4get vs Morphic
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted search engines options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | 4get | Morphic |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Category | Search Engines | Search Engines |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | PHP | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 800 | ★ 9,140 |
| First released | 2022 | 2024 |
| Replaces | Google Search, Bing | Google Search |
What are 4get and Morphic?
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
Morphic
Morphic is an open-source AI-powered answer engine featuring a generative interface. It searches the web and composes interactive, sourced answers and can be self-hosted with various model providers.
- Generative answer interface
- Web search with citations
- Multiple model provider support
- Self-hostable with Docker
4get vs Morphic: key differences
4get is written in PHP, while Morphic is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for 4get versus Apache-2.0 for Morphic. 4get is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Morphic. 4get is the more established project (first released 2022), while Morphic arrived in 2024. Morphic has the considerably larger community, at 9,140 GitHub stars versus 800.
Why pick each one
Choose 4get if…
- Very lightweight
- No JavaScript needed
Watch out for
- Less known, fewer public instances
Choose Morphic if…
- Modern interactive UI
- Flexible model backends
Watch out for
- Requires external search API keys
Frequently asked questions
Is 4get or Morphic better?
Neither is universally better. Morphic has the larger community, while 4get is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are 4get and Morphic free and open-source?
Yes. 4get is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Morphic under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run 4get and Morphic with Docker?
4get: yes. Morphic: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, 4get or Morphic?
4get has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Morphic. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.