| Feature | Amazon CloudSearch | Amazon OpenSearch |
|---|---|---|
| Core Use Case | Simple search use cases (e-commerce, content, logs) | Complex search and analytics (logs, metrics, BI, APM) |
| Customizability | Limited customization | Full customization (advanced ranking, scoring) |
| Search Features | Full-text, faceted search, geo-spatial search | Full-text, faceted, geo-spatial, advanced querying, analytics |
| Machine Learning Integration | No ML features | Supports ML (e.g., anomaly detection, forecasting) |
| Analytics | Basic search analytics | Advanced analytics, visualizations, OpenSearch Dashboards |
| Ease of Setup | Very easy, minimal setup | More complex setup, greater control |
| Scaling | Automatic scaling | Automatic scaling with more control |
| Security | IAM, SSL/TLS, VPC access | IAM, SSL/TLS, VPC access, fine-grained control |
| Data Encryption | SSL in transit, AWS KMS at rest | SSL, KMS at rest, fine-grained access control |
| Pricing | Pay-as-you-go, typically lower for simpler use cases | Pay-as-you-go, flexible pricing for complex workloads |
| Free Tier | 30 days free usage | 750 hrs/month free usage for 12 months (t2.small.search) |
| Integration with AWS Services | Integrated with S3, CloudWatch, Lambda | Integrated with Kinesis, S3, Lambda, Redshift, Glue |
| Search Performance | Good for basic search queries | Excellent for high-performance, complex queries |
| Fault Tolerance | Automated failover and scaling | Highly customizable high availability setup |
| Open Source | Proprietary | Open-source, Elasticsearch-compatible |
| Community Support | Limited community support | Strong open-source community and plugin ecosystem |
When to Choose Which?
Choose CloudSearch if you need a simpler, more cost-effective solution for basic search and indexing with minimal operational overhead.
Choose OpenSearch for advanced search, real-time analytics, and complex use cases that require more flexibility and control.