SearX vs ZincSearch
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
ZincSearch
Lightweight search engine alternative to Elasticsearch
| Feature | SearX | ZincSearch |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Search Engines | Search Engines |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Python | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, kubernetes, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 13,532 | ★ 17,884 |
| First released | 2014 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Google Search, Bing | Elasticsearch, Algolia |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is SearX or ZincSearch better?
Neither is universally better. ZincSearch has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are SearX and ZincSearch free and open-source?
Yes. SearX is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and ZincSearch under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run SearX and ZincSearch with Docker?
SearX: yes. ZincSearch: yes.