SearXNG vs Whoogle

The Quest for Private Search

In an era where digital privacy seems more like a luxury than a right, privacy-focused search engines have emerged as essential tools for the security-conscious. Among these, two open-source projects stand out: SearXNG and Whoogle. Both promise to deliver Google-quality results without the tracking and profiling, but they take distinctly different approaches to achieve this goal.

Which one deserves a place in your privacy toolkit? Let’s dive deep into both options to help you make an informed decision.

Understanding the Contenders

SearXNG: The Meta-Search Powerhouse

SearXNG is a fork of the original SearX project, representing its more actively maintained evolution. As a meta-search engine, it doesn’t just query one search provider – it aggregates results from dozens of sources including Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, Wikipedia, and specialized engines like GitHub or StackOverflow.

Note: SearXNG is not a search engine itself but rather a proxy that fetches, combines, and ranks results from multiple sources.

The project is completely open-source, with a focus on customization and user control. You can self-host it on your own server or use one of many public instances maintained by privacy advocates around the world.

Whoogle: The Google Proxy

Whoogle takes a different approach. Rather than aggregating multiple search engines, it focuses exclusively on Google results. It acts as a lightweight proxy between you and Google, stripping away tracking elements while preserving the search quality many users depend on.

The philosophy behind Whoogle is simplicity: it delivers familiar Google search results without the privacy concerns. Like SearXNG, Whoogle is open-source and can be self-hosted or accessed through public instances.

Feature Comparison

Feature	SearXNG	Whoogle
Search Sources	70+ engines	Google only
Self-hosting Requirements	Moderate	Light
UI Customization	Extensive	Basic
Results Aggregation	Yes	No
Image/Video Search	Yes	Yes
Language Support	Excellent	Good
Mobile Experience	Good	Excellent
Speed	Varies by instance	Generally fast
Development Activity	Very active	Active

Performance & User Experience

SearXNG: Depth Over Speed

SearXNG’s strength lies in its comprehensive approach. By querying multiple search engines simultaneously, it often surfaces results you might miss when using a single provider. This is particularly valuable for research purposes or when looking for diverse perspectives on a topic.

The trade-off comes in speed and consistency. Because SearXNG must query multiple engines, process their responses, and then combine and rank the results, searches can sometimes take longer than with a direct engine. The quality of results also depends heavily on which instance you’re using and how it’s configured.

The UI is highly customizable, with themes ranging from minimalist to feature-rich interfaces that display detailed information about where each result originated.

Whoogle: Streamlined Simplicity

Whoogle prioritizes a streamlined experience. Since it’s only proxying Google results, searches tend to be faster and more consistent than with SearXNG. The interface closely resembles Google’s familiar design but without the ads and tracking elements.

This familiarity makes Whoogle particularly appealing to users who appreciate Google’s search algorithm but want to avoid its privacy implications. The experience feels like using Google with the tracking stripped away – because that’s exactly what it is.

Privacy Considerations

Both engines offer significant privacy improvements over mainstream search engines, but with different approaches:

SearXNG’s Privacy Approach

SearXNG provides multiple layers of privacy protection:

• Queries are distributed across multiple engines, making it harder to build a cohesive profile
• No user accounts or persistent cookies
• Configurable options to further anonymize requests
• Can work with Tor for additional anonymity

However, the meta-search approach means your queries are still sent to the underlying search engines. SearXNG mitigates this by spreading queries across multiple providers and anonymizing requests, but it’s not a complete isolation solution.

Whoogle’s Privacy Approach

Whoogle takes a more focused approach:

• Strips all Google tracking parameters
• Removes AMP links
• No JavaScript required for basic functionality
• No ads or personalized results
• Optionally routes through Tor

The key limitation is that all your queries still go to Google, just in a way that makes tracking more difficult. Google could potentially still identify patterns from IP addresses or query characteristics.

Self-Hosting Considerations

Both projects can be self-hosted, but with different requirements:

Hosting SearXNG

SearXNG requires more resources and setup knowledge:

# Basic Docker setup for SearXNG
git clone https://github.com/searxng/searxng-docker.git
cd searxng-docker
cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env file with your settings
docker-compose up -d

The setup is more complex because SearXNG needs to manage connections to multiple search engines, handle result aggregation, and maintain a more feature-rich interface.

Hosting Whoogle

Whoogle is significantly lighter and easier to deploy:

# Basic Docker setup for Whoogle
docker run --publish 5000:5000 --restart unless-stopped benbusby/whoogle-search:latest

This simplicity makes Whoogle an excellent choice for running on resource-constrained systems like Raspberry Pi or low-end VPS instances.

Making Your Choice

Choose SearXNG if:

• You value diverse search results from multiple sources
• You’re conducting research that benefits from varied perspectives
• You want extensive customization options
• You have moderate technical skills for self-hosting
• You prefer not to rely exclusively on Google’s algorithm

Choose Whoogle if:

• You like Google’s search results but not the tracking
• You want a familiar, simple interface
• You need a lightweight solution for self-hosting
• You prioritize speed and consistency
• You’re looking for the easiest transition from mainstream search

Conclusion: The Best of Both Worlds?

The beauty of open-source privacy tools is that you don’t have to choose just one. Many privacy enthusiasts actually use both:

• SearXNG for research and comprehensive searches
• Whoogle for quick, Google-quality results without the privacy concerns

Both projects represent significant improvements over mainstream search engines from a privacy perspective, and both continue to evolve with active development communities.

The ideal solution may be to self-host both or find reliable public instances of each, then use them according to your specific needs at the moment. Whichever you choose, you’ll be taking a meaningful step toward reclaiming your privacy online while still accessing the information you need.

Have you tried either of these privacy-focused search engines? What has your experience been? Share your thoughts in the comments below!