MetaGer 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?
MetaGer
Privacy-respecting metasearch engine you can host
VS
Stract
Open-source web search engine you can self-host
| Feature | MetaGer | Stract |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Search Engines | Search Engines |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | PHP | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 4,096 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 200 | ★ 2,376 |
| First released | 1996 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Google Search, Bing | Google Search, Bing |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is MetaGer or Stract better?
Neither is universally better. Stract has the larger community, while MetaGer is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are MetaGer and Stract free and open-source?
Yes. MetaGer is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Stract under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run MetaGer and Stract with Docker?
MetaGer: yes. Stract: yes.