Try Switching to Kagi

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Kagi Features and UX

  • Strong praise for:
    • Clean, ad‑free results and absence of “AI junk” unless explicitly requested.
    • Simple AI trigger (add “?” or use !code, custom assistants, etc.) with many models (ChatGPT variants, Gemini, Llama, DeepSeek, etc.).
    • Powerful customization: custom bangs/snaps, site up‑/down‑ranking, domain blocking, “lenses” (small web, academic), monetization icons on results.
    • Privacy tools like Privacy Pass and “session links” so they can verify payment without tying searches to identity.
  • Some love the “classic search” feel (“Google circa 2016”), better image search, and that every result is optimized for the user rather than advertisers.

Comparisons with Google

  • Many anecdotes of switching entirely from Google; going back feels “filthy” or “unusable” due to:
    • Large sponsored blocks, scammy ads (e.g., visa/ETA, ticket resellers), and AI overviews crowding out organic results.
    • SEO‑spam and unwanted sites (Medium, Pinterest, programming “tutorial farms”) ranking above official docs.
  • Others argue Google’s quality hasn’t degraded for them and that complaints often reflect poor keywording; they report government and official sites still ranking first.
  • Disagreement over examples like “div”, “avi to mp4”, “travel to UK”, and “expedited passport renewal”: some see Kagi clearly better; others see Google or DDG equal or ahead, especially with ad blockers and “Forums” filters.

Other Alternatives (DDG, Brave, Perplexity, SearxNG, etc.)

  • DuckDuckGo:
    • Some find it “good enough,” especially with bangs.
    • Others report a noticeable quality drop, more spam, and difficulty in non‑US or non‑English searches.
  • Brave Search:
    • Several satisfied users; like its built‑in LLM summaries and “goggles” for ranking customization.
    • Generally seen as weaker than Kagi but free.
  • Perplexity / ChatGPT:
    • Used by many for research and aggregation, with Kagi retained for “find a specific page/site” tasks.
    • Concerns about latency, hallucinations, and Perplexity’s ad‑tracking plans; some say Kagi plus its assistant may replace Perplexity.
  • SearxNG/metaGer/Qwant:
    • Mentioned as privacy‑respecting or self‑hostable options; some prefer them on principle or cost, others find results notably worse than Kagi.

Pricing, Quotas, and Subscription Fatigue

  • Plans seen as:
    • Great value by heavy users (1,000+ searches/month, extensive AI use) who compare it to a utility or “HBO for search.”
    • Too expensive for families, non‑US incomes, or people already juggling many $5–10 subscriptions.
  • 300‑search tier:
    • Some like it and stay under the cap; others say the counter induces “search anxiety” and pushes them back to free engines.
    • Requests for a cheaper, AI‑free unlimited plan are common.
  • One billing incident where a “no strings attached” trial auto‑renewed via Stripe if a card was on file; Kagi engineer called it unintended, offered refunds, and promised a fix. Debate over whether this was a bug or a dark pattern.

Privacy, Politics, and Yandex

  • Strong approval of:
    • Paid, ad‑free, non‑profiling business model.
    • Privacy Pass and minimal data collection.
  • Skepticism from some who:
    • Avoid US‑based services entirely due to weak legal privacy protections.
    • Note that merely having an account is identifying when user counts are small.
  • Major controversy over Kagi paying Yandex for image search:
    • Critics see this as “funding” a Russian, state‑aligned company during the Ukraine war; some refuse to use or pay for Kagi on that basis.
    • Defenders argue it’s just buying an index, a small cost share (~2%), legal under sanctions, and necessary for quality.
    • Kagi leadership’s “apolitical / fix search, not the world” framing is read by some as pragmatic, by others as morally evasive.

Language, Region, and Maps

  • Non‑English:
    • Some report Kagi works as well or better than Google for German, Swedish, Croatian; others say Google still wins for smaller languages like Catalan or for very new local content.
  • Region/language mix:
    • Many frustrations with Google forcing local language/region; Kagi’s explicit “international vs country” toggle is seen as better, though lacking strict language‑only filters.
  • Maps:
    • Frequent complaint that Kagi’s own/Apple‑based maps and inline map widget are weaker than Google Maps, especially outside the US and for rich business data and reviews.
    • Users often end up using bangs or browser keywords to jump directly to Google Maps.

Integration, Performance, and Mixed Experiences

  • Safari/iOS:
    • Kagi’s “default search” relies on an extension that intercepts queries to other engines; described as a clever but “ugly hack” that can leak queries and require re‑setup.
    • Orion browser (also from Kagi) avoids this but is another install.
  • Speed:
    • Some find Kagi fast and smooth; a minority report noticeably slower responses than Google and couldn’t adapt.
  • Search quality divergence:
    • Many power users, especially developers, see large gains thanks to domain blocking, upranking official docs, and “small web” lenses.
    • Others say the raw ranking quality is similar to Google/DDG; for them, Kagi’s value is mainly customization and lack of ads, not dramatically better answers.
  • Overall sentiment leans positive among adopters—“I can’t go back to Google”—but there is a consistent minority who either see no quality improvement, find the price unjustified, or are blocked by political/privacy concerns.