LibreY vs SearXNG
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted search engines options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
SearXNG
Privacy-respecting metasearch engine aggregating many sources
| Feature | LibreY | SearXNG |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | ≈5-minute setup |
| Health score | 63 · Good | 98 · Excellent |
| 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, kubernetes, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 322 | ★ 37,570 |
| First released | 2023 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Google Search | Google Search, Bing |
What are LibreY and SearXNG?
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
SearXNG
SearXNG is a free, open-source metasearch engine that aggregates results from more than 70 search services without tracking or profiling users. It is the actively maintained fork of the original SearX project.
- Aggregates 70+ search engines
- No tracking or user profiling
- Customizable engines and categories
- Optional result proxying
LibreY vs SearXNG: key differences
LibreY is written in PHP, while SearXNG is built with Python. LibreY is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for SearXNG. SearXNG is the more established project (first released 2021), while LibreY arrived in 2023. SearXNG has the considerably larger community, at 37,570 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 SearXNG if…
- Strong privacy guarantees
- Highly configurable
Watch out for
- Public instances can be rate limited
Frequently asked questions
Is LibreY or SearXNG better?
Neither is universally better. SearXNG has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are LibreY and SearXNG free and open-source?
Yes. LibreY is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and SearXNG under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run LibreY and SearXNG with Docker?
LibreY: yes. SearXNG: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, LibreY or SearXNG?
LibreY has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for SearXNG. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.