# SearXNG

Metasearch you host. SearXNG is AGPL-3.0 — Google Search without the hosted profile seat.

**Replaces:** Google Search

**Tier:** Easy

## Problem

Google Search is a hosted index and an ad graph. You wanted aggregated results on a box you run, without a search profile. SearXNG is AGPL-3.0 (searxng/searxng; last push 24 Oct 2026). Whoogle (benbusby/whoogle-search) was archived — not the published path. Perplexica is cited AI answers already on /replace/perplexity — not a metasearch box. XERJ and Qdrant are local/vector indexes — /best/search-engines — not Google.com. This is not Google's every Shopping, News, or ads SKU. You still query upstream engines; you stop handing Google the session.

## Stack

- [SearXNG](https://docs.searxng.org) — AGPL-3.0 privacy metasearch — the published Google Search path

## Estimated SaaS cost saved

| You stop paying | Typical / year | Self-host instead |
|---|---:|---|
| Google Search / hosted search (household) | $1,200 | SearXNG |

**About $1,200 / year** on a small team, before you count lock-in.

## Deploy on Railway

Placeholder: SearXNG (official image) plus a volume if you persist settings. Bind HTTP to 0.0.0.0:$PORT. No one-click template in this repo yet — Start on Railway. Cited AI answers stay on /stacks/perplexica-search.

[Start on Railway](https://c17.io/go/railway/searxng-search?from=%2Fstacks%2Fsearxng-search.md)

[Perplexica if this is cited AI answers, not metasearch](https://c17.io/stacks/perplexica-search)

## AGENT_PROMPT

```
Replace Google Search with SearXNG (https://docs.searxng.org).

- Official image. Create one search. Do not claim Google's index, Shopping, or ads. Whoogle is archived — do not publish it as the path.
- Perplexica if the job is cited AI answers — /stacks/perplexica-search. A local folder index stays on /best/search-engines.
- Write AGENT_PROMPT.md.
```

## FAQ

### Is this Perplexity?

No. Cited AI answers stay on /replace/perplexity (Perplexica). This page is a metasearch box.

### Why not Whoogle?

benbusby/whoogle-search is archived. SearXNG is the maintained AGPL path.

### Is this XERJ or Meilisearch?

Those are local or site search — /best/search-engines and /replace/algolia. This page is Google.com-shaped metasearch.

### Are these free?

SearXNG is AGPL-3.0. You pay hosting. Upstream engines still see requests from your instance. Template users never pay c17.

Source: https://c17.io/stacks/searxng-search