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DuckDuckGo

Private search engine that doesn't track your searches, plus a privacy browser and optional AI chat.

Free plan + paidSearch engines
Visit DuckDuckGoSee 6 alternatives
Verified facts
4 of 4
Alternatives ranked
6
Approved reviews
0
Visits sent from here
0

About DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo is the best-known private alternative to Google. It does not keep a search history tied to you or build an advertising profile, and the ads it shows are based on the current query only. Results come from many sources, largely Microsoft's Bing index, combined with DuckDuckGo's own crawler and specialised sources such as Wikipedia. Handy extras include bangs (type !w or !a to jump straight to a site's own search), instant answers, and Duck.ai, a private chat front end for popular AI models that you can switch off. The company also makes a privacy browser for Mac, Windows, iOS and Android that blocks trackers and cookie pop-ups. Search is free and ad-supported; a paid subscription adds a VPN, data-broker removal and more AI models. Results are usually good for everyday queries but can lag Google on very local or very recent searches.

Best for: People who want a familiar, free search engine without being profiled.

Pros and cons

What works

  • No search history or ad profile tied to you
  • Bangs make jumping to other sites' search very fast
  • Optional private AI chat and a tracker-blocking browser

Why people leave

  • Relies heavily on Bing, so results are rarely unique
  • Weaker than Google for local and breaking-news queries
  • Still shows ads, just not personalised ones

Top DuckDuckGo alternatives

See all 6
  1. 1Startpage logo
    Startpage

    Private like DuckDuckGo but with Google-sourced results, for better local and niche queries.

    66.5
  2. 2Brave Search logo
    Brave Search

    Also private, but built on its own index instead of Bing's.

    62.6
  3. 3Kagi logo
    Kagi

    Ad-free paid search with domain blocking and boosting for people tired of ads entirely.

    59.6
  4. 4Qwant logo
    Qwant

    A European private search engine with no search history stored.

    57.2
  5. 5SearXNG logo
    SearXNG

    Self-host your own private metasearch that pulls from many engines at once.

    55.3

Why people left DuckDuckGo

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 DuckDuckGo, review the app you switched to and tell us why.

Reviews

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DuckDuckGo: common questions

Is DuckDuckGo free?

DuckDuckGo has a free plan and paid plans.

Is DuckDuckGo open source?

No, DuckDuckGo is not open source. Open-source alternatives include SearXNG.

What platforms does DuckDuckGo run on?

DuckDuckGo is available for Web, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android and Browser extension.

What are the best alternatives to DuckDuckGo?

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

See all 6 DuckDuckGo alternatives