Application hosting

Hosting SearXNG

SearXNG is a self-hosted metasearch engine that queries configured search services and presents aggregated results. The project recommends Compose for container deployments and supports Docker or Podman. Its installation documentation does not specify a universal CPU, memory, or disk minimum, so capacity depends on traffic, enabled engines, caching, and configuration.

Min vCPU
Depends on workload
Min memory
Depends on workload
Min storage
Depends on workload

Must have

Hard prerequisites

  • The official container installation requires a working Docker or Podman installation; Compose is the project-recommended container deployment method.
  • A public deployment should be configured with an appropriate secret key, limiter settings, and reverse proxy as applicable.

Recommended

Documented guidance

No further general recommendations are published for this version.

Capacity depends on your workload

The reviewed official installation documentation does not publish a universal CPU, RAM, or disk minimum. Traffic, engine selection, cache behavior, and rate limiting affect resource use.

We only compare what providers publish. A RAM figure alone can't confirm compatibility or production capacity.

Deploy with

Supported paths

  • Docker Compose using the project container templates
  • Docker or Podman container with mounted configuration and cache directories
  • Manual server installation following the administrator guide

The host must provide

Runtime

Container runtime
Working Docker or Podman for the documented container path
Configuration
A configured settings.yml, including the server secret key and selected engines
Reverse proxy
Recommended when exposing a public instance; use the project's deployment guidance

Storage

Persistent data

Keep the configuration directory persistent, including settings.yml. The container exposes /etc/searxng for configuration and /var/cache/searxng for persistent cache data. The documentation does not state a universal disk minimum.

Step by step

Deploy a SearXNG instance

  1. Choose a container runtime

    Install Docker or Podman on the host. The SearXNG guide recommends Compose for container deployments and provides project templates.

    Official instructions
  2. Persist configuration and cache

    Mount the configuration and cache paths so settings and cache data survive container replacement, then review the current Compose template before updates.

    Official instructions
  3. Set production settings

    Configure the server secret, selected engines, and limiter behavior, then put the service behind a reverse proxy when exposing it publicly.

    Official instructions

Security

Before you go public

  • Do not use a public deployment with default or missing secrets; review the current settings reference.
  • Enable and test limiter protections and place a public instance behind a correctly configured reverse proxy.
  • Keep configuration writable only by the service operator and update the container templates deliberately.

Cost

Beyond the server price

  • SearXNG software does not include the server, storage, reverse proxy, monitoring, or backup costs.
  • Search engine usage may be subject to the queried services' terms and rate limits; review those services before enabling engines.

Matching plans

Plans with published evidence

Amazon Web Services

Amazon Lightsail · 2 vCPU / 2 GB

2vCPU
2 GBRAM
60 GBStorage
3 TBTransfer
  • Burstable vCPU
  • SSD
Compatibility unclear from published plan data

Meeting documented runtime prerequisites does not prove production capacity. Traffic, workloads, software configuration, and shared host limits are not measured here.

  • The official container installation requires a working Docker or Podman installation; Compose is the project-recommended container deployment method.This prerequisite has no comparable published plan field.
  • A public deployment should be configured with an appropriate secret key, limiter settings, and reverse proxy as applicable.This prerequisite has no comparable published plan field.
Amazon Web Services

Amazon Lightsail · 2 vCPU / 4 GB

2vCPU
4 GBRAM
80 GBStorage
4 TBTransfer
  • Burstable vCPU
  • SSD
Compatibility unclear from published plan data

Meeting documented runtime prerequisites does not prove production capacity. Traffic, workloads, software configuration, and shared host limits are not measured here.

  • The official container installation requires a working Docker or Podman installation; Compose is the project-recommended container deployment method.This prerequisite has no comparable published plan field.
  • A public deployment should be configured with an appropriate secret key, limiter settings, and reverse proxy as applicable.This prerequisite has no comparable published plan field.
Contabo

Contabo Cloud VPS 12

12vCPU
48 GBRAM
400 GBStorage
—Transfer
  • SSD
Compatibility unclear from published plan data

Meeting documented runtime prerequisites does not prove production capacity. Traffic, workloads, software configuration, and shared host limits are not measured here.

  • The official container installation requires a working Docker or Podman installation; Compose is the project-recommended container deployment method.This prerequisite has no comparable published plan field.
  • A public deployment should be configured with an appropriate secret key, limiter settings, and reverse proxy as applicable.This prerequisite has no comparable published plan field.
Contabo

Contabo Cloud VPS 16

16vCPU
64 GBRAM
500 GBStorage
—Transfer
  • SSD
Compatibility unclear from published plan data

Meeting documented runtime prerequisites does not prove production capacity. Traffic, workloads, software configuration, and shared host limits are not measured here.

  • The official container installation requires a working Docker or Podman installation; Compose is the project-recommended container deployment method.This prerequisite has no comparable published plan field.
  • A public deployment should be configured with an appropriate secret key, limiter settings, and reverse proxy as applicable.This prerequisite has no comparable published plan field.
Contabo

Contabo Cloud VPS 18

18vCPU
96 GBRAM
600 GBStorage
—Transfer
  • SSD
Compatibility unclear from published plan data

Meeting documented runtime prerequisites does not prove production capacity. Traffic, workloads, software configuration, and shared host limits are not measured here.

  • The official container installation requires a working Docker or Podman installation; Compose is the project-recommended container deployment method.This prerequisite has no comparable published plan field.
  • A public deployment should be configured with an appropriate secret key, limiter settings, and reverse proxy as applicable.This prerequisite has no comparable published plan field.
Contabo

Contabo Cloud VPS 4

4vCPU
8 GBRAM
100 GBStorage
—Transfer
  • SSD
Compatibility unclear from published plan data

Meeting documented runtime prerequisites does not prove production capacity. Traffic, workloads, software configuration, and shared host limits are not measured here.

  • The official container installation requires a working Docker or Podman installation; Compose is the project-recommended container deployment method.This prerequisite has no comparable published plan field.
  • A public deployment should be configured with an appropriate secret key, limiter settings, and reverse proxy as applicable.This prerequisite has no comparable published plan field.
Contabo

Contabo Cloud VPS 6

6vCPU
12 GBRAM
200 GBStorage
—Transfer
  • SSD
Compatibility unclear from published plan data

Meeting documented runtime prerequisites does not prove production capacity. Traffic, workloads, software configuration, and shared host limits are not measured here.

  • The official container installation requires a working Docker or Podman installation; Compose is the project-recommended container deployment method.This prerequisite has no comparable published plan field.
  • A public deployment should be configured with an appropriate secret key, limiter settings, and reverse proxy as applicable.This prerequisite has no comparable published plan field.
Contabo

Contabo Cloud VPS 8

8vCPU
24 GBRAM
300 GBStorage
—Transfer
  • SSD
Compatibility unclear from published plan data

Meeting documented runtime prerequisites does not prove production capacity. Traffic, workloads, software configuration, and shared host limits are not measured here.

  • The official container installation requires a working Docker or Podman installation; Compose is the project-recommended container deployment method.This prerequisite has no comparable published plan field.
  • A public deployment should be configured with an appropriate secret key, limiter settings, and reverse proxy as applicable.This prerequisite has no comparable published plan field.
DigitalOcean

Basic Droplet · 1 vCPU / 1 GB (Intel)

1vCPU
1 GBRAM
25 GBStorage
1 TBTransfer
  • Shared vCPU (Intel Xeon)
  • Standard SSD
Compatibility unclear from published plan data

Meeting documented runtime prerequisites does not prove production capacity. Traffic, workloads, software configuration, and shared host limits are not measured here.

  • The official container installation requires a working Docker or Podman installation; Compose is the project-recommended container deployment method.This prerequisite has no comparable published plan field.
  • A public deployment should be configured with an appropriate secret key, limiter settings, and reverse proxy as applicable.This prerequisite has no comparable published plan field.
DigitalOcean

Basic Droplet · 1 vCPU / 2 GB (Intel)

1vCPU
2 GBRAM
50 GBStorage
2 TBTransfer
  • Shared vCPU (Intel Xeon)
  • Standard SSD
Compatibility unclear from published plan data

Meeting documented runtime prerequisites does not prove production capacity. Traffic, workloads, software configuration, and shared host limits are not measured here.

  • The official container installation requires a working Docker or Podman installation; Compose is the project-recommended container deployment method.This prerequisite has no comparable published plan field.
  • A public deployment should be configured with an appropriate secret key, limiter settings, and reverse proxy as applicable.This prerequisite has no comparable published plan field.
DigitalOcean

Basic Regular Droplet · 2 vCPU / 4 GiB

2vCPU
4 GiBRAM
80 GiBStorage
4 TBTransfer
  • Shared CPU
  • SSD
Compatibility unclear from published plan data

Meeting documented runtime prerequisites does not prove production capacity. Traffic, workloads, software configuration, and shared host limits are not measured here.

  • The official container installation requires a working Docker or Podman installation; Compose is the project-recommended container deployment method.This prerequisite has no comparable published plan field.
  • A public deployment should be configured with an appropriate secret key, limiter settings, and reverse proxy as applicable.This prerequisite has no comparable published plan field.
DigitalOcean

Basic Regular Droplet · 4 vCPU / 8 GiB

4vCPU
8 GiBRAM
160 GiBStorage
5 TBTransfer
  • Shared CPU
  • SSD
Compatibility unclear from published plan data

Meeting documented runtime prerequisites does not prove production capacity. Traffic, workloads, software configuration, and shared host limits are not measured here.

  • The official container installation requires a working Docker or Podman installation; Compose is the project-recommended container deployment method.This prerequisite has no comparable published plan field.
  • A public deployment should be configured with an appropriate secret key, limiter settings, and reverse proxy as applicable.This prerequisite has no comparable published plan field.

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