Google is a behemoth in the search engine world. With its powerful algorithms, dominant advertising platform, and personalized user experience, Google is a force to be reckoned with. That said, Google’s easy-to-use interface and personalized user experience comes at a cost. It’s no secret the search engine giant catalogs the browsing habits of its users and shares that information with advertisers and other interested parties.
However, if you are unwilling to trade privacy for convenience, there are dozens of Google alternatives many offering a better search experience. Here are 10 of the Best Search Engines alternatives to Google.
10 of the Best Search Engines Alternatives to Google
1. Bing
Despite trailing Google by a wide margin in U.S. market share (24.2 percent vs. 63.2 percent), an argument can be made that Bing performs better in certain aspects. For starters, Bing has a rewards program that allows one to accumulate points while searching. These points are redeemable at the Microsoft and Windows stores, which is a nice perk.
The Bing image search performs flawlessly across all browsers, whereas Google image search seems to be optimized just for Chrome.
In my view, the Bing image search GUI is superior to its rival’s and much more intuitive. Bing carries that same clean user experience to video, making it the “go to” source for video search without a YouTube bias.
2. DuckDuckGo
If you’re looking for true privacy, DuckDuckGo is the search engine for you. DuckDuckGo doesn’t collect or store any of your personal information. That means you can run your searches in peace without having to worry about the boogeyman watching you through your computer screen.
DuckDuckGo is the perfect choice for those who wish to keep their browsing habits and personal information private.
3. Wiki.com
Looking for a search engine that pulls its results from thousands of wikis on the net? If so, Wiki.com is a good choice.
Wiki.com is the perfect search engine for those who appreciate community-led information as found on sites like Wikipedia.
4. Twitter
Twitter is hard to beat as a real-time search engine. It’s the perfect place to go for minute by minute updates in the case of an emergency. Google’s algorithm will catch up eventually, but nothing beats a Tweet in the heat of the moment.
5. CC Search
CC Search should be your first stop on the hunt for many types of copyright-free content. This search engine is perfect if you need music for a video, an image for a blog post, or anything else without worrying about an angry artist coming after you for ripping off their work.
The way CC Search works is simple – it draws in results from platforms such as Soundcloud, Wikimedia, and Flickr and displays results labeled as Creative Commons material.
6. Internet Archive
The Wayback Machine is great for researching old websites, but it’s so much more. As the name implies, this search engine queries a massive collection of documented material, including millions of free videos, books, music and software.
Essentially, Internet Archive is a vast online library where you can access just about anything you could imagine.
8. Yandex
Yandex is the most popular search engine in Russia, which is used by more than 53 percent of Russian Internet users. It is also used in Belarus, Kazakhstan, Turkey, and Ukraine.
Yandex is an overall easy-to-use search engine. As an added bonus, it offers a suite of some pretty cool tools.
For example, if you use its cloud storage service, Yandex Disk, you can search for your personal files right from the search bar of the search engine!
9. StartPage
StartPage was developed to include results from Google, making it perfect for those who prefer Google’s search results without having to worry about their information being tracked and stored.
It also includes a URL generator, a proxy service, and HTTPS support. The URL generator is especially useful because it eliminates the need to collect cookies. Instead, it remembers your settings in a way that promotes privacy.
10. SlideShare
This unique search engine allows you to search for documented slideshow presentations. You can also search for ebooks and PDFs, making it an excellent tool if you have a business presentation to prepare for.
SlideShare also allows you to save slides and even download the entire slideshow for use on your local computer.
Final Words
Google may be the most popular choice in search engines, but you still have a multitude of alternatives to use.
Many of these alternative search engines provide a better user experience and superior information to Google.
Whether you’re looking for more privacy or simply want to explore your options, there are plenty of search engines to experiment with. So what are you waiting for?
