Farfalle vs MetaGer
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted search engines options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Farfalle | MetaGer |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Category | Search Engines | Search Engines |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,543 | ★ 200 |
| First released | 2024 | 1996 |
| Replaces | Google Search | Google Search, Bing |
What are Farfalle and MetaGer?
Farfalle
Farfalle is an open-source AI-powered search engine that can run with local language models. It provides conversational, sourced answers while keeping queries on your own infrastructure.
- Run with local or cloud LLMs
- Cited conversational answers
- Self-hostable search pipeline
- Expert agent modes
MetaGer
MetaGer is an open-source metasearch engine that aggregates results from multiple sources while protecting user privacy. Its core software can be deployed to run a self-hosted private search portal.
- Aggregated metasearch
- Privacy protection
- Result anonymization
- Configurable sources
Farfalle vs MetaGer: key differences
Farfalle is written in TypeScript, while MetaGer is built with PHP. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Farfalle versus AGPL-3.0 for MetaGer. MetaGer is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Farfalle. MetaGer is the more established project (first released 1996), while Farfalle arrived in 2024. Farfalle has the considerably larger community, at 3,543 GitHub stars versus 200.
Why pick each one
Choose Farfalle if…
- Supports fully local operation
- Clean UI
Watch out for
- Newer project with rough edges
Choose MetaGer if…
- Strong privacy stance
- Long-running project
Watch out for
- Heavier than minimal metasearch
- PHP stack
Frequently asked questions
Is Farfalle or MetaGer 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 MetaGer free and open-source?
Yes. Farfalle is licensed under Apache-2.0 and MetaGer under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Farfalle and MetaGer with Docker?
Farfalle: yes. MetaGer: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Farfalle or MetaGer?
MetaGer has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Farfalle. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.