4get vs LibreY
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted search engines options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | 4get | LibreY |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Category | Search Engines | Search Engines |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | PHP | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 800 | ★ 322 |
| First released | 2022 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Google Search, Bing | Google Search |
What are 4get and LibreY?
4get
4get is a free and open-source metasearch engine that proxies results from many providers with a focus on privacy and a clean, minimal interface. It requires no JavaScript and stores no user data.
- JavaScript-free metasearch
- Image, video and news search
- No tracking or logging
- Clean minimal interface
LibreY
LibreY is a free and open-source metasearch engine that aggregates results from multiple sources without tracking users or showing ads. It is a lightweight, self-hostable front end for private web searching.
- Aggregates multiple sources
- No tracking or ads
- Lightweight and fast
- Instance federation
4get vs LibreY: key differences
Both projects are written in PHP. 4get has the considerably larger community, at 800 GitHub stars versus 322.
Why pick each one
Choose 4get if…
- Very lightweight
- No JavaScript needed
Watch out for
- Less known, fewer public instances
Choose LibreY if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in PHP
Frequently asked questions
Is 4get or LibreY better?
Neither is universally better. 4get has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are 4get and LibreY free and open-source?
Yes. 4get is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and LibreY under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run 4get and LibreY with Docker?
4get: yes. LibreY: yes.