Find everything with these alternatives to Google

Google is the most popular search engine, but not the only one. That is why we have listed some rock-solid alternatives to Google.

The best alternatives to Google search

There are more than enough reasons to choose a search engine other than Google. Think of privacy, for example. Google collects personal data to tailor its advertisements to the searcher as best as possible. Personalized advertisements yield more.

In addition, Google does not always deliver the desired search results and is increasingly expanding its search engine with artificial intelligence applications. Not everyone is equally enthusiastic about this.

Whatever your reasons, there are more than enough good alternatives to Google. We think you can give the search engines below a try. The results are in random order.

1. DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo is one of the best-known alternatives to Google and is known for its privacy protection. For example, this search engine does not track user searches. Furthermore, DuckDuckGo blocks trackers, which allows parties such as Google and Meta to make their advertisements as personal as possible.

DuckDuckGo is more than just a search engine. For example, you can erase all your data while browsing with one click by pressing the ’emergency button’. Then all your open tabs and search history will disappear like snow in the sun. DuckDuckGo also intercepts trackers that come in via emails.

This Google alternative makes money by selling advertising space. Unlike its main competitor, these ads are not personalized. For example, if you search for “car,” you will be shown random ads from advertisers. So you won’t necessarily see relevant offers from local dealers.

2. Bing

Google is the undisputed king of search engine land with a market share of 91 percent, with Bing as its successor. Microsoft’s browser has over 3 percent of the market and follows at a considerable distance.

Bing used to be a joke, but that’s no longer the case. The search engine is part of the broader Bing browser and usually delivers great search results. If not, you can also direct your query to Copilot, the built-in chat service powered by ChatGPT. Microsoft works closely with the company behind the wildly popular AI chatbot, OpenAI.

Therein lies the danger of Bing: it is much more than just a search engine. Think of a built-in news feed to stay up to date with current events, live sports results and therefore a chat service with artificial intelligence. Not everyone is looking for such a complete package.

3. Brave

Brave is a relatively new challenger to Google. The app started a few years ago as a browser, but now has almost 70 million active users. Brave has a solid built-in adblocker, blocks trackers and is open source. Because the source code is public, anyone can check how the browser works exactly.

In addition, Brave also has its own search engine. In general, the search results are fine, but sometimes disappointing. This is mainly because Brave puts the privacy of its users first. As mentioned, trackers are blocked by default and Brave does not keep a log of your searches.

This Google alternative makes money mainly by selling advertising space on its own home screen. It also makes money with Brave’s subscription models. For example, it has its own VPN service.

4. Ecosia

One of the greenest Google alternatives is without a doubt Ecosia. The search engine’s slogan tells the whole story: “The tree-planting search engine.” With every search query, you contribute to planting trees. The counter is now at more than 210 million (!) planted trees in more than 35 countries. On average, it takes about 45 searches to plant one tree via Ecosia.

Ecosia uses its profits to combat climate change. It also stands for complete transparency and therefore shows monthly how much money came in and how it was spent.

Speaking of which, Ecosia makes its money – like almost all other search engines – from ads. However, these ads are completely anonymous, as they do not track user searches.

5. StartPage

The same search results as Google, but much more privacy-friendly. That is StartPage in a nutshell. This Dutch search engine delivers Google search results via their own developed, privacy-protecting technology. This gives you the same quality as Google, minus the costs.

StartPage encrypts your IP address, which is the address of your phone or laptop. Trackers are blocked, as are a lot of ads. In addition, StartPage does not keep a log of your searches.

Contextual advertising is sold to keep the chimney smoking. StartPage serves up advertisements based on the search query. If you search for red shoes, you will be shown sneakers, but your gender, place of residence or favourite brands are not taken into account. After all, StartPage does not keep track of that information.

More alternatives to Google

This concludes this overview of alternatives to Google. This list is of course not complete. There are too many good search engines to mention. Below we discuss a few notable services.

Qwant is known as a privacy-friendly Google alternative. The slogan is therefore “Qwant, the search engine that knows nothing about you”. The search results are also excellent, the design looks sleek and with the free Shadow Drive service you get 20GB of free storage space.

Swisscows is also a privacy-friendly Google alternative. This anonymous Swiss search engine blocks trackers and works with Bing for the search results. They earn money by showing contextual ads with searches. Swisscows also has an extensive family filter, which means that pornographic content, for example, does not pass the inspection.

WolframAlpha is also worth discussing. This service does not search for web pages, as all the Google alternatives mentioned above do, but for answers. For example, you can ask WolframAlpha math and geography questions, after which the answer engine not only gives the answer, but also explains how it got there.

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