Google has centered itself as an undisputed leader in the Search engine world. In October 2019, Google accounted for 87.96% of the global search market.
However, Google is known to track users’ browsing behavior and uses that information to show you tailored content and ads.
If you’re unwilling to trade privacy with convenience, then there’s a piece of good news for you. There are lots of alternatives to Google that you can use.
Here are some of the top search engines to use in place of Google:
1 - Bing
Bing is the second most popular search engine in terms of market share. Bing had a global search market share of 5.27% in October 2019.
When compared to Google, Bing offers a more visual experience with its ever-changing background. Also, the Bing image search is optimized for every browser, unlike Google, which gives more importance to Chrome.
For video search, Bing allows searchers to preview the video with sound by hovering over them. Besides, Bing offers a Rewards scheme that enables users to earn points while searching. These points can be redeemed at the Microsoft and Windows store.
2 - DuckDuckGo
If online privacy is your biggest concern while using search engines, then DuckDuckGo is the best choice for you. The search engine never tracks your browsing behavior.
DuckDuckGo brings search results from over 100 sources, including Yahoo, Bing, Yandex, and more.
One of the best features of DuckDuckGo is Bangs, which allows users to search directly within another website by starting their query with an exclamation mark (e.g., !a for Amazon, !w for Wikipedia).
3 - Yahoo
One of the oldest search engines, Yahoo, is the third most popular search engine (after Google and Bing). It provides access in 38 international languages and is the default search engine for Firefox.
Yahoo is more than a search engine. It offers email service, an online shopping center, games directory, news, and much more.
Integrated with Flickr, Yahoo offers better image results, and sections like Yahoo Answers and Yahoo Finances provide a tremendous amount of information on niche topics.
4 - Search Encrypt
Search Encrypt is a meta-search engine that takes online privacy to the next level. It not only blocks online trackers, but it also uses local encryption to secure your searches.
It retrieves search results from its network of search partners and provides well-rounded non-personalized answers.
One of the best parts about Search Encrypt is that it automatically deletes your history after 15 minutes of inactivity. It also offers privacy protected maps and video searches.
5 - Qwant
Qwant is yet another privacy-oriented search engine that won’t record your browsing activity.
The user-friendly interface allows you to categorize your search results into the web, news, and social. It also has a dedicated section for music, where you can discover new songs and lyrics with the help of AI.
You can also view hot trends on the homepage of the search engine.
Just like DuckDuckGo’s Bang, Qwant offers a quick search feature called Shortcuts, where you can use “&” to search within external websites.
6 - Yandex
The most popular search engine in Russia, Yandex, holds around 56% of the search engine market share in the country (as of 2019).
It provides services similar to that of Google, such as images, videos, mail, maps, mobile apps, analytics, cloud storage, and even a browser.
However, it does collect users’ data, but it assures that your information is not accessible by individuals.
7 - StartPage
If you want to retrieve results from Google but don’t want to trade privacy, StartPage is the perfect choice for you. StartPage pays Google to access its search results and to remove the trackers.
StartPage also allows you to browse websites anonymously, thereby increasing online safety. Its custom URL generator eliminates the need to set cookies.
8 - Ask
Previously known as Ask Jeeves, Ask is famous for its simple question-and-answer format. It returns search results even if you type in any term that is not framed as a question.
The homepage has a few categories of articles such as music, movies, culture, travel, and entertainment.
The search interface is quite similar to Google and it also features related searches on the right-hand side.
9 - Swisscows
Based in Switzerland, Swisscows provides a fully encrypted search to maintain privacy and security.
It is quite popular among parents who want to give their children a safe search experience. Swisscows has a built-in filter for violent content and pornography, which can’t be overridden.
It doesn’t store IP addresses, search queries, or any other identifiers, and uses semantic information recognition to offer intuitive answers to search queries.
10 - Gibiru
Gibiru not only maintains privacy but also offers uncensored content.
The disclaimer on the website reads, “Gibiru does not set cookies on your devices, or save your search query on its servers, and none of your personally identifiable information is accessible to anyone”.
The search results also include the contents that are censored for the general audience.
You can download its AnonymoX Firefox plugin allows sending all your searches through a proxy IP address.
11 - Internet Archive
Although technically not a search engine, Internet Archive is a digital library where you could access almost everything that’s on the internet.
Users can see how a website looked like in the past, get unprecedented access to millions of free books, images, software, movies, and more.
For easy access and better results, it allows you to choose from four types of searches:
Search metadata.
Search text contents.
Search TV news captions.
Search archived web pages.
Wrapping Up
When it comes to offering the best results for a search query, Google is undoubtedly a leader. However, there are other search engines that provide better user experience and superior information as compared to Google.
Many of these alternative search engines provide more privacy and are ad-free. Whether you’re looking for an ad-free search experience or more privacy, there are plenty of options to choose from. Happy Searching!
However, Google is known to track users’ browsing behavior and uses that information to show you tailored content and ads.
If you’re unwilling to trade privacy with convenience, then there’s a piece of good news for you. There are lots of alternatives to Google that you can use.
Here are some of the top search engines to use in place of Google:
- Bing
- DuckDuckGo
- Yahoo
- Search Encrypt
- Qwant
- Yandex
- StartPage
- Ask
- Swisscows
- Gibiru
- Internet Archive
1 - Bing
Bing is the second most popular search engine in terms of market share. Bing had a global search market share of 5.27% in October 2019.
When compared to Google, Bing offers a more visual experience with its ever-changing background. Also, the Bing image search is optimized for every browser, unlike Google, which gives more importance to Chrome.
For video search, Bing allows searchers to preview the video with sound by hovering over them. Besides, Bing offers a Rewards scheme that enables users to earn points while searching. These points can be redeemed at the Microsoft and Windows store.
2 - DuckDuckGo
If online privacy is your biggest concern while using search engines, then DuckDuckGo is the best choice for you. The search engine never tracks your browsing behavior.
DuckDuckGo brings search results from over 100 sources, including Yahoo, Bing, Yandex, and more.
One of the best features of DuckDuckGo is Bangs, which allows users to search directly within another website by starting their query with an exclamation mark (e.g., !a for Amazon, !w for Wikipedia).
3 - Yahoo
One of the oldest search engines, Yahoo, is the third most popular search engine (after Google and Bing). It provides access in 38 international languages and is the default search engine for Firefox.
Yahoo is more than a search engine. It offers email service, an online shopping center, games directory, news, and much more.
Integrated with Flickr, Yahoo offers better image results, and sections like Yahoo Answers and Yahoo Finances provide a tremendous amount of information on niche topics.
4 - Search Encrypt
Search Encrypt is a meta-search engine that takes online privacy to the next level. It not only blocks online trackers, but it also uses local encryption to secure your searches.
It retrieves search results from its network of search partners and provides well-rounded non-personalized answers.
One of the best parts about Search Encrypt is that it automatically deletes your history after 15 minutes of inactivity. It also offers privacy protected maps and video searches.
5 - Qwant
Qwant is yet another privacy-oriented search engine that won’t record your browsing activity.
The user-friendly interface allows you to categorize your search results into the web, news, and social. It also has a dedicated section for music, where you can discover new songs and lyrics with the help of AI.
You can also view hot trends on the homepage of the search engine.
Just like DuckDuckGo’s Bang, Qwant offers a quick search feature called Shortcuts, where you can use “&” to search within external websites.
6 - Yandex
The most popular search engine in Russia, Yandex, holds around 56% of the search engine market share in the country (as of 2019).
It provides services similar to that of Google, such as images, videos, mail, maps, mobile apps, analytics, cloud storage, and even a browser.
However, it does collect users’ data, but it assures that your information is not accessible by individuals.
7 - StartPage
If you want to retrieve results from Google but don’t want to trade privacy, StartPage is the perfect choice for you. StartPage pays Google to access its search results and to remove the trackers.
StartPage also allows you to browse websites anonymously, thereby increasing online safety. Its custom URL generator eliminates the need to set cookies.
8 - Ask
Previously known as Ask Jeeves, Ask is famous for its simple question-and-answer format. It returns search results even if you type in any term that is not framed as a question.
The homepage has a few categories of articles such as music, movies, culture, travel, and entertainment.
The search interface is quite similar to Google and it also features related searches on the right-hand side.
9 - Swisscows
Based in Switzerland, Swisscows provides a fully encrypted search to maintain privacy and security.
It is quite popular among parents who want to give their children a safe search experience. Swisscows has a built-in filter for violent content and pornography, which can’t be overridden.
It doesn’t store IP addresses, search queries, or any other identifiers, and uses semantic information recognition to offer intuitive answers to search queries.
10 - Gibiru
Gibiru not only maintains privacy but also offers uncensored content.
The disclaimer on the website reads, “Gibiru does not set cookies on your devices, or save your search query on its servers, and none of your personally identifiable information is accessible to anyone”.
The search results also include the contents that are censored for the general audience.
You can download its AnonymoX Firefox plugin allows sending all your searches through a proxy IP address.
11 - Internet Archive
Although technically not a search engine, Internet Archive is a digital library where you could access almost everything that’s on the internet.
Users can see how a website looked like in the past, get unprecedented access to millions of free books, images, software, movies, and more.
For easy access and better results, it allows you to choose from four types of searches:
Search metadata.
Search text contents.
Search TV news captions.
Search archived web pages.
Wrapping Up
When it comes to offering the best results for a search query, Google is undoubtedly a leader. However, there are other search engines that provide better user experience and superior information as compared to Google.
Many of these alternative search engines provide more privacy and are ad-free. Whether you’re looking for an ad-free search experience or more privacy, there are plenty of options to choose from. Happy Searching!
