LibreY vs PeARS
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted search engines options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | LibreY | PeARS |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 63 · Good | 0 · At risk |
| Category | Search Engines | Search Engines |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | PHP | HTML |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 322 | ★ 38 |
| First released | 2023 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Google Search | Google Search |
What are LibreY and PeARS?
LibreY
LibreY is a free and open-source metasearch engine that aggregates results from multiple sources without tracking users or showing ads. It is a lightweight, self-hostable front end for private web searching.
- Aggregates multiple sources
- No tracking or ads
- Lightweight and fast
- Instance federation
PeARS
PeARS is a lightweight, distributed web search engine designed to run on modest hardware. It lets communities index and share parts of the web without a central server.
- Runs on low-power hardware
- Community-shared indexes
- Decentralized search
- Privacy preserving
LibreY vs PeARS: key differences
LibreY is written in PHP, while PeARS is built with HTML. LibreY is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 512 MB for PeARS. PeARS is the more established project (first released 2017), while LibreY arrived in 2023. LibreY has the considerably larger community, at 322 GitHub stars versus 38.
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 PeARS if…
- Very lightweight
- Community oriented
Watch out for
- Small project and index
Frequently asked questions
Is LibreY or PeARS better?
LibreY is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider PeARS if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are LibreY and PeARS free and open-source?
Yes. LibreY is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and PeARS under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run LibreY and PeARS with Docker?
LibreY: yes. PeARS: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, LibreY or PeARS?
LibreY has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for PeARS. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.