Open-source answer engines
Self-hosted search that answers a question in prose with the sources it used, the way Perplexity does. Each pairs a search backend, often a self-hosted SearXNG, with a model you choose, local or hosted.
An AGPL-3.0 personal AI that answers from the web and your own documents with any local or hosted model, builds custom agents, sends scheduled research by email, and runs self-hosted or in its maintainers' cloud.
An MIT answer engine, formerly Perplexica, that searches the web through a bundled SearXNG and answers with cited sources, using local models through Ollama or hosted ones, in speed, balanced and quality modes, on your own hardware.
An Apache-2.0 AI search engine with a generative interface that answers with citations, using OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Ollama or any OpenAI-compatible model and Tavily, SearXNG, Brave or Exa for search, with sign-in and shareable results.
Questions people ask
What is the best open-source Perplexity alternative?
Vane, formerly Perplexica (MIT), is the closest in shape: a question in, a cited answer out, with SearXNG bundled so no search API is needed, and local models through Ollama. Morphic (Apache-2.0) adds a generated page layout, sign-in and shareable results. Khoj (AGPL-3.0) adds your own documents and scheduled research.
Do open-source answer engines need a search API key?
Not necessarily. Vane's Docker image bundles SearXNG, a self-hosted metasearch engine, and Morphic's Docker Compose starts one, so neither needs a paid search API. Morphic can also use Tavily, Brave or Exa; Vane lists Tavily and Exa as coming soon.
Can an answer engine run entirely on my own hardware?
Yes. Pair Vane or Morphic with Ollama and their bundled SearXNG, and both the model and the search engine run on your machines; only the live web results are fetched from the internet. Khoj also runs local models and can search your own documents.
Which one searches my own documents as well as the web?
Khoj answers from the web and from your documents, including PDF, Markdown, Word and Notion files, with semantic search. Vane accepts uploaded PDFs, text files and images for a search, and Morphic supports file upload once configured.
Running one of these inside your own environment, with your own data and your own security rules, is the kind of work Reveneau does. Read how a forward deployed engagement works.