Farfalle vs Stract
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted search engines options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Farfalle | Stract |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 24 · At risk | 15 · At risk |
| Status | Actively maintained | Archived |
| Category | Search Engines | Search Engines |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 4,096 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,543 | ★ 2,371 |
| First released | 2024 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Google Search | Google Search, Bing |
What are Farfalle and Stract?
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
Stract
Stract is an open-source web search engine built from scratch in Rust. It includes its own crawler and index and aims to give users more transparency and control over ranking.
- Independent web crawler and index
- Customizable ranking signals
- Optic-based result filtering
- Modern Rust implementation
Farfalle vs Stract: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Stract's repository is archived and no longer developed, while Farfalle is actively maintained. Farfalle is written in TypeScript, while Stract is built with Rust. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Farfalle versus AGPL-3.0 for Stract. Farfalle is the lighter option, starting around 1,024 MB of RAM against 4,096 MB for Stract.
Why pick each one
Choose Farfalle if…
- Supports fully local operation
- Clean UI
Watch out for
- Newer project with rough edges
Choose Stract if…
- Transparent ranking
- Independent index
Watch out for
- Large hardware requirements for full crawl
Frequently asked questions
Is Farfalle or Stract better?
Farfalle is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Stract if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Farfalle and Stract free and open-source?
Yes. Farfalle is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Stract under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Farfalle and Stract with Docker?
Farfalle: yes. Stract: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Farfalle or Stract?
Farfalle has the smaller minimum footprint at 1,024 MB of RAM, compared to about 4,096 MB for Stract. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.