Farfalle vs PeARS
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted search engines options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Farfalle
Open-source AI search engine with local model support
VS
PeARS
Lightweight distributed web search you can host yourself
| Feature | Farfalle | PeARS |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Search Engines | Search Engines |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | HTML |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,540 | ★ 38 |
| First released | 2024 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Google Search | Google Search |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Farfalle or PeARS better?
Neither is universally better. Farfalle has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Farfalle and PeARS free and open-source?
Yes. Farfalle is licensed under Apache-2.0 and PeARS under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Farfalle and PeARS with Docker?
Farfalle: yes. PeARS: yes.