MetaGer vs Whoogle Search
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted search engines options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | MetaGer | Whoogle Search |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Status | Actively maintained | Archived |
| Category | Search Engines | Search Engines |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | PHP | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, kubernetes, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 200 | ★ 11,570 |
| First released | 1996 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Google Search, Bing | Google Search |
What are MetaGer and Whoogle Search?
MetaGer
MetaGer is an open-source metasearch engine that aggregates results from multiple sources while protecting user privacy. Its core software can be deployed to run a self-hosted private search portal.
- Aggregated metasearch
- Privacy protection
- Result anonymization
- Configurable sources
Whoogle Search
Whoogle Search is a lightweight, self-hosted metasearch engine that returns Google results without ads, JavaScript, tracking or cookies. It offers a clean, minimal interface focused on privacy.
- Ad-free Google results
- No JavaScript or tracking
- Custom theming and config
- Works as a browser search engine
MetaGer vs Whoogle Search: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Whoogle Search's repository is archived and no longer developed, while MetaGer is actively maintained. MetaGer is written in PHP, while Whoogle Search is built with Python. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for MetaGer versus MIT for Whoogle Search. Whoogle Search is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 512 MB for MetaGer. MetaGer is the more established project (first released 1996), while Whoogle Search arrived in 2020. Whoogle Search has the considerably larger community, at 11,570 GitHub stars versus 200.
Why pick each one
Choose MetaGer if…
- Strong privacy stance
- Long-running project
Watch out for
- Heavier than minimal metasearch
- PHP stack
Choose Whoogle Search if…
- Very lightweight
- Clean minimal results
Watch out for
- Depends on scraping Google
Frequently asked questions
Is MetaGer or Whoogle Search better?
Whoogle Search is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Whoogle Search if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are MetaGer and Whoogle Search free and open-source?
Yes. MetaGer is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Whoogle Search under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run MetaGer and Whoogle Search with Docker?
MetaGer: yes. Whoogle Search: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, MetaGer or Whoogle Search?
Whoogle Search has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for MetaGer. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.