SearXNG vs Websurfx
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted search engines options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
SearXNG
Privacy-respecting metasearch engine aggregating many sources
VS
Websurfx
Privacy-respecting metasearch engine written in Rust
| Feature | SearXNG | Websurfx |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | ≈5-minute setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 98 · Excellent | 82 · Excellent |
| Category | Search Engines | Search Engines |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, bare-metal | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 37,570 | ★ 1,200 |
| First released | 2021 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Google Search, Bing | Google Search |
What are SearXNG and Websurfx?
SearXNG
SearXNG is a free, open-source metasearch engine that aggregates results from more than 70 search services without tracking or profiling users. It is the actively maintained fork of the original SearX project.
- Aggregates 70+ search engines
- No tracking or user profiling
- Customizable engines and categories
- Optional result proxying
Websurfx
Websurfx is an open-source, privacy-respecting, fast metasearch engine written in Rust that aggregates results from multiple search engines. It is self-hosted with a hot-reloadable theming engine.
- Rust metasearch engine
- Privacy-respecting
- Hot-reloadable themes
- Lightweight
SearXNG vs Websurfx: key differences
SearXNG is written in Python, while Websurfx is built with Rust. Websurfx is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for SearXNG. SearXNG is the more established project (first released 2021), while Websurfx arrived in 2023. SearXNG has the considerably larger community, at 37,570 GitHub stars versus 1,200.
Why pick each one
Choose SearXNG if…
- Strong privacy guarantees
- Highly configurable
Watch out for
- Public instances can be rate limited
Choose Websurfx if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.2k GitHub stars)
Frequently asked questions
Is SearXNG or Websurfx better?
Neither is universally better. SearXNG has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are SearXNG and Websurfx free and open-source?
Yes. SearXNG is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and Websurfx under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run SearXNG and Websurfx with Docker?
SearXNG: yes. Websurfx: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, SearXNG or Websurfx?
Websurfx has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for SearXNG. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.