4get vs Stract

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted search engines options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
Feature4getStract
CategorySearch EnginesSearch Engines
LicenseAGPL-3.0AGPL-3.0
LanguagePHPRust
Setup difficultyEasyHard
Min. RAM128 MB4,096 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metaldocker, binary, source
GitHub stars★ 800★ 2,376
First released20222023
ReplacesGoogle Search, BingGoogle Search, Bing

Why pick each one

Choose 4get if…

  • Very lightweight
  • No JavaScript needed
4get details

Choose Stract if…

  • Transparent ranking
  • Independent index
Stract details

Frequently asked questions

Is 4get or Stract better?

Neither is universally better. Stract 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 Stract free and open-source?

Yes. 4get is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Stract under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run 4get and Stract with Docker?

4get: yes. Stract: yes.

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