Whoogle Search vs YaCy

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?
FeatureWhoogle SearchYaCy
CategorySearch EnginesSearch Engines
LicenseMITGPL-2.0
LanguagePythonJava
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM128 MB1,024 MB
Deploymentdocker, kubernetes, bare-metaldocker, bare-metal
GitHub stars★ 11,595★ 3,999
First released20202003
ReplacesGoogle SearchGoogle Search, Bing

Why pick each one

Choose Whoogle Search if…

  • Very lightweight
  • Clean minimal results
Whoogle Search details

Choose YaCy if…

  • Truly decentralized
  • Censorship resistant
YaCy details

Frequently asked questions

Is Whoogle Search or YaCy better?

Whoogle Search is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider YaCy if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are Whoogle Search and YaCy free and open-source?

Yes. Whoogle Search is licensed under MIT and YaCy under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Whoogle Search and YaCy with Docker?

Whoogle Search: yes. YaCy: yes.

Related comparisons