Hound vs Zoekt
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted apps from related categories — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Hound
Lightning-fast code search across many Git repositories
VS
Zoekt
Fast trigram-based code search engine
| Feature | Hound | Zoekt |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Search Engines | Developer Tools & Git |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | binary, docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,865 | ★ 1,814 |
| First released | 2015 | 2016 |
| Replaces | GitHub Code Search | GitHub Code Search |
Why pick each one
Choose Hound if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 5.9k GitHub stars
Choose Zoekt if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.8k GitHub stars)
- Written in Go
Frequently asked questions
Is Hound or Zoekt better?
Hound is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Zoekt if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Hound and Zoekt free and open-source?
Yes. Hound is licensed under MIT and Zoekt under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Hound and Zoekt with Docker?
Hound: yes. Zoekt: yes.