Kagi.
Paid premium search — no ads, no tracking, user as customer.
What it is.
Palo Alto-based premium search engine with a subscription model in place of advertising. Kagi indexes the web independently, surfaces results without ads or tracking, and lets users boost or block specific domains permanently. The Kagi Assistant tier bundles access to Claude, GPT-5, and Gemini behind a single subscription. Founder-led, profitable, growing past 50,000 paying users in 2025.
Where it fits.
Researchers, developers, journalists, and privacy-conscious users who treat search quality as a paid service rather than an ad-funded utility. Particularly strong for technical queries where SEO spam has degraded Google results. The Ultimate tier doubles as a multi-model AI gateway — cheaper than three separate Pro subscriptions.
- No ads, no tracking — paid model aligns incentives with users
- Domain boost-and-block lets users curate their own ranking
- Ultimate tier bundles Claude, GPT-5, and Gemini access
- Subscription friction for users accustomed to free search
- Index depth still trails Google on long-tail navigational queries
Frequently asked.
How does Kagi make money?
Subscriptions only. No ads, no data sale, no tracking. The Ultimate tier at $25/mo bundles multi-model AI access alongside search.
Does Kagi run its own index?
Partially. Kagi maintains its own crawl for many verticals and supplements with licensed third-party APIs. The blend evolves as the in-house index expands.
Kagi or Perplexity?
Different products. Kagi is a search engine you query like Google. Perplexity is an answer engine that composes responses with citations. Many researchers run both.
