Back to all tools
About Perplexica
Perplexica is an open-source AI-powered search engine that mirrors what Perplexity does — understanding your question, searching the web, and returning a clear, cited answer — but fully self-hosted, so your searches and data stay on your own infrastructure. It uses SearXNG for web results and can run on local models via Ollama or hosted models like OpenAI's.
Key Features
- Cited, source-backed AI answers
- Self-hosted — your search queries never go to a third party
- Works with local models via Ollama or hosted APIs
- Uses SearXNG for privacy-respecting web search
- Open source and free to run
Best For
- Wanting Perplexity-style cited answers without sending queries to a third party
- Self-hosting a private research assistant for sensitive queries
- Running AI search entirely on local infrastructure
Pros
- Completely free and open source (MIT license)
- Full privacy — no third party sees your searches
- Can run entirely on local models
- Active open-source development
Cons
- Requires self-hosting setup (Docker) rather than a ready-made web app
- Answer quality depends on which model you connect
- Smaller feature set than Perplexity's polished consumer product
