus
Free tier value
Generosity
B
Estimated value
Free hosted search for a small site: 10K requests and 50K records a month
10,000 search requests a month included, then $0.50 per 1,000. 100,000 records included, then $0.40 per 1,000. Up to 50 indices per application.
Grow Plus
Adds AI search features. 10,000 search requests included, then $1.75 per 1,000. Records are $0.40 per 1,000 past 100,000.
Premium
Up to 1,000 indices per application, per the service limits page. I did not capture a price, so contact Algolia.
Common questions
Does Algolia have a free plan?
Yes. Build is free with no credit card required, and includes 10K search requests, 50K records, 5K recommendation requests and 5K crawls a month.
What does Algolia cost after the free plan?
On Grow, $0.50 per 1,000 search requests past the first 10,000 and $0.40 per 1,000 records past 100,000. On Grow Plus, $1.75 per 1,000 search requests.
How does billing count usage?
One unit is 1,000 search requests or 1,000 records, charged on whichever is higher, not the sum.
Why do reviewers call it expensive?
G2 reviewers say costs rise with traffic and dataset size, features sit in higher tiers, and prices went up over time. Some still call it worth it.
How many indices can I create?
Per application: 10 on Free, 50 on Grow and 1,000 on Premium, per the service limits page.
Change history
Checked October 22, 2026
Rewrote from the pricing page, Algolia's support and press pages (Grow $0.50 and Grow Plus $1.75 per 1,000 requests), the service limits page, G2 (4.5), Capterra (4.7 from 74) and a Hacker News thread.
