LibreY vs SearX
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted search engines options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | LibreY | SearX |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 63 · Good | 65 · Good |
| Category | Search Engines | Search Engines |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | PHP | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 322 | ★ 13,553 |
| First released | 2023 | 2014 |
| Replaces | Google Search | Google Search, Bing |
What are LibreY and SearX?
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
SearX
SearX is the original open-source metasearch engine that aggregates results from multiple search engines while protecting user privacy. It paved the way for the modern SearXNG fork.
- Privacy-respecting metasearch
- No tracking of queries
- Configurable engine list
- JSON API output
LibreY vs SearX: key differences
LibreY is written in PHP, while SearX is built with Python. LibreY is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for SearX. SearX is the more established project (first released 2014), while LibreY arrived in 2023. SearX has the considerably larger community, at 13,553 GitHub stars versus 322.
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 SearX if…
- Lightweight
- Foundational privacy search
Watch out for
- Largely superseded by SearXNG
Frequently asked questions
Is LibreY or SearX better?
Neither is universally better. SearX has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are LibreY and SearX free and open-source?
Yes. LibreY is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and SearX under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run LibreY and SearX with Docker?
LibreY: yes. SearX: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, LibreY or SearX?
LibreY has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for SearX. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.