I switched my browser's default search engine from Google to Kagi, a paid service that can cost up to $10 a month. Yes, paying for something Google offers for free felt strange at first, but Google's search results had gotten bad enough that I was willing to try alternatives. I'd heard about private search engines that let you explore the web without tracking, and Kagi often came up in discussions.
The thing is, I didn't switch just for privacy. Kagi's search results are competitive with Google's, and the personalization features work better. However, the subscription model seemed odd until I used it for a week.
Google's search quality has gotten worse, and I finally admitted it My search results were filled with ads and SEO spam
I got used to scrolling past the first three or four results on Google, since most of the time they were ads. But it got bad. The AI Overview feature sometimes returns results that are partly irrelevant to my search. I'd ask a technical question, only to get a summary that misses key details. Below the AI Overview are SEO-optimized blog posts stuffed with keywords and introductions that rarely get to the point.
Some people even started adding "Reddit" to the end of searches to find honest opinions from real people. That shouldn't be necessary on the world's largest search engine, but here we are. I searched for a specific error code while fixing a Windows issue, and Google showed me the blog posts that explained what the error was (which I already knew). I had to dig through the bottom of the page to find a forum post with the solution. Such results show how awful Google search has become.
When I searched for top-rated PC software, the first few results were ads that Google makes money from and keeps you clicking.
Kagi gives cleaner, more relevant results And I'm paying for that privilege
Kagi costs $10 a month for unlimited searches, or $5 a month for 300 searches. But that's exactly why it works better. Kagi makes money from subscriptions, not ads. It has zero incentive to show sponsored results or keep you clicking through pages. Its job is to give you the right answer, so you stay subscribed.
I looked up a Python error I was getting, and the first result was the Stack Overflow thread with the solution. When I searched for router recommendations, I got forum discussions and in-depth reviews from people who tested the products.
Technical searches work especially well. Documentation and official sources rank higher than blog posts, and GitHub repositories show up when relevant. The results feel honest, as nobody paid to be there. However, Kagi's index is smaller than Google's, but most of what's missing consists of low-value sites.
I switched to Kagi not only for better results, but also for privacy. Once you stop being tracked, you realize how much Google's surveillance has shaped your search behavior. Kagi doesn't log searches tied to your identity. It claims not to sell data to advertisers as it doesn't have an ad business. Your search history stays on your device, encrypted, and you can delete it whenever you want.
The personalization features make search better Lenses let me create custom search views for different tasks
What makes Kagi different from Google is the level of control you have over your results. You can permanently boost or block specific domains, and those preferences apply to every search you do. I've blocked content farms, AI-generated sites, and affiliate link aggregators. Pinterest is gone from image searches. Sites that exist solely to serve ads don't show up anymore. This alone makes the search much better.
On the flip side, I've boosted domains I trust. Stack Overflow ranks higher for programming questions. Reddit appears near the top for product discussions. These preferences stick and improve over time. The more I use Kagi, the better it understands what I consider a quality source. Therefore, I know exactly why results appear the way they do, unlike Google's opaque personalization.
Kagi also has a feature called Lenses that lets you create custom search views. You have one for programming that prioritizes documentation, Stack Overflow, and GitHub. Another for recipes that filter out the life-story blog posts. You can switch between them depending on what you're searching for.
The raise and lower options are more handy than just blocking. You can slightly deprioritize a site without removing it entirely, which is useful for sources that are sometimes helpful but often not.
Kagi also features bang shortcuts that speed up specialized searches even more. It allows you to type an exclamation mark followed by a shortcut to search specific sites directly. For example, you can type !r followed by your query to search Reddit. Therefore, !r python tutorials searches Reddit for Python tutorials. Similarly, !w machine learning goes straight to Wikipedia, and !gh tensorflow searches GitHub repositories.
Kagi supports hundreds of bangs out of the box, and you can create custom ones for sites you search for frequently. I set up !muo to search MakeUseOf articles and !so for Stack Overflow, which saves me from typing full site names or using Google's site: operator.
Switching the workflow was easier than I expected Setting up Kagi takes about two minutes
The hurdle of switching search engines feels bigger than it actually is. You don't need to install anything beyond setting a new default.
To set Kagi as your default search engine on your PC in Chrome:
Open Chrome and go to Settings. Click the Search engine in the left sidebar. Select Manage search engines and site search. Click Add next to Site search and enter Kagi as the search engine name. Type kagi.com in the shortcut field and paste https://kagi.com/search?q=%s in the URL field and click Add.
You can make Kagi your default search engine from there, just find Kagi in the list. Click the three dots next to it, then select Make default.
The interface feels simple and focused Close
Kagi's homepage shows a search bar, the logo, and a privacy notice at the bottom. That's it. You won't find news feeds, trending searches, or suggested content.
The desktop interface includes filter tabs for All, Images, Videos, News, Podcasts, and Maps directly below the search bar. A Lens selector sits alongside location and sorting options. Everything sits in one row, organized and accessible. The hamburger menu in the top-right corner opens a quick-access panel with Search, Assistant, Small Web, News, Translate, Universal Summarizer, and FastGPT.
The mobile app follows the same minimal approach. Open it, and you see the search bar with no suggested topics. The hamburger menu provides quick access to Search settings, Assistant, Small Web, News, and other tools.
There are some trade-offs, though Local search isn't as good as Google's
As Kagi's index is smaller than Google's, if you're searching for some brand-new content that just went live, you might not find it immediately in search results.
Local search results aren't as robust as Google's. When I need to find specific business hours or a phone number for a local shop, Google still has the edge. Kagi pulls location data, but it's not as comprehensive -- especially for smaller businesses that rely heavily on Google My Business listings.
I keep Google as a backup for specific situations. Real-time breaking news within the first hour of an event -- Google's news aggregation is faster and searches better for businesses that have just opened. Google's massive index also gives better results for reverse image searches.
Try the free trial if you search constantly Paying for search felt strange -- until I tried it
The idea of paying for something Google offers free doesn't feel appealing. But Google's "free" search comes with the cost of your time wading through ads, your attention sold to advertisers, and results that prioritize revenue over relevance. Kagi flips that model. The $10/month feels worth it because you're the customer, not the product. Your search results are better, and you're not constantly filtering out sponsored content and SEO spam.
I'd recommend trying Kagi if you search multiple times a day and are frustrated with Google's declining quality. The free trial lets you test it without commitment. If you only search occasionally or can't justify the cost, stick with Google. But if search is part of your daily workflow, paying to make it work properly makes sense.