Dead Simple Search
Dead Simple Search: An open-source MySQL search backend for websites, with a JSON REST API. Ranked #49 of 52 in Website Search Software by our editors (4.2/10); pricing: Free plan; best for developers seeking free, self-hosted site search.
At a glance
- Editor score4.2 / 10
- PricingFree plan
- Best forDevelopers seeking free, self-hosted site search
- Free planYes
- Paid fromFree
- Search analyticsNo
- Facts checked5 Oct 2026
Where it wins
- Crawls pages from sitemaps and links while respecting indexing directives
- Indexes page text and metadata, with weighted full-text results
- Offers a JSON REST API for registration, crawling, and search
Where it doesn't
- Requires users to provide their own front end
- Does not provide search analytics
- Lacks typo tolerance and faceted search
Our verdict on Dead Simple Search
Dead Simple Search is an open-source backend for indexing and searching website pages on a server you manage. It is aimed at developers supporting personal or small-to-medium websites and internal knowledge bases with modest search needs. The software crawls pages through links and sitemaps, stores page text and metadata in MySQL, and exposes search through a JSON REST API. It is a focused option for teams that want to run their own search service rather than adopt a hosted product.
Its crawling and indexing controls are central to the fit. The crawler respects robots.txt, noindex directives, X-Robots-Tag, and rel=canonical, while indexing titles, headings, descriptions, body text, language, and dates. Search uses MySQL natural-language and boolean modes, and results are weighted using title, meta-description, and H1. Optional stemming covers English and Nordic languages; pagination and language filtering are also supported. This gives developers useful control over webpage search without extending the product into broader content discovery features.
The tradeoff is that Dead Simple Search is a backend, not a complete search interface: users provide their own front end, and there is no hosted service. The vendor describes the software as having no monthly bill or invoice, and identifies it as MIT-licensed open source. It does not include search analytics, typo tolerance, or faceted search, which may matter for sites that need to understand query behavior or offer richer filtering. Choose it when self-hosting, open-source code, and a modest webpage-search scope matter most; consider an alternative if you need a managed service or those missing search capabilities.
Your product? Our editors can test Dead Simple Search in depth and publish a review, labelled as paid · from $99/mo →
Dead Simple Search pricing
Dead Simple Search fact sheet
| Free plan | Yes |
|---|---|
| Paid from | Free |
| Search analytics | No |
| Product recommendations | Not verified |
| Merchandising controls | Not verified |
| Indexed content | Webpages |
| Deployment type | Self-hosted |
| Deployment | Self-hosted |
| Platforms | Web |
| Support | Docs |
| Built for | Solo, Small business, Mid-market (editorial estimate) |
| Pricing | Free plan |
| Website | deadsimplesearch.com |
| Facts checked | 5 Oct 2026 |
Alternatives to Dead Simple Search
- AlgoliaA cloud search platform combining relevance controls, analytics and hybrid keyword-vector search.9.4
- ElasticsearchFlexible full-text, vector, and hybrid search with cloud and self-managed deployment options.9.2
- Jetpack SearchA focused WordPress search option with useful filters and a free plan.9.0
See all Dead Simple Search alternatives →
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The editor score above is our own research. What this page doesn't have yet is a reader's view — what you used Dead Simple Search for, what worked and what didn't. No stars are seeded and no review is paid for; an editor reads every one before it appears.
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Featured on iTechGuides
Dead Simple Search is listed in our Website Search Software directory. Add the badge to your site — it links back to this page.
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Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
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