1. A method comprising: receiving, at a processor, a search query for a search of an index, wherein the index is a data structure having at least one field that can be searched, wherein the index has been partitioned across a plurality of nodes; in response to determining, by the processor, that the search query is deterministic, performing the search on a plurality of partitions of the index; in response to determining, by the processor, that the search query is not deterministic, performing the search only within a memory of local partition to identify a first quantity of matches for the search; and in response to determining that the first quantity satisfies a predetermined threshold, estimating a second quantity of matches for one or more partitions other than and not including the local partition, and selecting an execution path for reducing query execution time.