PeARS vs SearXNG
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted search engines options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
PeARS
Lightweight distributed web search you can host yourself
VS
SearXNG
Privacy-respecting metasearch engine aggregating many sources
| Feature | PeARS | SearXNG |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Search Engines | Search Engines |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | HTML | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, kubernetes, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 38 | ★ 35,091 |
| First released | 2017 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Google Search | Google Search, Bing |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is PeARS or SearXNG better?
SearXNG 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 PeARS and SearXNG free and open-source?
Yes. PeARS is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and SearXNG under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run PeARS and SearXNG with Docker?
PeARS: yes. SearXNG: yes.