Mwmbl 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 | Mwmbl | Websurfx |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 82 · Excellent | 82 · Excellent |
| Category | Search Engines | Search Engines |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,861 | ★ 1,200 |
| First released | 2021 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Google Search, Bing | Google Search |
What are Mwmbl and Websurfx?
Mwmbl
Mwmbl is a non-profit, ad-free and open-source web search engine with a community-curated index. Users can help crawl and rank pages, and the whole stack can be self-hosted.
- Community-curated search index
- Crowd-sourced crawling
- No ads or tracking
- Fully open and self-hostable
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
Mwmbl vs Websurfx: key differences
Mwmbl is written in Python, while Websurfx is built with Rust. Websurfx is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Mwmbl. Mwmbl is the more established project (first released 2021), while Websurfx arrived in 2023.
Why pick each one
Choose Mwmbl if…
- Transparent non-profit model
- Community driven
Watch out for
- Index still growing
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 Mwmbl or Websurfx better?
Neither is universally better. Mwmbl has the larger community, while Websurfx is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Mwmbl and Websurfx free and open-source?
Yes. Mwmbl is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Websurfx under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Mwmbl and Websurfx with Docker?
Mwmbl: yes. Websurfx: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Mwmbl or Websurfx?
Websurfx has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Mwmbl. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.