Search engines are online tools that allow users to search for content on the internet.<\/p>\n
Google is the most popular. But many other search sites and apps get millions of visits each month.<\/p>\n
Explore our list of the best search engines in the world (grouped by type, in no particular order). Or jump straight to our\u00a0search engine FAQs<\/a>.<\/p>\n Google<\/a>\u00a0is generally considered the world\u2019s best search engine. It\u2019s had over 88% market share since\u00a0Statcounter<\/a>\u00a0began collecting data, in January 2009.<\/p>\n Not only was it the world\u2019s most popular search engine in June 2023, but it was the\u00a0world\u2019s most visited website<\/a>, with over 106.5 billion visits.<\/p>\n Google uses a vast number of algorithms (called \u201cranking systems<\/a>\u201d) to provide users with fast and accurate search results. It also offers other popular services\u2014like Google Maps, YouTube, and Gmail.<\/p>\n Google’s search engine results pages (SERPs<\/a>) are typically populated with various\u00a0SERP features<\/a>\u00a0(like featured snippets, People Also Ask sections, and knowledge panels), based on the type of the search query.<\/p>\n In February 2023, Google\u00a0introduced<\/a>\u00a0its AI-powered search assistant called\u00a0Bard<\/a>.<\/p>\n Google has faced many criticisms over the years. The most common are related to the amount of data it collects about its users. That’s why privacy concerns are a common reason users seek\u00a0Google alternatives<\/a>.<\/p>\n Get Website Visitor Numbers and More<\/p>\n with the Traffic Analytics Tool<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Created by Microsoft in 2009,\u00a0Bing<\/a>\u00a0is the second-largest search engine in the world. But that equated to just\u00a02.77% market share<\/a>\u00a0in June 2023.<\/p>\n Bing’s strength lies in its multimedia search capabilities\u2014namely advanced image and video search results.<\/p>\n Another interesting feature is its rewards program. Every Bing search earns you points that can go toward gift cards and charitable donations.<\/p>\n In 2023, Bing became the first mainstream search engine to introduce an\u00a0AI-powered search assistant<\/a>\u00a0in its search results.<\/p>\n Further reading<\/strong>: Learn how to get higher search engine rankings with our\u00a0Bing SEO<\/a>\u00a0guide.<\/em><\/p>\n The market for privacy-oriented search engines is growing as more people become concerned about their online privacy.<\/p>\n As a result, many existing search engines are adding privacy-focused features to their platforms.<\/p>\n DuckDuckGo<\/a>\u00a0is the most popular search engine that prioritizes user privacy. It doesn\u2019t track, collect, or store any of your data. It still uses non-personalized ads, though.<\/p>\n The search results come from a variety of sources, including its own crawler and other search engines (but not Google).<\/p>\n DuckDuckGo offers features such as\u00a0advanced commands<\/a>, which allow you to speed up your search.<\/p>\n For example, if you type “!a family tents” into DuckDuckGo’s search bar, you’ll land directly on Amazon\u2019s results page with family tents.<\/p>\n Also, DuckDuckGo\u2019s search interface is easy to customize to your preferences.<\/p>\n Startpage<\/a>\u00a0is a search engine that focuses on user privacy and security. This includes no recording of personal data and search history, no profiling of users, and removal of IP addresses from Startpage’s servers.<\/p>\n It sources its search results from Google. Which makes it a popular alternative for those who value privacy but still want the accuracy of Google’s search results.<\/p>\n The company also offers a secured email platform called StartMail.<\/p>\n Qwant<\/a>\u00a0is a search engine that doesn\u2019t track its users. Making it one of the best search engines for people concerned about their privacy.<\/p>\n Like other free search engines, Qwant funds itself through ads. But, because there are no cookies, Qwant\u2019s advertisers cannot target ads to specific users.<\/p>\n Although it\u2019s an English-language site, Qwant is developed and hosted in France.<\/p>\n Brave Search<\/a>\u00a0is a privacy-focused search engine that offers a private and anonymous search.<\/p>\n You can use it within or outside of the Brave web browser.<\/p>\n Unlike some other smaller search engines, Brave uses its own web index and algorithms. But you can enable \u201cGoogle fallback.\u201d This means Brave will also check Google to provide more accurate results.<\/p>\n Its Summarizer feature (highlighted above) is an AI-powered tool that provides direct answers in search results.<\/p>\n You.com<\/a>\u00a0is a relatively new search engine. It was founded in 2021 and uses Microsoft’s Bing results as a source of data.<\/p>\n Similarly to other newer search engines, You.com focuses on privacy and personalization of the search results.<\/p>\n You can pick from over 150 apps to add to the search engine rankings. For example, you can add sections with dedicated Amazon results, YouTube videos, TripAdvisor listings, etc.<\/p>\n You.com also offers a set of AI-powered apps, including the chat assistant YouChat, a writing assistant called YouWrite, and an AI image generator called YouImagine.<\/p>\n Swisscows<\/a>\u00a0is a privacy-oriented search engine founded in 2014. It has its own web crawler and index, but it also uses Bing as a data source.<\/p>\n A unique feature of this search site is its family friendliness: It does not index or show pornographic or sexual results.<\/p>\n In addition to the search engine, Swisscows provides services like an email client, a virtual private network (VPN), and a privacy-focused messenger.<\/p>\n You can set up Swisscows as your default search engine in Chrome by installing its\u00a0plugin<\/a>.<\/p>\n Search engines like Google cater to various regions and languages. But they don\u2019t always provide the localized results people want.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s look at some of the best search engines in non-English-speaking countries, such as China, South Korea, and Czechia.<\/p>\n Yandex<\/a>\u00a0is the largest search engine in Russia, with\u00a058.22% local market share<\/a>\u00a0as of June 2023. It is also used in other countries, including Belarus, Turkey, and Kazakhstan.<\/p>\n Besides the Russian version, Yandex also has a global English version at\u00a0yandex.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n The tech company behind Yandex offers many other products and services, including maps, a voice assistant, a ride-hailing service, a web browser, and a music streaming service.<\/p>\n In 2023, Yandex’s code leaked, including the list of all ranking factors used in its search algorithm. This led to many\u00a0analyses<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0interpretations<\/a>.<\/p>\n Google and Yandex’s algorithms are often considered similar. And Yandex has hired many ex-Google employees.<\/p>\n Tip<\/strong>: Find out where your market is based with Semrush\u2019s\u00a0Market Explorer<\/a>\u00a0tool. Enter up to 100 competitors to see where their users are located.<\/em><\/p>\n Find Your Target Audience<\/p>\n with the Market Explorer Tool<\/p>\n<\/div>\n C\u1ed1c C\u1ed1c<\/a>\u00a0is a Vietnamese web browser and search engine with over 29 million users.<\/p>\n It\u2019s on our search engine list because it\u2019s a leader in localization. C\u1ed1c C\u1ed1c can deliver the best possible results to Vietnamese users thanks to:<\/p>\n One interesting feature is website verification: Official company websites are marked with a green tick icon.<\/p>\n Seznam<\/a>\u00a0is a web portal. And the second most popular search engine in its native Czechia, with\u00a015.71% local market share<\/a>\u00a0in June 2023.<\/p>\n It has a web crawler called SeznamBot, and a faster version called FreshBot (predominantly used for news websites).<\/p>\n You can read about the latest developments to the search engine on the\u00a0Seznam Blog<\/a>. But not all posts are available in English.<\/p>\n Tip<\/strong>: You can use\u00a0robots.txt<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0meta robots tags<\/a>\u00a0to block web crawlers like Seznam\u2019s from indexing certain pages on your site.<\/em><\/p>\n Naver<\/a>\u00a0is a web portal and search engine.<\/p>\n It\u2019s the second most popular search engine in its native South Korea, with\u00a035.35% of local market share<\/a>\u00a0in June 2023, according to Statcounter.<\/p>\n However, other sources claim that it\u2019s the top search engine in the country.<\/p>\n Either way, Naver is\u00a0reportedly<\/a>\u00a0losing users to AI chatbot services, such as Google Bard, Microsoft Bing, and ChatGPT. It plans to launch an AI-powered search service called SearchGPT later this year.<\/p>\n Baidu<\/a>\u00a0is China\u2019s largest search engine, with\u00a061.47% market share<\/a>\u00a0in the country as of June 2023.<\/p>\n Similarly to Google, Baidu offers a wide range of services. Like maps, news, an encyclopedia, and a cloud storage service.<\/p>\n Baidu\u2019s search algorithm is tailored to the Chinese language and culture. So, if you\u2019re not targeting the Chinese market, it may not be relevant to you.<\/p>\n China’s government also\u00a0heavily censors<\/a>\u00a0it.<\/p>\n Tip<\/strong>: Check how your website ranks in Baidu with Semrush\u2019s\u00a0Position Tracking<\/a>\u00a0tool.<\/em><\/p>\n Track Your Baidu Rankings<\/p>\n with the Position Tracking Tool<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Sogou<\/a>\u00a0is one of the most popular search engines in China, with\u00a013.77% local market share<\/a>\u00a0in June 2023.<\/p>\n It allows users to search text, images, music, and maps.<\/p>\n Petal Search<\/a>\u00a0is a mobile search engine app developed by Huawei, a Chinese technology company.<\/p>\n It gets search results from Bing\u2019s index. Including images, videos, and news.<\/p>\n But many people use Petal Search to find mobile apps.<\/p>\n Huawei cannot provide access to the Google Play Store, which is typically used to find apps on Android devices. This is due to political and trade restrictions.<\/p>\n Haosou<\/a>\u00a0is a Chinese search engine created by Qihoo 360, a security technology company that also offers a web browser and antivirus software.<\/p>\n Like other internet search engines, Haosou is subject to censorship laws in China. These policies are colloquially called the \u201cGreat Firewall<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Shenma<\/a>\u00a0is a Chinese mobile-only search engine launched by Alibaba and UCWeb.<\/p>\n Shenma was built to challenge Baidu\u2019s market share and capitalize on users increasingly using\u00a0mobile over desktop<\/a>\u00a0for their search needs. This means\u00a0mobile SEO<\/a>\u00a0is particularly important to webmasters wanting to rank highly in Shenma.<\/p>\n Ecosia<\/a>\u00a0is a search engine that donates a portion of its ad revenue to tree-planting initiatives around the world. And one of the top 10 search engines globally, based on\u00a0market share<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ecosia is a not-for-profit company that earns money from Microsoft Bing advertisements shown in its search results. Every month, it\u00a0shares its financial results<\/a>\u00a0and how it spent the money.<\/p>\n Ecosia\u2019s search engine uses Bing as a data source. Besides standard types of results (All, Images, Shopping, Videos, etc.), it also offers quick links that will redirect your search query to different pages, such as Wikipedia, Amazon, and Google.<\/p>\n Launched in 1994,\u00a0Yahoo<\/a>\u00a0is one of the oldest search engines on the internet.<\/p>\n Microsoft’s Bing powers Yahoo\u2019s search results. So, you’ll probably notice some similarities.<\/p>\n Besides serving as a web search engine, Yahoo has also evolved into a web portal. It offers various types of content, from what\u2019s trending and the biggest news stories to the weather forecast and sports results.<\/p>\n Dogpile<\/a>\u00a0is a meta search engine that collects results from many of the top search engines (including Google and Yahoo). And aims to compile the best ones.<\/p>\n Its name comes from the rugby term \u201cdogpile,\u201d which refers to players piling on top of each other.<\/p>\n Dogpile has a canine mascot named Arfie. And users click a button titled \u201cGo Fetch!\u201d to perform a search.<\/p>\n AOL<\/a>\u00a0is a web portal and search engine owned by Yahoo. Its search results are powered by Bing.<\/p>\n Like Yahoo, AOL is part of the\u00a0Bing search network<\/a>. This means sponsors can advertise across all three search engines. As well as related properties, like MSN.com.<\/p>\n Further reading<\/strong>: Learn more about advertising on search websites with our pay-per-click (PPC<\/a>) guide.<\/em><\/p>\n AI will likely play a major role in the future of search engines.<\/p>\n In November 2022, OpenAI launched the AI chatbot\u00a0ChatGPT<\/a>. Two months later, it\u2019s\u00a0estimated<\/a>\u00a0to have reached 100 million users. Making it one of the fastest-growing consumer apps in history.<\/p>\n According to an\u00a0Aberdeen Strategy & Research survey<\/a>\u00a0conducted in March 2023, 42% of professionals think they\u2019ll use AI-powered chatbots to find answers online in the future. Just 24% think they\u2019ll use search engines.<\/p>\n So, it\u2019s little wonder that search engines are eager to introduce generative AI (i.e., AI models that produce creative and novel outputs) to the search experience.<\/p>\n There are also\u00a0rumors<\/a>\u00a0that Apple is working on a search engine to rival Google\u2019s.<\/p>\n As the dominant player in the\u00a0smartphone<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0tablet<\/a>\u00a0markets, Apple could massively disrupt the search engine industry.<\/p>\n A search engine is an online tool that allows users to search for content on the internet.<\/p>\n It continuously explores webpages and other types of content and stores information about them. When a user enters a search query, it returns the most relevant results based on its internal ranking algorithms.<\/p>\n The most popular search engines in the world are Google, Bing, and Yandex, according to\u00a0Statcounter<\/a>\u00a0data for June 2023.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s look at statistics for our full list of search engines, sorted by domain traffic (where available):<\/p>\nMainstream Search Engines<\/h2>\n
1. Google<\/h2>\n
2. Bing<\/h2>\n
Privacy Search Engines<\/h2>\n
3. DuckDuckGo<\/h2>\n
4. Startpage<\/h2>\n
5. Qwant<\/h2>\n
6. Brave Search<\/h2>\n
7. You.com<\/h2>\n
8. Swisscows<\/h2>\n
International Search Engines<\/h2>\n
9. Yandex<\/h2>\n
10. C\u1ed1c C\u1ed1c Search<\/h2>\n
\n
11. Seznam<\/h2>\n
12. Naver<\/h2>\n
13. Baidu<\/h2>\n
14. Sogou<\/h2>\n
15. Petal Search<\/h2>\n
16. Haosou<\/h2>\n
17. Shenma<\/h2>\n
Other Search Engines<\/h2>\n
18. Ecosia<\/h2>\n
19. Yahoo<\/h2>\n
20. Dogpile<\/h2>\n
21. AOL<\/h2>\n
The Future of Search Engines<\/h2>\n
\n
Search Engine FAQs<\/h2>\n
What Is a Search Engine?<\/h3>\n
What Are the Most Popular Search Engines?<\/h3>\n