Searx
Shares rank 31 of 38 search engines by recommenders
Free metasearch engine useful for hard-to-find things and as a search tool for local models. Critics say results are mixed and slower than Google.
Free metasearch engine useful for hard-to-find things and as a search tool for local models. Critics say results are mixed and slower than Google.
10 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 6
- criticize it
- 4
- approval share
- 60%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 6 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 1.5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Works as a tool for AI and scripts
“I use it as the web search tool MCP for local models and it works very well”
Comment from 25 May 2026 in “Search engines alternatives now that Google isn't Google anymore” “Searx exists and can provide JSON.”
Comment from 17 Jul 2026 in “Google Kills Custom Search API on Jan 1, 2027”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Results weaker than Google
“It didn't give the same result as Google, and it also have 10k request rate limit”
Comment from 23 Jan 2026 in “Google is ending full-web search for niche search engines” “Decentralized search engines like Searx have middling results”
Comment from 17 Oct 2026 in “Is MCP becoming the common foundation of smart, decentralised search?” “Searx and the like are slow and results are mixed.”
Comment from 17 Mar 2026 in “Kagi Translate now supports LinkedIn Speak as an output language”
Other search engines people recommend
The four most recommended other search engines, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kagi | 732 | 234 | 76% | 13 | 2 yrs106 owners | Approved |
| Google Search | 315 | 1,039 | 23% | 12 | 20 yrs25 owners | — |
| DuckDuckGo | 286 | 204 | 58% | 12 | 3.5 yrs47 owners | — |
| Hister | 81 | 9 | 90% | 9 | 2 mo17 owners | Approved |
| SearxThis page | 6 | 4 | 60% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
9 of the 10 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Decentralized search engines like Searx have middling results”
“searx for hard to find things that sometimes didn't turn up in DDG”
“Searx exists and can provide JSON.”
“Long ago I've used Searx and really liked it but after some point didn't see the point as opposed to using Google more directly.”
“I use it as the web search tool MCP for local models and it works very well”
“Searx and the like are slow and results are mixed.”
“It didn't give the same result as Google, and it also have 10k request rate limit”
“It is a better alternative to SearX for sure”
“More powerful but definitely uglier”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.