4get vs Vane
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted search engines options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | 4get | Vane |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | ≈5-minute setup |
| Category | Search Engines | Search Engines |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | PHP | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 800 | ★ 36,903 |
| First released | 2022 | 2024 |
| Replaces | Google Search, Bing | Google Search |
What are 4get and Vane?
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
Vane
Perplexica is an open-source AI-powered answer engine that searches the web and uses language models to provide sourced answers. It can run fully self-hosted alongside SearXNG and local LLMs.
- AI answers with cited sources
- Works with local LLMs
- Multiple focus modes
- Uses SearXNG as a backend
4get vs Vane: key differences
4get is written in PHP, while Vane is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for 4get versus MIT for Vane. 4get is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Vane. 4get is the more established project (first released 2022), while Vane arrived in 2024. Vane has the considerably larger community, at 36,903 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 Vane if…
- Self-hosted AI search
- Simple Docker deployment
- Free and open source
Watch out for
- LLM backend required
- Young project
Frequently asked questions
Is 4get or Vane better?
Neither is universally better. Vane 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 Vane free and open-source?
Yes. 4get is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Vane under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run 4get and Vane with Docker?
4get: yes. Vane: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, 4get or Vane?
4get has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Vane. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.