How different are Elasticsearch and OpenSearch?

[heermaas3]

I wanted to ask for a neutral opinion on the differences between Elasticsearch and OpenSearch.
Are there differences in use/integrating them into my Software? Do I have to write different code to use both of them?
Can someone name me examples of important features only one of them has?

[stephenb (Stephen Brown)]

Hi @heermaas3

Well, you are on the Elasticsearch Forum

So here is our official view ... Performance, OOTB Solutions, etc.

Amazon OpenSearch vs. Elasticsearch | Elastic

To answer specific questions

@heermaas3

Are there differences in use/integrating them into my Software?

@heermaas3

Do I have to write different code to use both of them?

The answer to both the questions above is yes; there are now differences in some of the APIs, while some of the APIs are the same.

[dadoonet (David Pilato)]

Also adding this recent benchmark:

Elasticsearch vs. OpenSearch: Performance and resource utilization analysis

[heermaas3]

Thank you really much for the info!
I am currently thinking about the use of the Elastic Cloud...
But to clarify: If I want to combine the use of OpenSearch Service with Self-Hosting, it would make sense to also Self-Host OpenSearch instead of Elasticsearch to make sure the APIs are the same?

[stephenb (Stephen Brown)]

Elastic Cloud Only provides Elasticsearch.

OpenSearch Service is not Elastic Cloud if you have questions about OpenSearch you should visit that forum as we do not address that product here.

I would not attempt to mix Elasticsearch and OpenSearch. That sounds like a recipe for incompatibility.

[Andrew_Mora]

@heermaas3

I wanted to ask for a neutral opinion on the differences between Elasticsearch and OpenSearch.
Are there differences in use/integrating them into my Software? Do I have to write different code to use both of them?
Can someone name me examples of important features only one of them has?

Comparing Elasticsearch and OpenSearch is a valid approach. While they share a common core, OpenSearch is open-source and community-driven, offering greater transparency and potential cost savings, while Elasticsearch comes with additional paid features and support options, making it more suitable for enterprises with specific needs. Depending on your project requirements, you may need to adapt your code, but many integrations can work interchangeably with minor adjustments. Some important features unique to Elasticsearch include its machine learning capabilities and advanced security features, while OpenSearch emphasizes a more open and collaborative development approach, which can be appealing for some users.

[leandrojmp (Leandro Pereira)]

@heermaas3

But to clarify: If I want to combine the use of OpenSearch Service with Self-Hosting, it would make sense to also Self-Host OpenSearch instead of Elasticsearch to make sure the APIs are the same?

You should consider Opensearch and Elasticsearch as two different and incompatible tools.

While in the past the API was more similar, they diverged too much now and a lot of things are incompatible.

Both tools have their advantages and disadvantages, and which one is best for you depends entirely on your use case.

I prefer Elasticsearch as the development seems to be more active and I'm more familiar with it, but I run both Elasticsearch and Opensearch because of some requirements.