LibreY vs Websurfx
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted search engines options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | LibreY | Websurfx |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 63 · Good | 82 · Excellent |
| Category | Search Engines | Search Engines |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | PHP | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 322 | ★ 1,200 |
| First released | 2023 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Google Search | Google Search |
What are LibreY and Websurfx?
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
Websurfx
Websurfx is an open-source, privacy-respecting, fast metasearch engine written in Rust that aggregates results from multiple search engines. It is self-hosted with a hot-reloadable theming engine.
- Rust metasearch engine
- Privacy-respecting
- Hot-reloadable themes
- Lightweight
LibreY vs Websurfx: key differences
LibreY is written in PHP, while Websurfx is built with Rust. Websurfx has the considerably larger community, at 1,200 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 Websurfx if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.2k GitHub stars)
Frequently asked questions
Is LibreY or Websurfx better?
Neither is universally better. Websurfx has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are LibreY and Websurfx free and open-source?
Yes. LibreY is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Websurfx under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run LibreY and Websurfx with Docker?
LibreY: yes. Websurfx: yes.