I have been using my own instance for about 2 years now. I couldn't be happier. While researching for my master's, I never felt I was missing out anything substantial.

Setting up your own instance is as simple as mirroring the Git repository. Mine is running in the default 8080 port.

Here's more info on how to do it: https://asciimoo.github.io/searx/admin/installation.html