MetaGer vs YaCy
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted search engines options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | MetaGer | YaCy |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Category | Search Engines | Search Engines |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | PHP | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 200 | ★ 4,044 |
| First released | 1996 | 2003 |
| Replaces | Google Search, Bing | Google Search, Bing |
What are MetaGer and YaCy?
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
YaCy
YaCy is a free, decentralized search engine built on peer-to-peer networking. Each installation crawls the web and shares its index with other peers, creating a search network with no central authority.
- Peer-to-peer decentralized index
- Built-in web crawler
- No central server or censorship
- Can run as a private intranet search
MetaGer vs YaCy: key differences
MetaGer is written in PHP, while YaCy is built with Java. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for MetaGer versus GPL-2.0 for YaCy. MetaGer is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for YaCy. MetaGer is the more established project (first released 1996), while YaCy arrived in 2003. YaCy has the considerably larger community, at 4,044 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 YaCy if…
- Truly decentralized
- Censorship resistant
Watch out for
- Index quality varies
- Java resource use
Frequently asked questions
Is MetaGer or YaCy better?
Neither is universally better. YaCy has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are MetaGer and YaCy free and open-source?
Yes. MetaGer is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and YaCy under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run MetaGer and YaCy with Docker?
MetaGer: yes. YaCy: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, MetaGer or YaCy?
MetaGer has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for YaCy. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.