Should You Migrate from Solr? A Developer’s Guide to the Search Stack Dilemma

If you’ve been running Apache Solr in production for years, the idea of migrating to Elasticsearch or OpenSearch has probably come up.

Maybe Spring dropped Solr support. Maybe your team struggles with upgrades or Zookeeper. Or maybe your leadership wants to “modernize the stack.”

So—should you migrate?

Let’s break it down.

Why Teams Consider Leaving Solr

The pressure to move usually comes from a few places:

• Spring Boot no longer supports Solr out-of-the-box
• Operational overhead of SolrCloud and Zookeeper
• Faster release cadence and richer cloud tooling from OpenSearch/Elastic
• More devs know Elasticsearch, making hiring easier

There are real benefits to switching:

• Built-in dashboards and observability (Kibana / OpenSearch Dashboards)
• Easier scaling and deployment models
• Active Spring Data support for Elasticsearch

But Migration Isn’t Free

We’ve helped teams scope migrations, and here’s the reality:

• You’ll need to reindex all your data
• Query logic, schemas, and integrations must be rewritten
• Any app relying on Solr features like faceting, boosting, or custom analyzers needs a feature-by-feature audit
• You’re looking at weeks or months of work, testing, and potential downtime

For many orgs, the timeline given to migrate just isn’t practical.

The Third Option: Stay Secure While Planning Your Migration

Here’s what often gets left out of the Solr vs. Elasticsearch debate:

You don’t have to choose between insecure software and a massive re-platform if you are not ready. You can stay secure and compliant while you plan your migration with HeroDevs Never-Ending Support.

With HeroDevs' Apache Solr & Lucene NES (Never-Ending Support), you can:

• Stay on Solr 8.11.x confidently
• Get security patches and compliance updates
• Migrate on your own timeline

This is the “middle path” most teams are looking for but don’t know exists.

When Should You Migrate?

If your current search platform is blocking innovation, scaling issues are hitting users, or your team is already deep into an OpenSearch initiative—go for it.

Migration is worth it if:

• You’re already rewriting major parts of the system
• You need native cloud support or advanced analytics
• Your team is comfortable with the lift

But if your Solr stack still works—and you need more time—you don’t need to jump ship today.

The Bottom Line

Migrations are expensive, but staying put without a support strategy is risky -- and doing nothing is not a viable option.

HeroDevs Solr & Lucene NES gives you time to make the move on your terms.

No matter what path you take, we’ve got your search stack covered.

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