Search engine rotation
I’m currently in the process of switching services. I’m trying to shift the weight from major platforms to more niche ones, while looking for similar or better quality. An equally important motivation for me is maintaining as much privacy as possible; I don’t want the service provider trading my data and profiting from it.
So, I’m gradually replacing Google Search with alternatives: DuckDuckGo, Qwant, Ecosia, Startpage, but a few months ago I also decided on Kagi, which - as the only one in this group - is a paid service.
I hesitated a bit about whether it was worth paying for a service that is widely available for free. But I took the plunge, and it was a really good choice.
Kagi is what Google Search used to be for me many years ago. It delivers the results I actually care about—the ones I expected a search engine to find. On top of that, it doesn’t collect data about me (or so it claims) and doesn’t flood the search results with dozens of ads. It doesn’t force me to view AI-generated answers. It’s just a simple, classic search engine, which is exactly what I wanted.
Even though I’m very happy using it, I’m still giving the free alternatives a chance. I’ve taken a particular liking to Ecosia and Qwant. I’m most satisfied with the results they provide, although it should be noted that they are interspersed with adverts. But if access to the service is free of charge, I can’t have any complaints about that whatsoever.
I don’t know if I’ll stick with Kagi permanently or if I’ll opt for a rotation. I think "rotation" is a more appropriate word than switching services and choosing one specific one as the default.