SearXNG vs Perplexity

A side-by-side comparison of two Search & Web servers — tools, transport, auth, maintenance, and copy-paste config for each.

	SearXNG Private metasearch via your own SearXNG instance — popular community MCP server for self-hosted search. Verified stdio (local) No auth TypeScript	Perplexity Official Perplexity MCP server — web search, ask, deep research, and reasoning via Sonar models. Verified stdio (local) API key TypeScript
Category	Search & Web	Search & Web
Language	TypeScript	TypeScript
Transport	stdio (local)	stdio (local)
Auth	None	API key
GitHub stars	896	2.3k
Last commit	4 days ago	29 days ago
Verified
Actively maintained
Install	`npx -y mcp-searxng`	`npx -y @perplexity-ai/mcp-server`
Repo	Open	Open

Verdict

Pick SearXNG if you want zero-setup with no API key.

Pick Perplexity if you want the official, vendor-maintained server, and you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option.

Add SearXNG

Install / run

npx -y mcp-searxng

Paste into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "searxng": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-searxng"
      ],
      "env": {
        "SEARXNG_URL": "https://your-searxng-instance.example.com"
      }
    }
  }
}

Add Perplexity

Install / run

npx -y @perplexity-ai/mcp-server

Paste into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "perplexity": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@perplexity-ai/mcp-server"
      ],
      "env": {
        "PERPLEXITY_API_KEY": "<your-perplexity-api-key>"
      }
    }
  }
}

FAQ

SearXNG or Perplexity — which is better?

Pick SearXNG if you want zero-setup with no API key. Pick Perplexity if you want the official, vendor-maintained server, and you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option.

Can I use both SearXNG and Perplexity?

Yes — MCP clients let you enable multiple servers at once. Add both configs to your client's mcpServers and use whichever tool fits the task.

Do SearXNG and Perplexity work with Claude, Cursor and Windsurf?

Both do. Copy the per-client config below into Claude Desktop, Cursor, or Windsurf.

View SearXNG →View Perplexity →More comparisons →