Verdict
Kagi charges $5 a month for 300 searches or $10 for unlimited, and in return shows no ads and lets members block or boost whole websites. John Gruber and XDA rate its results above Google's, and AI answers only appear when asked for, with Assistant chats deleted after a day. It has about 75,600 paying members and small app-store footprints, so most people will meet it only if they go looking.
Best for
Heavy searchers fed up with ads and willing to pay
Skip if
Occasional searchers, or anyone unwilling to pay for search
Key facts
- Category
- Search & quick answers
- Made by
- Kagi Inc.
- Based in
- United States
- Launched
- 2022
- Works on
- iPhone, Android, Web
- In the UK
- Yes
- Price from
- $5 a month
- Free plan
- Trial only, 100 searches and 100 Assistant interactions
Pricing
| Plan | Price | Billed |
|---|---|---|
| Starter (300 searches) | $5 | month |
| Professional | $10 | month |
| Ultimate | $25 | month |
What it does
- searches the web without ads or tracking
- customises search results with filters and controls
- chats with several AI models grounded in Kagi search results (Kagi Assistant)
- translates text and pages in 240+ languages
- summarises long articles
- sends private news briefs on chosen topics
Ratings
What people say
Paying users on user reviews are unusually loyal and mostly praise result quality and the lack of ads. The recurring complaint is price, especially outside rich countries. All store and Trustpilot ratings are thin (under 1,000) and are not used as evidence.
“kagi search is one of those things where it's so good and reliable that it fades away and you forget about it”
Post on X, 28 August 2026 · source
“I love Kagi. I gladly pay them every month, knowing that I'm not generating ad revenue for Google.”
Individual user review, 21 May 2026 · source
“Kagi is worth the money if you have it but I recognize $120 a year is not nothing.”
Individual user review, 20 May 2026 · source
“$10/month is very steep for people in some countries. If only they provide PPP or Lite package.”
Individual user review, 21 May 2026 · source
“Paying just $10 a month for these services is just OK, and I'm totally fine with that price even though I'm in Türkiye.”
Post on X, 2 September 2026 · source
Press reviews
- XDA Developers 2026-06-23
Praises ad-free results and ranking controls; criticises undated user reviews results and the $10 price, but 'I'd still take Kagi's quirks over all the clutter that comes with free search.'
- Daring Fireball 2025-04-28
John Gruber recommends it because the results are 'clearly better' than Google's, citing a Boston Globe writer whom Google sent to a $70-overcharging visa site.
Privacy
- Trains on your data
- No for Kagi's ad-free model; for Assistant, Kagi says it uses AI providers that do not save data or train on it 'whenever possible'
- Opt-out
- Not needed; AI features can be switched off completely in Settings > AI
- Retention
- Assistant threads deleted after one day by default (reported threads kept 30 days); server logs kept 7 days, error samples 90 days, not linked to accounts
Official videos
- Kagi VS Google 2025-02-06
- What Is Kagi Search? 2024-12-29
FAQ
Is Kagi free?
No. There is a trial of 100 searches, then plans start at $5 a month for 300 searches or $10 for unlimited, plus tax.
Does Kagi work in the UK?
Yes. It is a website and browser setting that works anywhere, with prices shown in US dollars.
Is Kagi better than Google?
Daring Fireball and XDA say its results are cleaner and free of ads. Local listings and maps are weaker.
Does Kagi use AI?
Yes, but only when asked. Quick Answer and Kagi Assistant are optional and can be turned off entirely in settings.
Is Kagi private?
Kagi has no ads to sell, deletes Assistant chats after a day and keeps server logs for 7 days without linking them to accounts.
Scores are based on published evidence, not lab tests. How we score.
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