Araa Search 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 | Araa Search | Vane |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | ≈5-minute setup |
| Health score | 54 · Fair | 96 · Excellent |
| Category | Search Engines | Search Engines |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | Python | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 334 | ★ 36,903 |
| First released | 2023 | 2024 |
| Replaces | Google Search | Google Search |
What are Araa Search and Vane?
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
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
Araa Search vs Vane: key differences
Araa Search is written in Python, while Vane is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for Araa Search versus MIT for Vane. Araa Search is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Vane. Vane has the considerably larger community, at 36,903 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 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 Araa Search or Vane better?
Neither is universally better. Vane has the larger community, while Araa Search is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Araa Search and Vane free and open-source?
Yes. Araa Search is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Vane under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Araa Search and Vane with Docker?
Araa Search: yes. Vane: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Araa Search or Vane?
Araa Search has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Vane. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.