Google Search alternatives: 11 search engines tools compared
People look for a Google Search alternative because the results page is built around ads and AI Overviews, and because signed-in searches can be saved to a Google Account. They move to a private ad-funded engine, to a paid one, or to an independent index. Most alternatives still borrow results from Bing or Google, so check who supplies them.
Short answer: The first three alternatives to Google Search in our search engines ranking are DuckDuckGo, Brave Search and Microsoft Bing. Places 1 to 3 go to challengers, vendors outside the best-known brands in a category, wherever the category has them; the established names follow from place 4 in their ranked order. Choose DuckDuckGo if you want a familiar results page with far less tracking and accept Bing-sourced links. All 11 alternatives below are ranked products from Best Search Engines in 2026, and each says where it differs from Google Search.
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Built for: People who accept personalised, ad-funded search in exchange for the broadest default
Not for: Buyers who want to control AI features or avoid ad personalisation
01
Why buyers look past Google Search
01
AI Overviews cannot be switched off
Google's help page says these Search features cannot be turned off. The only route it names is the Web filter, which you select after each search to see text links without AI Overviews. A team that wants plain ranked links on every query has to repeat that step, while Ecosia lets its AI Overviews be switched off in settings.
02
Searches can be tied to an account
Google's privacy policy says that with Web & App Activity enabled, searches and other activity from Google services are saved to the Google Account. The terms add that personalised ads can be changed or turned off in Ads Settings. For a shared work device or a regulated team, that account link is the part to remove, and several engines below log no queries.
03
Leaving rarely means leaving the same index
Google is sold to users at no stated price and funded by ads. Many replacements are too: DuckDuckGo says its links and images largely come from Bing, and Ecosia names Bing, Google and EUSP. Only Brave and Mojeek claim their own index, and Kagi mixes its own with anonymised calls to others, so the supplier changes more often than it disappears.
Beijing-based engine with a Chinese-language site and an AI assistant
your task is to research or reach Chinese-language search results
#9
03
What each one does differently
1
DuckDuckGo
Not stated by the vendor · Free with ads; optional subscription with Plus and Pro plans
Ad-funded like Google, but its help pages say it saves no search history and no IP address alongside searches. Links and images are largely sourced from Bing, so the index is borrowed. It publishes subscription plans (Plus and Pro) but we saw no prices, and found no stated country of establishment.
Switch from Google Search if you want a familiar results page with far less tracking and accept Bing-sourced links.
United States · Ad-supported; ad-free Premium option; API sold per thousand calls with monthly credits
Brave Software states that every result comes from its own index, with no fallback to Google or Bing. Ads fund the consumer site and an ad-free Premium exists, though we saw no Premium price. The company is US-based. It is the only independent index here with a self-serve API at 5 USD per 1,000 requests.
Switch from Google Search if you want an index that is not Google's or Bing's, and may call it from code.
United States · No user price stated; the standalone Search APIs were retired
Microsoft's own web search, so it swaps one US company for another. It is the source behind several engines on this list, which makes it the index you are likely to meet again. The standalone Bing Search APIs were retired on 11 August 2025, so developers lose the direct route they once had.
Switch from Google Search if you only want a second large index and keep Microsoft as the supplier.
Netherlands · Ad-supported with sponsored links; account and subscription exist, price not shown
Dutch-operated (Surfboard Holding BV, The Hague) and positioned as private search with an Anonymous View proxy for opening results. Sponsored links come from platforms such as Google AdSense. The policy and about pages we read do not name the organic index, so its independence cannot be judged from them.
Switch from Google Search if you want a Dutch operator and a proxy for opening results without sharing your IP.
United States · Monthly subscription with published tiers; limited trial before paying
Paid instead of ad-funded: the Starter tier costs 5 USD a month for 300 searches, Professional is 10 USD for unlimited searches, Ultimate is 25 USD. Results blend Kagi's own indexes with anonymised calls to other providers. A 100-search trial exists. It is the only entry here you must pay to use daily.
Switch from Google Search if you will pay monthly to remove ads and tune ranking, and search a lot.
Not stated by the vendor · Ad-funded; profits go to tree planting
Ad-funded through Google AdSense and Microsoft Advertising, with all profits going to climate action. Results come from Bing, Google and EUSP depending on location, so it does not remove those suppliers. AI Overviews are on by default and can be switched off in settings, where the feature is offered.
Switch from Google Search if you want a mainstream results page with the profit going to a stated climate purpose.
France · Free, funded by labelled ads; an account is needed for AI features
A French company (QWANT SAS, Paris) with its own Qwantify crawler, filling gaps through partner interfaces including Microsoft Bing, per its French ranking notice. History is not stored by default. AI answers and summaries need a Qwant account, which is where personalised ads can be consented to.
Switch from Google Search if you prefer an EU-registered engine and are fine with partner results from Bing.
United Kingdom · No user price shown; paid API at published pay-as-you-go rates
An English company that crawls the web itself and reports passing nine billion indexed pages in 2025. It does not log IP addresses, and offers an API at GBP 2 per 1,000 requests. The index is smaller than Google's by its own count, so rare queries may return fewer useful pages.
Switch from Google Search if you want a crawler with no borrowed results and accept a smaller index.
United States · Advertising funded; no price shown to users
Advertising-funded portal search under Yahoo's terms. Its help page lists algorithmic searches, provider content, advertiser content and partner content as sources, without naming whose index supplies the algorithmic part. Ads are labelled, though content where Yahoo is not paid might not be, so it adds no clear independence over Google.
Switch from Google Search if you already use Yahoo's portal and only want a different results page.
Run by YANDEX LLC, incorporated under Russian law with head office in Moscow; the user agreement is governed by Russian law. The English site offers images, video, maps and AI search. A buyer leaving Google for privacy or jurisdiction reasons should weigh that, since the legal base changes but does not improve.
Switch from Google Search if you need Russian-language search coverage and accept a Russian operator.
Beijing-based, and the search site and privacy policy are in Chinese, with a section on cross-border transfer of personal information. It is a tool for reaching Chinese-speaking searchers, not a general replacement for Google, and we saw no English search interface on the pages we read.
Switch from Google Search if your task is to research or reach Chinese-language search results.
Google remains the sensible choice when you need the broadest English-language coverage and the Google services around it, and when you are already signed in to a Google Account that you manage deliberately. Its terms let you change or turn off ad personalisation in Ads Settings, and the Web filter gives a text-links view after a search. If your reason to leave is only the look of the page, test one alternative for a week before changing a company default.
05
What moving off Google Search involves
01
Change the default in each browser and device
Set the new engine as default in every browser profile, and on phones and managed devices. Most alternatives here offer extensions or settings pages. If you use Google Search Console for your own site, it stays a separate tool: leaving Google Search as a reader does not touch it, so keep it for site owners' data.
02
Decide what to do with saved activity
If Web & App Activity was on, history sits in the Google Account and does not move with you. Delete or pause it in My Activity before you switch, since Google's help page says turning history off does not affect Search history already saved unless you choose to delete it. A paid engine such as Kagi also needs payment details.
06
Questions about replacing Google Search
6 answers
Does any alternative use no other company's results?
Brave says every result comes from its own index with no fallback to another engine, and Mojeek says it built its technology from the ground up and reports nine billion pages. Others, including DuckDuckGo, Ecosia and Qwant, name Bing or other partners among their sources.
Which alternatives cost money?
Kagi is the one with published user prices: Starter at 5 USD a month, Professional at 10 USD and Ultimate at 25 USD, with a 100-search trial.
Brave and Mojeek sell APIs per 1,000 requests, while DuckDuckGo lists Plus and Pro plans whose prices we did not see.
Can I turn off AI answers in the alternatives?
Ecosia says AI Overviews can be switched off in settings, and DuckDuckGo's help lists optional AI controls and noai.duckduckgo.com. Qwant ties its AI answers and summaries to an account. We did not test every engine, so check the current setting.
Is Bing a real alternative if it is Microsoft's?
It replaces the supplier, not the arrangement. Bing is a large US-run engine funded by the same kind of model, and it feeds other engines on this list. Microsoft retired the standalone Bing Search APIs on 11 August 2025.
Which are based in the EU?
Qwant (Paris) and Startpage (The Hague) are registered in France and the Netherlands according to their legal pages. Ecosia's help pages we read did not state a country, and we found none for DuckDuckGo. Country is a fact here, not a ranking criterion.
Do I lose anything when I stop using Google Search?
Google services outside search, such as Maps, are separate products. The alternatives vary in coverage: Yandex and Baidu add Russian and Chinese-language reach, and Mojeek's index is smaller by its own page count. Test your hardest queries before switching a team.
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Sources
Checked 20 October 2026
Google Search Help: AI Overviews: AI Overviews cannot be turned off; Web filter shows text links; history can be turned off in My Activity.
Google Terms of Service: Google Ireland Limited contracts in EEA/Switzerland; ads can be changed or turned off in Ads Settings.
Google Privacy Policy: Searches saved to the Google Account when Web & App Activity is enabled.
Founder of The Knowledge Engineers and of 2 Steps Ahead, an AI search visibility agency. Editorially responsible for every page on this site; research and drafting are AI-assisted.
Written, edited and fact-checked by Sebastiaan Smits. Last reviewed
20 October 2026. How we review.
