Remember when searching the web felt simple? Early Google was bliss: type, hit return, and get results. These days, it’s a swamp of ads, AI fluff, and sponsored nonsense. You’re not the customer anymore – you’re the product.
Kagi aims to fix that. It’s a rare thing: a paid search engine that puts users first. Increasingly tired of Google, I decided to see whether Kagi could give me an experience that was worth paying for. Spoiler: it did.
Get started with Kagi search
Apple offers a limited list of search engines for Safari, which means you can’t directly set Kagi as your default. There are workarounds. The simplest: install and activate the Kagi for Safari extension, select a search engine to redirect to Kagi, and ensure that’s matched in Settings > Apps > Safari > Search Engine. Alternatively, xSearch ($3/£3) lets you use any search engine as your default. Either way, you’ll be ready to ditch the ads and reclaim your search sanity.
7 reasons to use Kagi search
It’s stripped-back bliss. Using Kagi is like stepping back to a simpler internet. Results pages are spartan – mostly text with the odd image thumbnail. There’s little handholding. But that also means no fluff, shopping spam, or Reddit thread clutter. I also love how it packs 30+ results into each page, rather than just ten.
Everything is customizable. I quickly found Kagi lets you tweak results, by boosting, blocking, or pinning sites. People might grumble this leaves you in a ‘bubble,’ but at least you – not Big Tech algorithms and agendas – decide what’s relevant. The Lenses feature refines searches further, limiting results to domains like ‘academia’ and ‘PDF.’ And, yes, you can build your own Lenses.
Kagi News.
It reduces doomscrolling. Unlike Google’s endless results, Kagi abruptly stops after two pages. That’s arguably a benefit. Search engines are about finding answers fast. Kagi notes if you only find what you want on page 17, it’s the search engine that’s failed. Doomscrolling’s further stymied by the News tab. It mimics print with a once-daily update, and has its own standalone app version too.
Image search actually works. I rely on image search for work, and Google’s increasing tendency to bury useful commands – or remove them entirely – is hugely frustrating. Kagi is much better, with upfront controls for ‘latest’, ‘HD’, size, and sorting. For much the same reasons, I found the Videos tab better than Google’s too.
AI is on your terms. AI in search engines is controversial. Kagi’s efforts at least don’t get in the way. Add a question mark to a query and you’ll get a Quick Answer summary – unless you’re on the cheapest tier. Don’t like that? Turn it off. Need the feature later? It’s just a tap away. There’s also a chatbot if you fancy, but it never forces itself on you.
A custom Kagi bang.
You can bypass Kagi. This might seem an odd plus point, but it reinforces that Kagi’s goal isn’t to lock you in. It’s to help you find stuff. Tap More under the search field to access external sites to send your search to. Or use bangs like !w (Wikipedia) and !yt (YouTube) for a more direct approach. Bangs don’t count toward limited-search plans, and you can make your own for any site.
You are not the product. Kagi makes money from subscribers, not advertisers. So results aren’t skewed by whoever pays most for visibility. And Kagi even puts its money where its mouth is: go a month without making a search, and Kagi will credit you. This, alongside the broader approach and customization, to me makes Kagi feel very human. Google seems bloated and desperate by comparison.
Kagi reminds me of what search was meant to be: fast, focused, and useful. In an age where every click is monitored and monetized, paying for search might just be the most quietly radical thing you can do.
Find out more about Kagi at kagi.com. A 100-search free trial is available. Kagi has a monthly subscription of $5 (300 searches), $10 (unlimited searches; summaries; translation), or $25 (adds premium AI). Annual, family, and team plans provide discounted rates.