Araa Search vs PeARS
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted search engines options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Araa Search | PeARS |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 54 · Fair | 0 · At risk |
| Category | Search Engines | Search Engines |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | HTML |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 334 | ★ 38 |
| First released | 2023 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Google Search | Google Search |
What are Araa Search and PeARS?
Araa Search
Araa Search is a privacy-respecting, ad-free, self-hosted Google metasearch engine with full API support. It uses Qwant for images and DuckDuckGo for autocomplete, and runs as a small container.
- Privacy metasearch
- No ads or tracking
- Full API support
- Self-hostable
PeARS
PeARS is a lightweight, distributed web search engine designed to run on modest hardware. It lets communities index and share parts of the web without a central server.
- Runs on low-power hardware
- Community-shared indexes
- Decentralized search
- Privacy preserving
Araa Search vs PeARS: key differences
Araa Search is written in Python, while PeARS is built with HTML. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for Araa Search versus AGPL-3.0 for PeARS. Araa Search is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for PeARS. PeARS is the more established project (first released 2017), while Araa Search arrived in 2023. Araa Search has the considerably larger community, at 334 GitHub stars versus 38.
Why pick each one
Choose Araa Search if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Python
Choose PeARS if…
- Very lightweight
- Community oriented
Watch out for
- Small project and index
Frequently asked questions
Is Araa Search or PeARS better?
Araa Search is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider PeARS if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Araa Search and PeARS free and open-source?
Yes. Araa Search is licensed under GPL-3.0 and PeARS under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Araa Search and PeARS with Docker?
Araa Search: yes. PeARS: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Araa Search or PeARS?
Araa Search has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for PeARS. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.