Self-hosted alternatives to Google Search
Want private web search without handing your data to Google Search? These 6 self-hosted apps run on your own server. Cheapest estimated hosting starts at about $10/month.
About Google Search: Google's web search engine.
| App | Health | Stars | License | Docker | RAM (est.) | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SearXNG | Active | 39.6k | AGPL-3.0 | ✓ | 2 GB | $10/mo |
| Hister | Active | 6.3k | AGPL-3.0 | ✓ | 2 GB | $10/mo |
| Yacy | Active | 4.1k | GPL-2.0 | ✓ | 2 GB | $10/mo |
| Websurfx | Active | 1.2k | AGPL-3.0 | ✓ | 2 GB | $10/mo |
| bitmagnet | Maintained | 4.5k | MIT | ✓ | 2 GB | $10/mo |
| Sosse | Maintained | 2 | AGPL-3.0 | ✓ | 2 GB | $10/mo |
The options in detail
1. SearXNG
Internet metasearch engine which aggregates results from various search services and databases (fork of Searx).
Active Last commit 2026-11-09. Needs roughly 2 GB RAM. How to run it →
2. Hister
Personal web search engine with automatic indexing of visited websites. Supports offline local result previews, local files, multi-user handling and optional semantic search.
Active Last commit 2026-11-09. 10+ releases in the past year. Latest release rolling (2026-02-23). Needs roughly 2 GB RAM. How to run it →
3. Yacy
Peer based, decentralized search engine server.
Active Last commit 2026-11-03. Needs roughly 2 GB RAM. How to run it →
4. Websurfx
Aggregate results from other search engines (metasearch engine) without ads while keeping privacy and security in mind. It is extremely fast and provides a high level of customization (alternative to SearX).
Active Last commit 2026-11-06. 10+ releases in the past year. Latest release v1.31.1 (2026-10-27). Needs roughly 2 GB RAM. How to run it →
5. bitmagnet
BitTorrent indexer, DHT crawler, content classifier and torrent search engine with web UI, GraphQL API and Servarr stack integration.
Maintained Last commit 2026-05-21. 1 release in the past year. Latest release v0.10.1-beta.1 (2026-05-21). Needs roughly 2 GB RAM. How to run it →
6. Sosse
Selenium based search engine and crawler with offline archiving.
Maintained Last commit 2026-03-24. Needs roughly 2 GB RAM. How to run it →
Why self-host instead of Google Search?
- Own your data — it lives on a server you control, with backups you decide on.
- Predictable cost — a small VPS often replaces per-seat pricing for a whole team or family.
- No lock-in — open-source licenses let you keep running the software even if a vendor disappears.
The trade-off: you are responsible for updates, backups and security. Pick an app marked Active (a commit in the last 90 days) and with Docker support for the easiest ride.
Browse related categories
Other alternatives guides
Google Search is a trademark of its owner; this site is not affiliated with it. Listings come from the community-maintained awesome-selfhosted list.