YaCy 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?
YaCy
Decentralized peer-to-peer web search engine
VS
ZincSearch
Lightweight search engine alternative to Elasticsearch
| Feature | YaCy | ZincSearch |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Search Engines | Search Engines |
| License | GPL-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Java | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, kubernetes, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,999 | ★ 17,884 |
| First released | 2003 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Google Search, Bing | Elasticsearch, Algolia |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is YaCy or ZincSearch better?
ZincSearch 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 YaCy and ZincSearch free and open-source?
Yes. YaCy is licensed under GPL-2.0 and ZincSearch under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run YaCy and ZincSearch with Docker?
YaCy: yes. ZincSearch: yes.