PeARS 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 | PeARS | Websurfx |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 0 · At risk | 82 · Excellent |
| Category | Search Engines | Search Engines |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | HTML | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 38 | ★ 1,200 |
| First released | 2017 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Google Search | Google Search |
What are PeARS and Websurfx?
PeARS
PeARS is a lightweight, distributed web search engine designed to run on modest hardware. It lets communities index and share parts of the web without a central server.
- Runs on low-power hardware
- Community-shared indexes
- Decentralized search
- Privacy preserving
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
PeARS vs Websurfx: key differences
PeARS is written in HTML, while Websurfx is built with Rust. Websurfx is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 512 MB for PeARS. PeARS is the more established project (first released 2017), while Websurfx arrived in 2023. Websurfx has the considerably larger community, at 1,200 GitHub stars versus 38.
Why pick each one
Choose PeARS if…
- Very lightweight
- Community oriented
Watch out for
- Small project and index
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 PeARS or Websurfx better?
Websurfx 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 Websurfx free and open-source?
Yes. PeARS is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Websurfx under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run PeARS and Websurfx with Docker?
PeARS: yes. Websurfx: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, PeARS or Websurfx?
Websurfx has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for PeARS. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.