[satoqz]

I've been selfhosting SearXNG [0] for a few months and cannot complain. It's a meta search engine, i.e. collects results from a variety of underlying search engines including Google (if enabled).

The main selling points for me are:

- No ads

- Improved Privacy

- Open Source

- Customisability (Plugins, Search Engines)

I'm quite content with the search results even though they're not quite on par with the quality that Google used to have.

[0]: https://github.com/searxng/searxng

[seanw444]

+1. I was about to suggest this in my own comment.

SearX/SearXNG can also improve anonymity if you use a public instance, too. I choose to selfhost however, as the ultimate customization and ownership of the instance is more important to me than anonymity.

I find very interesting "indie" webpages frequently alongside my normal searches with Wiby results enabled. Wiby is actually fantastic.

In response to the sibling commenter mentioning its slowness: it takes some getting used to, but honestly waiting a couple seconds versus half a second for results isn't a big deal with the wealth of relevant information it gives. With about a half dozen engines enabled, I'm getting like 3-4 second response times, and that's on DigitalOcean's second lowest-tier VPS.

[pkulak]

I tried that for a while but it's so slow. Couldn't take it and finally broke down and started paying for Kagi.

[drewbitt]

DuckDuckGo keeps banning me for using it via SearXNG. I’m the only user on my host