this post was submitted on 22 May 2026
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I usually start with DDG, but it just doesn't have anywhere near as much of the WWW in its index as Google does, so I very often don't find what I'm looking for and switch back to Google.
If someone has a suggestion for something better than either of them, do tell.
Startpage has been serving me pretty well for a few years now.
ETA: Pretty sure they use Google results. Not sure if they include other engines too.
Better is always subjective based on your priorities, search style, and the info you're after.
For free search, I find the results on Brave (who has their own index) to be roughly on par with Google (and Startpage which primarily sources Google's index), but extra features like page ranking, disabling AI, etc. make Brave better for the user.
DDG, Ecosia, etc., primarily rely on Bing's index, which tends to fail me the most frequently.
The only downside of Brave is the cryptobro owners who seem intent on speed running enshittification in everything they do. It works fine for now but I have very little trust in it not tanking long term.
Personally I use Kagi and recommend it if paying for search works with your lifestyle. I tend to find what I'm looking for there fastest and rarely if ever do I have to
!bang my way over to another search engine. It has the most customization and features prioritizing human content over AI slop.It's all personal preference though, so what works for one person may be unacceptable for another, and honestly having options/competition is a good thing.