SearXNG vs Swirl
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?
SearXNG
Privacy-respecting metasearch engine aggregating many sources
VS
Swirl
AI-powered metasearch across multiple data sources
| Feature | SearXNG | Swirl |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Search Engines | Search Engines |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Python | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, bare-metal | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 35,091 | ★ 3,040 |
| First released | 2021 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Google Search, Bing | Glean |
Why pick each one
Choose Swirl if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (3k GitHub stars)
- Written in Python
Frequently asked questions
Is SearXNG or Swirl better?
SearXNG is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Swirl if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are SearXNG and Swirl free and open-source?
Yes. SearXNG is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Swirl under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run SearXNG and Swirl with Docker?
SearXNG: yes. Swirl: yes.