Best search engines
Web search engines and AI answer engines, from Google and Bing to private, paid, independent and self-hosted alternatives.
22 apps, ordered by visits from AppBreakup and how often our research lists each one as an alternative. Open any app to see its alternatives.
All search engines
- Alternatives to DuckDuckGo
Private search engine that doesn't track your searches, plus a privacy browser and optional AI chat.
Free plan + paidWeb, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Browser extension - Alternatives to Brave Search
Private search engine running on its own independent index, with AI answers and an ad-free paid option.
Free plan + paidWeb, iOS, Android - Alternatives to Kagi
Paid, ad-free search engine you can tune by blocking, boosting and lowering domains.
PaidWeb, iOS, Android - Alternatives to Startpage
Private search that shows Google-sourced results without passing on your IP address or identity.
FreeWeb, iOS, Android, Browser extension - Alternatives to Google Search
The world's default web search engine, now layered with AI Overviews and a conversational AI Mode.
FreeWeb, iOS, Android - Alternatives to Perplexity
AI answer engine that searches the web in real time and replies with cited, conversational answers.
Free plan + paidWeb, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android - Alternatives to SearXNG
Free, open-source metasearch engine you can self-host to query many engines without being tracked.
Open sourceSelf-hostableWeb, Self-hosted - Alternatives to Mojeek
- Alternatives to Qwant
French search engine, hosted in Europe, that doesn't keep your search history or sell your data.
FreeWeb, iOS, Android, Browser extension - Alternatives to Microsoft Bing
Microsoft's search engine, with AI answers, image creation and rewards points built in.
FreeWeb, iOS, Android - Alternatives to YaCy
Free software for running your own search engine, alone or in a peer-to-peer network.
Open sourceSelf-hostableWindows, macOS, Linux, Self-hosted - Alternatives to Wolfram|Alpha
Computational answer engine that calculates answers for maths, science and data questions.
Free plan + paidWeb, iOS, Android - Alternatives to Marginalia Search
Independent open-source search engine that favours small, non-commercial and older websites.
FreeOpen sourceWeb - Alternatives to Ecosia
Berlin-based search engine that puts its profits into tree planting and climate projects.
FreeWeb, iOS, Android, Browser extension - Alternatives to Mwmbl
Non-profit, open-source search engine with an index built and curated by its community.
FreeOpen sourceWeb - Alternatives to You.com
Web search and research APIs that give AI apps and agents real-time, cited web data.
Free plan + paidWeb - Alternatives to Exa
Search engine and API built for AI agents, with its own neural index of the web.
Free plan + paidWeb - Alternatives to MetaGer
German non-profit, open-source metasearch engine with ad-free, anonymous search paid by prepaid tokens.
PaidOpen sourceWeb - Alternatives to Swisscows
Swiss-hosted private search engine that filters out adult and violent content by default.
FreeWeb, iOS, Android - Alternatives to Whoogle Search
Whoogle Search
DiscontinuedSelf-hosted proxy for Google results without ads or tracking; the project has ended.
Open sourceSelf-hostableSelf-hosted - Alternatives to Yahoo Search
Yahoo's long-running search engine, now with Yahoo Scout AI answers alongside classic results.
FreeWeb, iOS, Android - Alternatives to Yandex Search
Russia's largest search engine, strong on Russian-language results, with the Alice AI assistant.
FreeWeb, iOS, Android
Our picks by need
Best for most people
DuckDuckGoBest for a free option
StartpageBest for open source
SearXNGBest for self-hosting
YaCyBest for Mac
PerplexityBest for Windows
DuckDuckGoBest for Linux
YaCyBest for iPhone and Android
Brave SearchPopular comparisons
Common questions
What are the best search engines?
Based on how often our research lists them as alternatives and visits from AppBreakup, the leading search engines right now are DuckDuckGo, Brave Search, Kagi, Startpage and Google Search.
Are there free search engines?
Yes. DuckDuckGo (free plan + paid), Brave Search (free plan + paid), Startpage (free), Google Search (free) and Perplexity (free plan + paid) have a free option, out of 19 free or freemium apps we track.
Which search engines are open source?
SearXNG, YaCy, Marginalia Search, Mwmbl and MetaGer.