LibreY vs Marginalia Search
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?
LibreY
Privacy-respecting metasearch engine
VS
Marginalia Search
Independent search engine focused on the non-commercial web
| Feature | LibreY | Marginalia Search |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Search Engines | Search Engines |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | PHP | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 4,096 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 312 | ★ 1,892 |
| First released | 2023 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Google Search | Google Search |
Why pick each one
Choose LibreY if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in PHP
Choose Marginalia Search if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.9k GitHub stars)
- Written in Java
Frequently asked questions
Is LibreY or Marginalia Search better?
Neither is universally better. Marginalia Search has the larger community, while LibreY is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are LibreY and Marginalia Search free and open-source?
Yes. LibreY is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Marginalia Search under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run LibreY and Marginalia Search with Docker?
LibreY: yes. Marginalia Search: yes.