Araa Search vs Whoogle Search
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 | Whoogle Search |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 54 · Fair | 15 · At risk |
| Status | Actively maintained | Archived |
| Category | Search Engines | Search Engines |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | Python | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, kubernetes, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 334 | ★ 11,570 |
| First released | 2023 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Google Search | Google Search |
What are Araa Search and Whoogle Search?
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
Whoogle Search
Whoogle Search is a lightweight, self-hosted metasearch engine that returns Google results without ads, JavaScript, tracking or cookies. It offers a clean, minimal interface focused on privacy.
- Ad-free Google results
- No JavaScript or tracking
- Custom theming and config
- Works as a browser search engine
Araa Search vs Whoogle Search: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Whoogle Search's repository is archived and no longer developed, while Araa Search is actively maintained. Both projects are written in Python. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for Araa Search versus MIT for Whoogle Search. Whoogle Search is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Araa Search. Whoogle Search is the more established project (first released 2020), while Araa Search arrived in 2023. Whoogle Search has the considerably larger community, at 11,570 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 Whoogle Search if…
- Very lightweight
- Clean minimal results
Watch out for
- Depends on scraping Google
Frequently asked questions
Is Araa Search or Whoogle Search better?
Neither is universally better. Whoogle Search has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Araa Search and Whoogle Search free and open-source?
Yes. Araa Search is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Whoogle Search under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Araa Search and Whoogle Search with Docker?
Araa Search: yes. Whoogle Search: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Araa Search or Whoogle Search?
Whoogle Search has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Araa Search. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.