Solr Search vs. Azure Search for Sitecore

Solr is true open-source software which means there is no vendor lock-in, the software can be extended and it is supported by a large community of open source developers. Also, there is no license cost for Solr which makes it great for very large implementations. As such, the Solr Search platform is widely used by a majority of high volume commercial and public sector websites and applications.

Sitecore’s product documentation notes that Solr is “the default search engine for content search and xConnect search for on-premise installations.”

In addition, Sitecore recommends that Solr should be used for a scaled environment in on-premise installations, and either Solr or Azure Search in an Azure environment for scaled environments.

Based on our experience and other experts’ advice, you should use Solr Search for Sitecore if:

1. You have an eCommerce application
2. Your application needs multilingual support
3. Your application will have high volumes of traffic
4. Your application needs to be highly customized
5. Your application uses Sitecore features that require Solr
6. Your indexing requirements are higher than normal as Solr tends to perform better
7. You want to select a search platform that will not limit you in the next 3-5 years as your needs grow, whether from a scale perspective or functionality perspective
8. You want to locate your environment (or disaster recovery environment) in an Azure Region where Azure Search isn’t available