Kagi vs Brave Search
Kagi is paid for by the searcher and shows no ads; its published plans run from USD 5 to USD 25 a month. Brave Search costs nothing and lives on ads, with an ad-free Premium tier we could not find a price for. Sources differ as well: Brave claims all results come from its own index, whereas Kagi mixes its own indexes with anonymised requests to other providers.
Sebastiaan SmitsFounderVendors can pay for more visibility on this website, for example a higher place in a ranking or more room on a page. Commercial relationships can also affect which products we feature and how prominently. Every vendor link is marked the same, whatever the arrangement behind it. How that works.
Choose Kagi ifyou are happy to pay each month for results with no sponsored slots, and want a published price for your search volume.
Choose Brave Search ifyou want free search without an account from a vendor that claims its own index, or you need search as a pay-per-call API.
Kagi and Brave Search side by side
| Kagi | Brave Search | |
|---|---|---|
| Our search engines rank | #1 of 12 | #3 of 12 |
| Established in | United States | United States |
| List price, 2 November 2026 | Starter USD 5, Professional USD 10 and Ultimate USD 25 per month, 10% off when billed annually; a free trial covers 100 searches | Ads pay for it; ad-free Premium is unpriced on our pages; API Search is billed at USD 5 for every 1,000 requests, with a free USD 5 credit monthly |
| Free tier | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Self-hostable | — | — |
| Built for | People who will pay monthly for ad-free results and personal ranking settings | Developers and users who want an independent index and an optional ad-free paid tier |
| Not for | Households that want a search engine with no account or payment | Buyers who need a stated Premium price before committing |
Both are reviewed in full in our search engines ranking: Kagi and Brave Search.
Where they differ
Kagi 1 · Brave Search 3 · open 1- 01
What you pay
On Kagi's pricing page, Starter is USD 5 monthly for 300 searches, Professional is USD 10 for unlimited searches, and Ultimate is USD 25; paying annually takes 10% off. Brave's consumer site runs on ads and the Premium price was missing from the pages we read. Starting with Brave costs nothing, but only Kagi can be priced.
Depends on the buyer
- 02
How the business earns
Kagi earns from its users and calls itself a Public Benefit Corporation, so there is no sponsored result to protect. Brave's ads page says revenue comes from labelled, anonymous search ads, and Shields may reduce them, though it stops short of saying remove. If the page must be ad-free, Kagi is the safe route.
Edge: Kagi
- 03
Index independence
According to Brave's API page, results come from its own index and no other engine is a fallback. Kagi's help page names its own web index (Teclis) and news index (TinyGem), then adds Small Web content and anonymised calls to major providers. Kagi openly admits the blend, so the stronger independence claim is Brave's.
Edge: Brave Search
- 04
Trying before paying
Kagi's free trial stops at 100 searches and 100 Assistant interactions, and a month left unused is credited back. For the consumer site Brave asks for no account, so the first search needs no sign-up. That gives Brave the least friction.
Edge: Brave Search
- 05
Developer side
Brave's developer plan bills Search per call: USD 5 buys 1,000 requests, and a USD 5 credit is refilled each month. Answers adds USD 4 per 1,000 plus token charges. Billing is prepaid, not a subscription. On the Kagi pages we read there is no API price at all, so Brave is the only clear option.
Edge: Brave Search
When neither fits
For a company with a stated European base, Startpage is run from the Netherlands. For an account-free default with an AI opt-out, DuckDuckGo documents one.
Kagi or Brave Search: questions
3 answersHow much does Kagi cost?
Starter costs USD 5 a month for 300 searches, Professional USD 10 for unlimited searches, and Ultimate USD 25 including premium AI. Annual billing takes 10% off, and sales tax is added to the prices shown.
Is there a free way to try Kagi?
Yes. The pricing page offers a trial of 100 searches and 100 Kagi Assistant interactions. The about page speaks of up to 150 free searches, so the two pages disagree on the number.
Does Brave Search show ads?
Yes. The consumer site is funded by anonymous, labelled search ads, and Premium members see none. We found no Premium price on the page we read.
Sources
Checked 2 November 2026- Kagi pricing: plan prices, trial size, annual discount, credit for unused month, sales tax.
- Kagi search sources: Teclis, TinyGem, Small Web, calls to other providers.
- Kagi privacy: Public Benefit Corporation status; Delaware law.
- Kagi about: the 150 free searches figure.
- Brave Search API: developer rates; own-index claim.
- Brave Search ads help: ads fund the site; Premium unpriced.
- Brave privacy policy: Shields and search ads.