Comparison
Elasticsearch vs OpenSearch
OpenSearch is a fork of Elasticsearch 7.10 created by AWS in 2021 after Elastic changed its license. Today they diverge in features.
| Aspect | Elasticsearch | OpenSearch |
|---|---|---|
| License | SSPL, Elastic License 2.0 and AGPLv3 (added in 2024) | Apache-2.0 |
| Maintainer | Elastic N.V. | OpenSearch Software Foundation (Linux Foundation), AWS among the main contributors |
| Origin | First release 2010 | Fork of 7.10 in 2021 |
| Security | Core security features are free in base versions | Security plugin is built in and free |
| Vector search | Dense vector, kNN, ML integrations | k-NN plugin, neural search |
| Ecosystem | Kibana, Beats, Logstash (ELK stack), Elastic Cloud | OpenSearch Dashboards, Data Prepper, Amazon OpenSearch Service |
| Compatibility | New APIs since version 8 differ | Based on the 7.10 API, new features are separate |
| Best for | Search and observability with the newest feature set | AWS environment, need for Apache-2.0 and neutral governance |
Choose Elasticsearch when
- You need the newest Elastic features and its ecosystem.
- You use Elastic Cloud.
- The SSPL or AGPL license is acceptable.
Choose OpenSearch when
- You run in AWS on Amazon OpenSearch Service.
- You need a true open source Apache-2.0 license.
- You value neutral project governance.
Bottom line
For basic jobs (full-text search, logs) they are interchangeable. Choose by cloud and license: AWS leans to OpenSearch, Elastic Cloud to Elasticsearch.
Compared
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