Alternatives to DuckDuckGo
Private search with bangs
DuckDuckGo ranks #3 of 7 in Search engines, with an Alt Score of 73. It is proprietary, free from Free and available on the web. 10 of 10 checklist rows are verified against a public source.
People who want to search and browse the web without being tracked or profiled, whether they're just swapping Google for a private search engine or replacing Chrome with a fully private browser.
A search engine that returns results without logging searches or building a personal profile, plus a browser (Mac, Windows, iOS, Android) that blocks trackers, invasive ads, and cookie pop-ups by default. It also includes Email Protection to strip hidden trackers from your inbox, and Duck.ai for private access to AI chat tools. A paid tier adds a VPN and identity-theft protection.
You search or browse as normal, and DuckDuckGo blocks third-party trackers and ads in the background rather than collecting data on you; it earns revenue from privacy-respecting search ads instead of targeted advertising.
Where DuckDuckGo stands out
Verified capabilities most alternatives don't have.
Why people leave DuckDuckGo
Dashed reasons are sourced facts; the rest are opinions. Vendors can dispute.
Sign in to add a reason — new reasons go through moderation before appearing.
Ranked alternatives
Ordered by Alt Score. Click any score to see the breakdown.
Feature comparison
Rows come from the Search engines checklist (14 rows). Human-verified cells only. ? means the value has not been verified.
| Search engines checklist | DuckDuckGo | Brave Search | Kagi | Ecosia | Mojeek | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | ||||||
| Starts at | ||||||
| License | ||||||
| Platforms | ||||||
| Independent index | ||||||
| No tracking | ||||||
| Bangs / shortcuts | ||||||
| AI answers | ||||||
| Ad-free option | ||||||
| Customizable ranking | ||||||
| Self-hostable | ||||||
| Maps & local results | ||||||
| Image & video search | ||||||
| Paid tier value |
Every fact and feature listed for DuckDuckGo is verified against its own pages. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.
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Pricing model Free verified 2026-07-10
DuckDuckGo Search, our browser extensions, and DuckDuckGo Private Browser ... are all free.
https://duckduckgo.com/duckduckgo-help-pages/get-duckduckgo/how-much-does-duckduckgo-cost -
License Proprietary verified 2026-07-10
Browsers/extensions/privacy tooling are OSS; the search backend is not published (proprietary).
we make the source code and data for many of our products and features available under open-source licenses. See the list below or visit us on GitHub for more. Browsers ... Browser Extensions ... Priv
https://duckduckgo.com/duckduckgo-help-pages/open-source/opensource-overview -
Starts at Free verified 2026-07-10
DuckDuckGo Search, our browser extensions, and DuckDuckGo Private Browser ... are all free.
https://duckduckgo.com/duckduckgo-help-pages/get-duckduckgo/how-much-does-duckduckgo-cost -
Platforms Web verified 2026-07-10
Scoped to the web search service.
With DuckDuckGo Search you get all the search features you expect from a search engine
https://duckduckgo.com/duckduckgo-help-pages/results/what-search-features-does-duckduckgo-search-have -
Status active verified 2026-07-10
3B Monthly Searches And Growing Fast ... © 2026 DuckDuckGo
https://duckduckgo.com/about -
Independent index Partial verified 2026-07-10
We also maintain our own crawler (DuckDuckBot) and many indexes to support our results. Of course, we have more traditional links and images in our search results too, which we largely source from Bin
https://duckduckgo.com/duckduckgo-help-pages/results/sources -
No tracking Yes verified 2026-07-10
DuckDuckGo never tracks you, per our privacy policy.
https://duckduckgo.com/duckduckgo-help-pages/privacy/no-tracking -
Bangs / shortcuts Yes verified 2026-07-10
Bangs are shortcuts that quickly take you to search results on other sites. For example, when you know you want to search on another site like Wikipedia or Amazon, our bangs get you there fastest.
https://duckduckgo.com/bang -
AI answers Yes verified 2026-07-10
Search Assist is an optional feature in our search results that can anonymously generate answers to search queries. To do this, we scan the web for relevant content and use AI-powered natural language
https://duckduckgo.com/duckduckgo-help-pages/results/ai-assisted-answers -
Ad-free option Yes verified 2026-07-10
Ads disabled via a search setting (k1=-1), not a paid ad-free tier.
Advertisements k1 1 for On (default) -1 for Off
https://duckduckgo.com/duckduckgo-help-pages/settings/params -
Customizable ranking Partial verified 2026-07-10
If you don't want to see results from a specific site on DuckDuckGo, you can block that domain from appearing in your search results. ... You can add up to five domains to your block list, which can b
https://duckduckgo.com/duckduckgo-help-pages/results/how-to-block-sites-from-appearing-in-search-results -
Self-hostable No verified 2026-07-10
Search backend not published; not self-hostable.
we make the source code and data for many of our products and features available under open-source licenses. See the list below ... Browsers ... Browser Extensions ... Privacy Protections
https://duckduckgo.com/duckduckgo-help-pages/open-source/opensource-overview -
Maps & local results Yes verified 2026-07-10
restaurants nearby") while still keeping you anonymous."
DuckDuckGo can serve local results (for searches like
https://duckduckgo.com/duckduckgo-help-pages/results/local-results -
Image & video search Yes verified 2026-07-10
Search features include regular links, images, videos, news, sports, weather, stocks, quick facts, and much more.
https://duckduckgo.com/duckduckgo-help-pages/results/what-search-features-does-duckduckgo-search-have -
Paid tier value No verified 2026-07-10
The subscription bundles VPN/AI/identity protection, not a paid tier of the (free) search engine.
We also offer a four-in-one subscription service, with two plans: Plus and Pro. The Plus plan costs $9.99 a month ... includes a VPN, access to advanced AI models in Duck.ai, a Personal Information Re
https://duckduckgo.com/duckduckgo-help-pages/get-duckduckgo/how-much-does-duckduckgo-cost
FAQ
Yes. Brave Search, Ecosia and Google have a free tier or are fully free. Free-tier limits in the comparison table are verified and dated.