Top Search Engine Alternatives to Google

Welcome to the definitive source for comparing search engine alternatives to Google.

Why would anyone want an alternative to the Google search engine? Some concerns that people have with Google include: user privacy, manipulation and misuse of search results, tax avoidance, use of others’ intellectual property, and business concerns such as having a monopoly (more than 90% of searches are done on Google). Because people and businesses use the internet in so many different ways, it is important to find the search engine that fits each use case best.

We've performed a comprehensive research study to identify Google-alternative search engines that search the entire public internet. To be included in our study, the tool must require users to input text and give a list of matching results as an output. This list includes both paid and free search engines, and meta-search engines (if they search the entire web).

The following search engines have not been included, for a number of reasons (e.g. broken site, incomplete search results or non-English language): Boardreader, Wolframalpha, Chacha, Blekko, Blog Search Engine, Wiki.com, Baidu, Disconnect Search, Kartoo, and Surfwax. We’ve also left out search engines that only search the dark web or ones that only search for specific information (e.g. http://www.blog searchengine.org/).

If you are also interested in finding an effective web browser, check out: Top 50 Web Browser Alternatives.

We reached out to a cohort of industry experts to get some initial feedback on what features are most important in search engine tools. We’ve ranked the top ten tools in our research according to their responses. This top ten list is continually updated as we get more feedback. But we highly suggest you participate in our custom search engine survey so you can layer in your own importance prioritization for each feature:

Top Ten
Google Search Engine Alternatives
as of April 2021

Internet Archive
DuckDuckGo
Yahoo
Ecosia
Bing
Startpage
Yandex
Goodsearch
Qwant
Aol

Note: If we mark a specific solution as not having a particular feature, that only means we did not see that feature advertised in their public marketing content. We focus almost exclusively on publicly verifiable facts in our research.

Our researchers have looked at 368 data points and more than 1800 analysis points. They have studied 39 integrations, 32 features, 46 search engine tools and over 1400 feature points.

Search Engine Feature Strength is a number that was calculated by looking at how many features each search engine had, and the relative, subjective importance of each feature. You can reach out to us to layer in your own feature importance scoring before deciding on a solution.

Likewise, Search Engine Business Strength is a number that was derived from certain business-related qualities of each company, and our own (subjective) scoring of the importance of those qualities. There too, you’ll want to give your own importance rating to derive your own, custom scatter plot:

Click here to Interact!

We've used the Likert Scale to calculate a score for software features and business attributes. Our list also includes many other considerations such as which features each search engine provides, age or launch date, pricing and Domain Authority score. You can click here to jump to a list of all the features we've uncovered.

We trust that this publication will save you many hours of research. To make this research report mobile-friendly, we’ve nested five different methods of ranking these search engine tools. Click on each of these to expand the ordered list:

Approximate Age of Software/Company

Tool	Age
Lycos	24.7 Yrs
Search	24.7 Yrs
Excite	24.7 Yrs
WebCrawler	24.7 Yrs
InfoSpace	24.7 Yrs
MetaCrawler	24.7 Yrs
Dogpile	24.5 Yrs
Internet Archive	24.4 Yrs
Yippy	24.3 Yrs
Info	24.2 Yrs
Aol	23.5 Yrs
Ask	22.6 Yrs
Startpage	22.6 Yrs
Entireweb	22.4 Yrs
Gigablast	21.6 Yrs
Lukol	21.3 Yrs
SearchEngineZ	21.2 Yrs
MetaGer	20.3 Yrs
Exactseek	20.3 Yrs
Bing	19.4 Yrs
Yandex	18.9 Yrs
Qwant	18.9 Yrs
giveWater	17.8 Yrs
SearchScene	17.1 Yrs
YaCy	16.8 Yrs
Mojeek	16.6 Yrs
Yahoo	15.7 Yrs
Lemmefind	15.5 Yrs
Goodsearch	14.8 Yrs
Sputtr	14.2 Yrs
BabyLon	14.1 Yrs
Symbaloo	14.0 Yrs
DuckDuckGo	12.8 Yrs
Ecosia	11.6 Yrs
CuteStat	11.5 Yrs
Gibiru	10.4 Yrs
Ekoru	9.8 Yrs
Million Short	9.2 Yrs
ZOO	7.7 Yrs
Kiddle	7.5 Yrs
Givero	7.5 Yrs
Swisscows	6.5 Yrs
Searx	6.4 Yrs
Search Encrypt	4.1 Yrs
Oscobo	4.1 Yrs
OneSearch	1.4 Yrs

Domain Authority

Tool	Score
Bing	93
Internet Archive	93
Yahoo	92
Yandex	90
DuckDuckGo	89
Lycos	88
Ask	85
Ecosia	82
Startpage	81
Qwant	81
Excite	81
Goodsearch	80
Aol	79
WebCrawler	78
Dogpile	77
Symbaloo	77
InfoSpace	76
Search	76
BabyLon	75
Exactseek	75
Kiddle	74
MetaCrawler	74
Entireweb	72
CuteStat	72
Gigablast	71
Yippy	70
Info	70
YaCy	70
Swisscows	60
Searx	58
Search Encrypt	57
Mojeek	53
Oscobo	52
MetaGer	49
Gibiru	49
Million Short	49
OneSearch	47
ZOO	43
Givero	40
SearchEngineZ	32
Sputtr	30
Lukol	29
Ekoru	28
giveWater	18
SearchScene	15
Lemmefind	11

Raw Feature Count

Tool	Count
Yahoo	21
Bing	20
Internet Archive	19
Yandex	18
DuckDuckGo	18
Qwant	17
Aol	17
Startpage	16
Ecosia	16
OneSearch	15
Excite	14
Givero	14
MetaGer	13
Searx	13
Mojeek	13
Goodsearch	13
Swisscows	12
Ask	12
Gibiru	12
Yippy	12
Entireweb	12
Million Short	12
Ekoru	11
Gigablast	11
Search Encrypt	11
SearchScene	11
Info	10
YaCy	10
MetaCrawler	10
ZOO	10
Dogpile	9
InfoSpace	9
Oscobo	9
Search	8
Exactseek	8
Lukol	7
giveWater	7
BabyLon	7
Kiddle	7
CuteStat	7
WebCrawler	6
Symbaloo	6
Lycos	4
Lemmefind	4
Sputtr	1
SearchEngineZ	1

Business Score

Tool	Score
Internet Archive	5.19
DuckDuckGo	5.1
Ecosia	4.93
Startpage	4.91
Goodsearch	4.89
Gigablast	4.67
Swisscows	4.41
Mojeek	4.25
Million Short	4.15
Bing	4.01
Yahoo	3.99
Yandex	3.94
Lycos	3.89
Ask	3.82
Qwant	3.73
Excite	3.73
Aol	3.68
WebCrawler	3.66
Dogpile	3.63
Symbaloo	3.63
InfoSpace	3.61
Search	3.61
BabyLon	3.59
Exactseek	3.59
Kiddle	3.56
MetaCrawler	3.56
Entireweb	3.52
CuteStat	3.52
Yippy	3.47
Info	3.47
YaCy	3.47
SearchScene	3.35
Searx	3.18
MetaGer	2.97
Gibiru	2.97
ZOO	2.83
Givero	2.76
SearchEngineZ	2.57
Sputtr	2.52
Lukol	2.5
Ekoru	2.48
Search Encrypt	2.25
giveWater	2.24
Oscobo	2.13
Lemmefind	2.07
OneSearch	1.11

Software Score

Tool	Score
Yahoo	52.54
Bing	51.45
Yandex	47.45
Internet Archive	47.27
DuckDuckGo	46
Qwant	44.72
Ecosia	43.09
Aol	42.09
Startpage	41.72
OneSearch	40.45
Givero	35.9
Goodsearch	35.45
Mojeek	34.9
Searx	34.54
Ask	34
MetaGer	34
Gibiru	33
Entireweb	32.45
SearchScene	31.63
Gigablast	31.45
Excite	31.36
Yippy	30.9
Ekoru	30.72
Search Encrypt	30.45
Swisscows	29.54
Million Short	28.9
Info	27.18
MetaCrawler	27.18
ZOO	27.18
Dogpile	25.18
Oscobo	24.81
YaCy	24.72
InfoSpace	24
Kiddle	21.63
Exactseek	21.45
Lukol	21.36
giveWater	21.36
Search	20
BabyLon	18.63
CuteStat	17.54
Symbaloo	17.09
WebCrawler	15.9
Lemmefind	10.63
Lycos	10.27
Sputtr	1.72
SearchEngineZ	1.72

TAKE SURVEY FOR CUSTOM REPORT

This publication is dynamic and will be updated as search engine tools change. Bookmark this page, and be sure to share it with your colleagues and friends. What elements do you find important when deciding on a search engine? Engage with us in the comments below.

FEATURE DESCRIPTIONS
Web Search Searches the Internet systematically, for specific info, in response to a text search query. Number of Search Engine that have this feature: 44
Exact Search (in quotes) Provides searching for an exact phrase, when the user encloses the phrase in quotes. Number of Search Engine that have this feature: 42
Image Search Shows only images in the web search results. Number of Search Engine that have this feature: 36
Incremental Auto-Complete Autocomplete is a feature within the search engine, designed to make it faster to complete searches that you're beginning to type. Number of Search Engine that have this feature: 35
News Search Keyword search across thousands of news sources found on the web. Users have the ability to browse categories of news where headlines are listed. Number of Search Engine that have this feature: 32
Boolean Search (AND, OR, NOT) A structured search that allows the user to insert words such as AND, OR, NOT to broaden or limit the search results. Number of Search Engine that have this feature: 29
Site / Domain Specific Search Allows users to search just one domain — not the entire internet. For example: a search for “horse training:bloodhorse.com” will give results about horse training from the site bloodhorse.com. Number of Search Engine that have this feature: 29
Video Search Provides web search results that only include video content. Number of Search Engine that have this feature: 28
Related Searches See a list of closely related, popular searches along with the results of your search. Number of Search Engine that have this feature: 25
Search Within Results Provides the option to search within your previous search results, to search for a more specific topic within your original results. Number of Search Engine that have this feature: 23
Filter by Date Limits the search results by allowing users to filter results from the past day, week or month. Number of Search Engine that have this feature: 21
Anonymous Search Anonymous search is for privacy-conscious web users, who don't want their search or browser related data harvested. Number of Search Engine that have this feature: 19
Safe Search Provides an automated filter of pornography and other offensive content that’s built into the search engine. This feature makes the search engine more family-friendly. Number of Search Engine that have this feature: 18
Metasearch Engine Info Retrieval A Metasearch Engine takes input from a user and immediately gathers info from search engines for results. After gathering and ranking data, it is presented to the user. Number of Search Engine that have this feature: 18
Maps Search Provides detailed info about geographical areas around the world, also gives directions to a particular destination. Number of Search Engine that have this feature: 13
Filter by Region Ability to customize search results to a specific country or region. Other countries or regions may appear with a lower rank. Number of Search Engine that have this feature: 13
Ad-Free Results The search engine does not show any ads in the results. Number of Search Engine that have this feature: 12
Filter by Language Provides ability to filter searches to only show results in the language chosen. Number of Search Engine that have this feature: 11
Usage Right or Copyright Filter A filter system that determines the risk of copyright infringement, and possible infringement, by analyzing and filtering user-generated content uploaded to the platform. Number of Search Engine that have this feature: 11
Email Service Provides a free or paid email service. Number of Search Engine that have this feature: 10
Shopping Search Allows user to search for specific products for sale from online merchants or nearby stores. Number of Search Engine that have this feature: 7
Music Search Finds info about songs and music. Some services allow users to find digital files, or to identify songs by sound, like humming or singing. Number of Search Engine that have this feature: 5
Entertainment Search Allows users to search within the category of entertainment. Number of Search Engine that have this feature: 5
Open Source Code A computer program in which the source code is available for people to use for any purpose. Also allows its original design to be modified. Number of Search Engine that have this feature: 5
Record of Search History A record of the web pages that were recently visited by a computer user. Also provides recommendations based on recent browsing history. Number of Search Engine that have this feature: 5
Sports Search Provides quick access to search for only sports-related results. Number of Search Engine that have this feature: 4
Finance Search Provides the user with search results, specifically related to financial topics. Number of Search Engine that have this feature: 3
Language Translation Support Translate/convert your search to another language, also has a built-in translator. Number of Search Engine that have this feature: 3
Astrology Search Aids the user in searching subjects such as horoscopes, destiny, palmistry, numerology and fortune telling. Number of Search Engine that have this feature: 2
Truth Censorship Also known as Internet censorship, it's the suppression or control of what can be viewed, accessed or published on the Internet. This includes political censorship, or censoring out information that's deemed to be false by regulators or others. This does not include adult-related content filters. Number of Search Engine that have this feature: 2
Cloud Storage Provides off-site storage, maintained by a third party. Allows you to save files, data, etc. Number of Search Engine that have this feature: 2
Books Search Searches for magazine, book, ebook or document titles or by the text inside. Number of Search Engine that have this feature: 1

Blog

Top Search Engine Alternatives to Google

Top Ten Google Search Engine Alternatives as of April 2021

Approximate Age of Software/Company

Domain Authority

Raw Feature Count

Business Score

Software Score

Search Engines are listed below in no particular order:

Bing

Bing Comparison Details

List of 20 Bing Features in order of popularity

Yandex

Yandex Comparison Details

List of 34 Yandex Integrations

List of 18 Yandex Features in order of popularity

Swisscows

Swisscows Comparison Details

List of 4 Swisscows Integrations

List of 12 Swisscows Features in order of popularity

DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo Comparison Details

List of 18 DuckDuckGo Features in order of popularity

Startpage

Startpage Comparison Details

List of 16 Startpage Features in order of popularity

Ekoru

Ekoru Comparison Details

List of 11 Ekoru Features in order of popularity

Ecosia

Ecosia Comparison Details

List of 2 Ecosia Integrations

List of 16 Ecosia Features in order of popularity

Internet Archive

Internet Archive Comparison Details

List of 19 Internet Archive Features in order of popularity

Dogpile

Dogpile Comparison Details

List of 9 Dogpile Features in order of popularity

Gigablast

Gigablast Comparison Details

List of 11 Gigablast Features in order of popularity

Ask

Ask Comparison Details

List of 12 Ask Features in order of popularity

WebCrawler

WebCrawler Comparison Details

List of 6 WebCrawler Features in order of popularity

Lycos

Lycos Comparison Details

List of 4 Lycos Features in order of popularity

InfoSpace

InfoSpace Comparison Details

List of 9 InfoSpace Features in order of popularity

Yahoo

Yahoo Comparison Details

List of 21 Yahoo Features in order of popularity

Search

Search Comparison Details

List of 8 Search Features in order of popularity

MetaGer

MetaGer Comparison Details

List of 13 MetaGer Features in order of popularity

Qwant

Qwant Comparison Details

List of 17 Qwant Features in order of popularity

Search Encrypt

Search Encrypt Comparison Details

List of 11 Search Encrypt Features in order of popularity

Gibiru

Gibiru Comparison Details

List of 12 Gibiru Features in order of popularity

Yippy

Yippy Comparison Details

List of 12 Yippy Features in order of popularity

Oscobo

Oscobo Comparison Details

List of 9 Oscobo Features in order of popularity

Lukol

Lukol Comparison Details

Top Ten
Google Search Engine Alternatives
as of April 2021