Alternatives to Google Search Engine

When we think about learning something new, the first thing we do is google it. Google is the most popular search engine that exists today, dominating the market with a 91.5% market share in 2020. So, it’s no surprise that we think of Google when we think about search engines.

But what about the other search engines? There are many alternatives to Google. And even if they are not nearly as popular, they are still great alternatives. Bing is the second largest search engine, with a market share of 2.44% in 2020. Yahoo follows in third place, with a 1.64% market share.

Other search engines include Baidu with a 1.08% market share, Yandex with 0.54%, DuckDuckGo with 0.45%, etc. Today we will go over these and many other search engines and see what they have to offer.

Here is a list of the ten most popular search engines available today:

Bing

Comes pre-installed on most Windows and Microsoft devices and allows you to earn points while browsing

DuckDuckGo

Gives you enhanced privacy while browsing and ensures that your info isn’t stored when doing online transactions

Yahoo

Was the number one search engine before Google dominated the market, and Bing powers its web portal

Baidu

Is the number one search engine for users in China that displays Chinese search results.

Yandex

Is a fast and easy to use search engine that is mainly used by users located in Russia, Belarus, Turkey, and Uzbekistan.

YouTube

Is the biggest and most popular video search engine that Google owns

Ecosia

Is the most popular eco-friendly search engine that uses servers that run on 100% renewable energy and use their profits to plant threes and support nonprofit organizations.

Neeva

Is an ad-free search engine with advanced privacy features that charges users a monthly fee for using it.

Ask

Is Google’s senior that provides direct and related results to your searches as well as news updates

Gibiru

Provides uncensored browsing, all while keeping the user’s data safe with zero retargeting

The following ten search engines that will be covered below are categorized by niche and are the most popular ones in their respective specialties.

CC Search

Is the best engine for finding copyright-free content and displays results that are under a Creative Commons license

Naver

Is the most popular search engine in South Korea that compiles results from different categories and displays them on the same page

Swisscows

Uses family-friendly filters and enables anonymous browsing, and doesn’t track or store your data

Startpage

Is powered by Google and blocks all cookies as soon as you install it, offers a URL generator, and doesn’t track or store your data

AOL

Is a web portal that, aside from being a search engine, also provides news, weather updates, email, and more

Search Encrypt

Is a private browser that uses local encryption to keep your information from being tracked and stored

Wiki.com

Is a search engine that shows results from Wikipedia pages

Boardreader

Is used to search for results generated from forums, message boards, and web-based bulletins so that you can get answers from real users

WolframAlpha

Is a search engine that uses computation and metrics as its basis and allows you to compute data, research statistics, and find expert answers

Gigablast

Is the best open-source search engine that offers quick results and multiple filtering and personalization options like searching by language, phrase, file type, etc.

Search engines for privacy

The best search engines that protect user data and do not track or store information or search history are DuckDuckGo, Qwant, Startpage, Swisscows, etc. All of these search engines are privacy-oriented and protect user data in different ways. Also, each engine offers different features and different user experiences.

Search engines for images

Display results for images based on the keywords, search filters, and tools you use. Some of the best image search engines are TinEye, which is used for reverse image searches, Google Images, which has a reverse image search, and many filters you can use. There is also Yahoo Image Search, Bing Image Search, the Pinterest Visual Seach Tool. etc.

Natural language search engines

Refer to using phrases when searching for answers. An example of a natural language search is “How tall is the tallest mountain in the world.” Some search engines that are adopting natural language more and more are Google, Bing, etc.

Local search engines

Offer users results based on their location. So, for example, if someone searches “Best restaurant in New York,” the search engine will provide results for restaurants located in New York. Some local search engines are Google, Craigslist, Citysearch, etc.

Social media search engines

Are used to personalize and filter multiple social media platforms. They help users track and monitor social media mentions, keep track of the newest trends, locate competitors, identify potential and lost customers, etc. Some social media search engines are Social Searcher, Google Social Search, Mentionlytics, etc.

Eco-friendly search engines

Strive to provide answers to your questions and help the environment and our Planet. Usually, eco-friendly search engines have initiatives that allow them to plant trees, support nonprofit organizations, help the climate change battle by reducing the carbon footprint they leave behind, etc. Some eco-friendly providers are Ekoru, Ecosia, OceanHero, etc.

Search engines for students

Help students with their research by providing them with accurate results they can use for their classes and projects. These search engines provide suitable journals, citations, papers, case studies, etc., based on the keywords you use. Some examples of search engines for students are Google Scholar, Microsoft Academic, Educational Resources Information Center or ERIC, ResearchGate, etc.

Search engines for books

Are the ones that help you find whatever book you are looking for, including rare books, used books, comic books, audiobooks, etc. These search engines index numerous books and make finding and acquiring them fast and easy. Some search engines for books are Google Books, Manybooks, Open Culture, Amazon, etc.

So, it’s safe to say that there are a lot of excellent alternatives to Google that are available today. Regardless of what you are looking for and how niche it may be, you will probably find a search engine that will satisfy your needs.

Thus, whether you are looking for a privacy-oriented, eco-friendly, family-friendly, uncensored, metrics-based, etc., you can have your pick of search engines in almost every category imaginable.