Araa Search vs SearXNG
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted search engines options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
SearXNG
Privacy-respecting metasearch engine aggregating many sources
| Feature | Araa Search | SearXNG |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | ≈5-minute setup |
| Health score | 54 · Fair | 98 · Excellent |
| Category | Search Engines | Search Engines |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, kubernetes, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 334 | ★ 37,570 |
| First released | 2023 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Google Search | Google Search, Bing |
What are Araa Search and SearXNG?
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
SearXNG
SearXNG is a free, open-source metasearch engine that aggregates results from more than 70 search services without tracking or profiling users. It is the actively maintained fork of the original SearX project.
- Aggregates 70+ search engines
- No tracking or user profiling
- Customizable engines and categories
- Optional result proxying
Araa Search vs SearXNG: key differences
Both projects are written in Python. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for Araa Search versus AGPL-3.0 for SearXNG. SearXNG is the more established project (first released 2021), while Araa Search arrived in 2023. SearXNG has the considerably larger community, at 37,570 GitHub stars versus 334.
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 SearXNG if…
- Strong privacy guarantees
- Highly configurable
Watch out for
- Public instances can be rate limited
Frequently asked questions
Is Araa Search or SearXNG better?
Neither is universally better. SearXNG has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Araa Search and SearXNG free and open-source?
Yes. Araa Search is licensed under GPL-3.0 and SearXNG under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Araa Search and SearXNG with Docker?
Araa Search: yes. SearXNG: yes.