This can be because the nbHits returned for the query is bigger than the pagenationLimitedTo API parameter, which defaults to 1000.
For example, if you receive the following numbers in response to a search query, you might wonder why the hitsPerPage value(10) multiplied by nbPages value(100) is fewer than the nbHits value(1500).
- nbHits = 1500
- hitsPerPage = 10
- nbPages = 100
This is because the Algolia engine picks up the top 1000 hits based on the pagenationLimitedTo parameter setting and returns pages based on the number, while the engine finds 1500 hits in the index in total.
You can increase the pagenationLimitedTo parameter if necesasry, but please be aware that it impacts search response performance.
Please also be aware users usually refine search results instead of browsing 100 pages, so increasing the value doesn't always improve the search user's experience.