SearX 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 | SearX | Whoogle Search |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 65 · Good | 15 · At risk |
| Status | Actively maintained | Archived |
| Category | Search Engines | Search Engines |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Language | Python | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, kubernetes, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 13,553 | ★ 11,570 |
| First released | 2014 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Google Search, Bing | Google Search |
What are SearX and Whoogle Search?
SearX
SearX is the original open-source metasearch engine that aggregates results from multiple search engines while protecting user privacy. It paved the way for the modern SearXNG fork.
- Privacy-respecting metasearch
- No tracking of queries
- Configurable engine list
- JSON API output
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
SearX vs Whoogle Search: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Whoogle Search's repository is archived and no longer developed, while SearX is actively maintained. Both projects are written in Python. Licensing differs — AGPL-3.0 for SearX versus MIT for Whoogle Search. Whoogle Search is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for SearX. SearX is the more established project (first released 2014), while Whoogle Search arrived in 2020.
Why pick each one
Choose SearX if…
- Lightweight
- Foundational privacy search
Watch out for
- Largely superseded by SearXNG
Choose Whoogle Search if…
- Very lightweight
- Clean minimal results
Watch out for
- Depends on scraping Google
Frequently asked questions
Is SearX or Whoogle Search better?
Neither is universally better. SearX has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are SearX and Whoogle Search free and open-source?
Yes. SearX is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Whoogle Search under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run SearX and Whoogle Search with Docker?
SearX: yes. Whoogle Search: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, SearX or Whoogle Search?
Whoogle Search has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for SearX. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.