The real problem: there are really only two search indexes

Before we talk about alternatives, we need to talk about an uncomfortable truth – because it changes the entire discussion.

When you hear “search engine,” you probably imagine some massive server farm crawling the entire internet and building its own index – a kind of catalog of every web page. But only a handful of companies actually do that. In the Western internet, there are essentially two large, independent search indexes: Google’s and Microsoft Bing’s.

And here’s the part that most articles about Google alternatives quietly skip over: nearly all alternative search engines – DuckDuckGo, Ecosia, Qwant and partially even Kagi – get their results entirely or partly from Bing. Startpage, meanwhile, delivers Google results back to you in anonymized form. The colorful variety of search engines is, to a significant degree, a variety of interfaces on top of the same Microsoft or Google index.

Only Brave Search and, with some limitations, Mojeek operate a fully independent search index of their own. Everyone else is essentially a middleman.

I think this is important to know because it makes the debate more honest. When DuckDuckGo gives you a bad result, it’s usually not DuckDuckGo’s fault – it’s Bing’s. And when Startpage gives you a great result, it’s not thanks to Startpage – it’s thanks to Google.

With most alternatives, the story isn’t about better search technology. It’s about a different philosophy when it comes to handling your data. And that’s genuinely worth a lot – you just need to know what you’re actually getting.

Why switching is still worth it

The fact that most alternatives rely on someone else’s index doesn’t mean switching is pointless. Quite the opposite.

Every search you run on Google is linked to your Google account – or, if you’re not signed in, to a detailed profile built from your browser fingerprint, IP address and search history. The result is a remarkably accurate picture of your interests, worries and habits. You search for “divorce lawyer near me”? Google knows. You search for symptoms of a particular illness three times a week? Google knows that too.

On top of that, there’s a problem many users only notice on second glance: the top results on a Google page are increasingly ads that look almost indistinguishable from real results. If you’re not paying close attention, you’re clicking on advertising without realizing it.

An alternative search engine can give you the same or similar results – just without the surveillance. And that’s a real difference, even if the index behind the scenes is the same one.

DuckDuckGo: the same Bing, but without a profile

DuckDuckGo is the search engine almost everyone mentions when the topic of Google alternatives comes up. The promise: no storage of search queries, no user profile, no personalized tracking. And DuckDuckGo largely keeps that promise.

The results come primarily from Bing, supplemented by DuckDuckGo’s own web crawler and other sources. For English-language searches, this generally works well. For more niche or highly localized queries, you’ll occasionally notice the results aren’t quite as sharp as Google’s – but as I said, that’s Bing’s limitation, not DuckDuckGo’s.

What many people don’t realize: DuckDuckGo is funded by advertising. You’ll see ads alongside the results here too. The difference from Google: the ads are based solely on what you’re searching for right now, not on a profile built up over years. If you type “running shoes,” you’ll see ads for running shoes – but not because DuckDuckGo knows you signed up for a half marathon last week.

Bottom line: A solid choice for privacy-minded users. The results are Bing results in better packaging – and for everyday use, that’s often good enough.

Startpage: Google results without Google tracking

Startpage takes the most refreshingly honest approach: it openly admits that Google delivers the best results and passes your query to Google in anonymized form. You get the quality of Google search without paying the price of Google surveillance.

That sounds almost too good to be true, and there is indeed a catch: Startpage depends on Google continuing to tolerate this arrangement. Google could restrict or raise the price of access at any time. In the past, there have already been periods when Startpage temporarily couldn’t deliver results at all.

Startpage is owned by a Dutch company and is therefore subject to the GDPR. In 2019, however, an investment from the American ad-tech company System1 caused concern in the privacy community. Startpage has maintained ever since that System1 has no access to user data – but for some users, the trust was shaken.

Bottom line: Best result quality of all the alternatives, because they are Google results. But you’re trading one dependency (on Google’s tracking) for another (on Google’s goodwill).

Kagi: what happens when you pay for search

Kagi takes a radically different approach: instead of relying on advertising, this search engine funds itself through a subscription model. Starting at $5 per month (for a plan with limited searches), you get an ad-free search with no tracking.

Kagi draws its results from its own crawlers and various external sources, including Google and Bing. So it’s a hybrid – not a fully independent index, but not a pure Bing frontend either. The standout feature: you can customize which websites get boosted or downranked in your results. If you want to banish Pinterest boards or Reddit threads from your search results, you can do exactly that.

The quality of the results is impressive – many Kagi users report that they scroll less and find what they’re looking for faster. Especially for technical queries and specialized topics, Kagi often outperforms the competition.

The obvious downside: you have to pay. For most people, a search engine is a tool that’s “just there” – the idea of paying a monthly fee for it feels strange. Then again: if you’re not paying with money, you’re paying with data. Kagi makes that trade-off visible.

Bottom line: The most technically impressive alternative – and an interesting experiment showing what a search engine looks like when it has no advertising incentives.

Brave Search: the only truly independent path

Brave Search deserves special attention because it’s the only major alternative that operates a fully independent search index – no Bing results, no Google results under the hood. That’s a technically remarkable achievement, and it’s essentially what most people imagine when they picture a “different search engine.”

Result quality has improved significantly since its launch in 2021, though it still doesn’t always match the established players for more obscure or highly localized queries. Building an independent index takes time to mature – Google had a two-decade head start.

Bottom line: The most independent alternative out there. If you truly want to break free from the Bing-Google duopoly, Brave Search is worth keeping on your radar – even if it doesn’t deliver the best results in every situation today.

Ecosia and Qwant: solid, but same index

Ecosia plants trees with its ad revenue and uses Bing results under the hood. Search quality is solid, and the environmental angle is appealing. On the privacy front, though, Ecosia collects less than Google but more than DuckDuckGo.

Qwant comes from France, is subject to the GDPR and emphasizes European data sovereignty. Its results are drawn partly from Bing, partly from its own index. Qwant has struggled with financial difficulties in the past but remains active.

Both are perfectly good options – but at their core, you’re still getting Bing results in different packaging.

What I learned from all of this

For years I considered myself an informed internet user, and yet I reflexively used Google every single day. When I systematically tested the alternatives for this article, the biggest surprise wasn’t what the results looked like – it was how hard it was to break the habit. Google isn’t just a product; it’s a reflex.

These days I use DuckDuckGo as my default for quick everyday searches. When I can’t find something specific, I’ll supplement with Startpage or – I’ll admit it – go directly to Google. I tried Kagi for a while and was impressed. Whether search is worth $5 a month to me is something I haven’t fully decided yet. But the mere fact that the question comes up shows how accustomed we’ve become to paying with data instead of money.

The honest bottom line

The problem isn’t that the alternatives are bad. The problem is that almost all of them use the same index. Switching from Google to DuckDuckGo essentially means switching from Google’s index to Microsoft’s index. Switching to Startpage means staying on Google’s index – just anonymously. True technical diversity is offered only by Brave Search and Kagi with their own crawlers.

But – and this is the crucial part – the switch makes a real difference for your privacy. You may not get fundamentally different results, but you leave significantly fewer traces behind. And in a world where data has become currency, that’s no small thing.

How to change your default search engine

Switching takes about thirty seconds in any major browser:

• Firefox: Settings > Search > Default Search Engine
• Chrome: Settings > Search engine > Search engine used in the address bar
• Edge: Settings > Privacy, search, and services > Address bar and search
• Safari: Settings > Search > Search Engine

DuckDuckGo, Startpage and Ecosia are already available as options in most browsers. For Kagi and Brave Search, you’ll need to manually add the URL as a custom search engine – both providers explain how on their websites.

Practical recommendations

Here’s my honest assessment, depending on what matters most to you:

• Privacy with solid everyday usability: DuckDuckGo – free, easy to set up, a good compromise (Bing index)
• Best result quality without a Google account: Startpage – essentially Google without the surveillance (Google index)
• Ad-free and customizable: Kagi – technically impressive, but it’ll cost you (hybrid index)
• True independence: Brave Search – the only provider with its own index that doesn’t depend on Google or Bing
• Feel-good factor: Ecosia – if the environmental angle matters to you (Bing index)

You don’t have to commit to a single search engine. Set DuckDuckGo or Startpage as your default and fall back to Google when you truly can’t find what you need. That alone will dramatically reduce the amount of data Google collects about you – without giving up good results.

The best news: switching costs nothing, takes seconds and can be undone at any time. Just try it for two weeks. If it doesn’t work out, Google is only one click away.

Which search engine do you use? Have you tried any of these alternatives? Let us know in the comments – we’d love to hear about your experience.