SearX vs Vespa
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?
SearX
The original privacy-respecting metasearch engine
VS
Vespa
Open-source big data serving engine for search and recommendation
| Feature | SearX | Vespa |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Search Engines | Search Engines |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Python | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 4,096 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, kubernetes, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 13,532 | ★ 7,043 |
| First released | 2014 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Google Search, Bing | Elasticsearch, Algolia |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is SearX or Vespa better?
SearX is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Vespa if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are SearX and Vespa free and open-source?
Yes. SearX is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Vespa under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run SearX and Vespa with Docker?
SearX: yes. Vespa: yes.