Top 5 Google Search Alternatives
Google has been the undisputed leader in web search for almost 30 years. As of 2025, Google Search users send 16.4 billion search queries per day, and this figure is steadily growing from year to year. Meanwhile, the Google search engine cannot be called an absolute monopolist, as new search engines regularly appear on the market, each of which has its own unique advantages. In this article, we will tell you what are the best alternatives to Google Search and describe their key features.
DuckDuckGo
Source: DuckDuckGo
A review of the best Google Search alternatives should start with a fairly well-known service called DuckDuckGo, released by the company of the same name in 2008. It is positioned as a hybrid of an Internet browser and a search engine, the main priority of which is the privacy of users and their personal data.
Key features:
- The developers claim that DuckDuckGo provides completely anonymous search on the Internet — the program does not collect, store or distribute any user data (IP addresses, user profiles, history of requests and visited sites, etc.)
- The browser uses secure connections wherever possible, preventing ISPs and Wi-Fi spyware from tracking your browsing history. It also recognizes and blocks social media content with tracking code.
- Tracker Radar provides effective protection against tracking and collection of personal data by third-party websites and cross-site trackers. It contains detailed information about their behavior and performance, automatically recognizing and blocking attempts to violate privacy.
- Email Protection detects most hidden email trackers and allows users to create unlimited free private email addresses. Link Tracking Protection prevents tracking via links in emails, and Smarter Encryption encrypts unencrypted links.
- App Tracking Protection helps block third-party trackers in Android apps and provides a list of previously enabled personal data trackers.
- Unlike Google Search, DuckDuckGo does not automatically personalize search results based on user search history, personal preferences, location, or other parameters. However, users can filter search results themselves.
- You can download this Google Search alternative for free for PC (Windows, Mac) and mobile devices (iOS, Android) on the official website. The DuckDuckGo extension is also available for popular Internet browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, etc.)
Brave Search
Source: Brave Search
Next in our ranking of the best search engine alternatives to Google is the innovative open-source Internet browser Brave Search with a built-in AI assistant. The release of the product by Brave Software took place in 2022, since then, the developers have been actively developing and regularly updating their service.
Key features:
- One of the main features of the browser is called Shields, it offers out-of-the-box protection of users' privacy and their data. The option recognizes and blocks ads on websites, various trackers, cross-site cookies, phishing attacks and a number of other common online threats.
- Brave Search's built-in AI algorithms will quickly provide answers to questions on topics that interest you, as well as relevant links to discussions on online forums.
- In addition, the Leo AI virtual assistant is capable of automating a number of other tasks, including content generation, web page summary preparation, text analysis and translation, etc. Users can communicate with it through a convenient dialog interface, while it does not save or share data from chats.
- Like other privacy-focused programs, this browser does not collect any personal data from users and does not create profiles at all. In addition to anonymous search, it provides transparency of ranking results and has a built-in Firewall and VPN.
- The Brave Rewards program is designed to support content creators — participating users receive tokens for ads shown to them on sites or when viewing content. Basic Attention Tokens, or BAT, can be exchanged for various currencies (fiat or crypto) or purchased for gift cards.
- Another useful option of the well-known Google Search competitors is the secure open-source crypto wallet Brave Wallet built into the browser. It is suitable for storing and transferring many cryptocurrencies and tokens, transactions with DApps and DEX, as well as using other features of the Web3 ecosystem.
- The anonymous web browser Brave Search can be downloaded for free from the project's website — there is a desktop version (Windows, Mac, Linux) and versions for mobile devices (Android, iOS). You can also use the search engine on the search.brave.com website from any other browser. Search API is offered for integrating the product with third-party systems.
Ecosia
Source: Ecosia
The Ecosia search engine is positioned by its developers as the “greenest” alternative to Google Search. The project has been operating since 2009, and at one time was considered the world’s largest non-profit search engine. As of April 2025, it has more than 20 million users, and Ecosia community members have planted over 230 million trees in 35+ countries.
Key features:
- The main product of the project is the Ecosia Search engine. Users can install the eco-friendly search engine as an extension for Firefox, Google Chrome and other popular browsers. This will allow them to quickly and safely search for information on the Internet with Ecosia Search directly through the address bar of any browser.
- Ecosia also has its own browser, available for both desktop and mobile devices, that has a built-in ad blocker, optimizes web pages as they load, and has a highly customizable interface.
- Ecosia Browser users' personal data is not stored or shared with third parties. They can also contribute to the protection of nature while shopping by purchasing products from Ecosia community member stores.
- Another important function of the platform is the intelligent chatbot AI Chat. It is developed based on Open AI algorithms and has a Green Mode option, which allows it to answer a wide range of questions on the topic of ecology. The bot can also draw up a program of activities to protect the environment.
- The security panel in the Ecosia web browser monitors websites with malicious content and warns users when they try to visit them. In addition, this option automatically blocks trackers and third-party cookies according to user settings.
- According to the developers, Ecosia Browser loads web pages three times faster than most popular browsers. This program also allows you to save resources on the device on which it is installed.
Users can download Ecosia Browser for free or install eco-friendly search alternatives to Google Ecosia Search on the project's official website.
Startpage
Source: Startpage
The next worthy competitor of Google Search engine is Startpage — a private search engine, released by the eponymous company from the Netherlands in 2006. According to the developers, their product is one of the most secure search engines, which reliably protects the personal data of its users.
Key features:
- Startpage provides three main products for free: a search engine (available at https://www.startpage.com/), a browser extension called Startpage Privacy Protection (available for Chrome and Firefox), and an Anonymous View mode.
- The search engine provides an encrypted connection, does not collect user data, does not create user profiles, does not store search history, and does not personalize search results based on previous actions.
- The Startpage Privacy Protection extension sets Startpage as your default search engine, blocks all trackers and third-party cookies, prevents social media tracking, and prevents sites from tracking your input. It also provides information about the privacy rating of the sites you visit.
- With its help, you will be able to effectively manage your privacy protection settings, setting individual rules for each site. Here you can also get a detailed report on the privacy of all the web pages you have visited, indicating all the trackers and cookies recorded. However, Startpage does not have access to this information.
- Anonymous View mode allows you to visit websites anonymously, so that their owners or third parties cannot record any data about visitors using this Startpage option. In fact, it works as a VPN service, but absolutely free.
Qwant
Source: Qwant
In conclusion of our review of Google Search engine alternatives, it is worth noting another remarkable search engine, Qwant, which appeared on the market in 2013. It is positioned as a completely independent search engine, based on the search results indexing algorithm developed by this company.
Key features:
- Qwant does not track, store or sell user search history or other personal data to third parties. On the other hand, by default it shares certain information with partners, but the user can prohibit this after registration.
- The Qwant search engine integrates AI technologies, making the results it returns more accurate and relevant to your queries. It can also generate short summaries of web pages in one click.
- Qwant Advertising allows advertisers to place their promotional content in search results, address bar and even on the main page of the search engine.
- Users can flexibly customize the Qwant search engine interface. In particular, they can select the language and region, adjust the parameters for displaying adult content, set day or night mode, enable or disable the display of news and sponsor icons on the main page.
- The search engine is available for free via a web interface at https://www.qwant.com, desktop (Windows, Mac, Linux) and mobile application (iOS, Android), as well as a browser extension (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari). There is also a separate version of the search engine, Qwant Junior, designed for children aged 6 to 12 years.
- As of June 2025, the developers are beta testing their new search service Qwant Next. Anyone can participate in it, all you need to do is register an account on the Qwant platform.
Final Thoughts
The services described in the article can rightfully be called the best alternatives to Google Search, since they all have a multi-million user audience and confidently occupy a certain segment of the market. The search engines presented here focus on the privacy of personal data. To achieve this, they offer a wide range of specialized options in the field of security protection, including blocking trackers, cookies, advertising on sites, etc. Some platforms are available only through a web interface, others have their own Internet browser, they also have a mobile application and a browser widget. In addition, all participants in our review provide their products absolutely free of charge, which is their significant advantage.
It’s worth noting that as AI platforms continue to evolve, more users are choosing them as their go-to tools for finding information. As a result, services like ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and others are already significantly reshaping the search engine landscape.