Brave Search

Private search engine running on its own independent index, with AI answers and an ad-free paid option.

Verified facts: 4 of 4
Alternatives ranked: 6
Approved reviews: 0
Visits sent from here: 0

About Brave Search

Brave Search comes from the company behind the Brave browser and is one of the few Western engines with its own large index rather than reselling Bing or Google results. It does not build a profile of you, and it adds AI-generated answers with citations at the top of many results, plus an Ask mode for longer questions. Goggles, a beta feature, let you or a community re-rank results with custom rules, for example to favour tech blogs or exclude big media sites. Basic search is free and shows privacy-preserving ads; Brave Search Premium removes them. Developers can use the Brave Search API, which is popular for grounding AI agents and comes with monthly free credit. It works in any browser and is the default in Brave. For very long-tail queries it occasionally mixes in third-party results, which it discloses.

Best for: Privacy-minded users who want results that don't come from Google or Bing.

What works

Own independent index, not a Bing or Google reseller
AI answers with sources, plus Goggles for custom re-ranking
Search API with free monthly credit for developers

Why people leave

Index is smaller than Google's for niche and local queries
Ad-free Premium only works in the Brave browser
Tied to a company also selling a browser, crypto wallet and ads

Top Brave Search alternatives

See all 6

1
DuckDuckGo
A more established private engine with bangs and a larger user base.
66.5
2
Kagi
Fully ad-free paid search with deep personal customisation of results.
62.6
3
Mojeek
Another engine with its own crawler and index, run from the UK with no tracking.
59.6
4
Google Search
Broader index for local, shopping and very recent results.
57.2
5
Exa
A search API built for AI agents, if you mainly used Brave's API.
55.3

Why people left Brave Search

In reviewers' own words, from reviews of the apps they moved to. These are their opinions, not ours.

No switching stories yet. If you moved away from Brave Search, review the app you switched to and tell us why.

Reviews

No approved reviews yet. How we verify reviewers

Write a review of Brave Search

Your rating of Brave Search

Name

Never shown publicly. A work email helps us verify you.

Title

Your review

What did you use it for, and what was good or bad? At least 40 characters.

Did you switch from another app?

Why did you leave it?

How can we verify you use it? (optional)

A GitHub username, your company domain, or say you can send a screenshot. Verified reviews count more.

I received money, credit or a gift for writing this review. (Incentivized reviews are shown but don't count toward rankings.)

By submitting, you confirm you're at least 16 and agree to our terms. Your name, rating, review and the date are published; your email isn't. See our privacy policy.

Brave Search: common questions

Is Brave Search free?

Brave Search has a free plan and paid plans. API free tier: Up to $20 in free calls per month (checked on Brave Search's own site).

Is Brave Search open source?

No, Brave Search is not open source.

What platforms does Brave Search run on?

Brave Search is available for Web, iOS and Android.

What are the best alternatives to Brave Search?

The highest-ranked Brave Search alternatives right now are DuckDuckGo, Kagi and Mojeek. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.

See all 6 Brave Search alternatives

Brave Search facts

4 of 4 verified

Index: Own independent index; Checked Oct 25, 2026brave.com(opens source in a new tab); “Second, Brave Search operates from a fully independent search index.”
Profiling: None; Checked Oct 25, 2026brave.com(opens source in a new tab); “Brave Search doesn’t profile you.”
Ad-free option: Brave Search Premium (Brave browser only); Checked Oct 25, 2026search.brave.com(opens source in a new tab); “Brave Search Premium is exclusively available on the Brave Browser.”
API free tier: Up to $20 in free calls per month; Checked Oct 25, 2026brave.com(opens source in a new tab); “The best answers require the best data Get my API key Up to $20 in free calls every month”