PeARS vs Stract
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
Stract
Open-source web search engine you can self-host
| Feature | PeARS | Stract |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Search Engines | Search Engines |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | HTML | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 4,096 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 38 | ★ 2,376 |
| First released | 2017 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Google Search | Google Search, Bing |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is PeARS or Stract better?
Neither is universally better. Stract has the larger community, while PeARS is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are PeARS and Stract free and open-source?
Yes. PeARS is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Stract under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run PeARS and Stract with Docker?
PeARS: yes. Stract: yes.