Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Kagi VS Google Custom Search

Compare Kagi VS Google Custom Search and see what are their differences

Kagi logo Kagi

Kagi is a privacy-focused, user-centric search engine. Great search experience starts with Kagi!

Google Custom Search logo Google Custom Search

Google Custom Search enables you to create a search engine for your website, your blog, or a collection of websites.
  • Kagi Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-04-07
  • Google Custom Search Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-05-10

Kagi features and specs

  • Privacy Focus
    Kagi places a strong emphasis on user privacy, not tracking users or collecting personal data.
  • Ad-free Experience
    Kagi provides a seamless search experience without advertising, which enhances usability and load times.
  • Quality Results
    The search engine aims to deliver high-quality, relevant search results by filtering out low-quality content and spam.
  • Customization Options
    Users can customize their search experience with Kagi, tailoring search parameters and appearance to their preferences.
  • Speed
    Kagi is designed to offer fast search response times, providing efficient access to information.

Possible disadvantages of Kagi

  • Subscription Based
    Kagi is a paid service, which could be a barrier for users who are accustomed to free search engines.
  • Market Share
    As a relatively new and less-known search engine, Kagi lacks the extensive index and market presence of giants like Google.
  • Niche Appeal
    Its strong focus on privacy and ad-free experience may appeal to a niche audience, potentially limiting its broader adoption.
  • Feature Parity
    Kagi might not yet offer the extensive suite of features and services that more established search engines provide, such as integrated maps or shopping tools.
  • Data Sources
    The range of data sources that Kagi taps into may be more limited compared to major search engines that aggregate information from a vast number of sites.

Google Custom Search features and specs

  • Ease of Integration
    Google Custom Search is straightforward to integrate into websites and applications, offering a user-friendly setup process with comprehensive documentation and support.
  • Advanced Search Capabilities
    It leverages Google's powerful search algorithms, providing fast, accurate, and relevant search results, benefiting from features like synonyms and advanced language understanding.
  • Customization Options
    Users can customize the search experience to match their website's look and feel, including adjusting the search box, results display, and controlling which sites are indexed.
  • Cost-Effective
    Offers a free tier with sufficient features for small to medium websites and relatively affordable paid plans for larger sites and custom needs.
  • Monetization via AdSense
    Integrates with Google AdSense, allowing website owners to generate revenue through ads displayed alongside search results.
  • Automatic Updates
    Automatically updates search indices, ensuring that the search results are always current without requiring manual input or intervention.

Possible disadvantages of Google Custom Search

  • Ad Inclusions in Free Tier
    The free version of Google Custom Search includes ads in the search results, which might be undesirable for some websites or users.
  • Limited Customization in Free Version
    The free tier has limited customization options compared to the paid versions, which might restrict certain advanced features or modifications.
  • Dependency on Google’s Ecosystem
    Relying on Google Custom Search means relying on Google’s ecosystem, which could be a risk if there are future policy changes or if the service is discontinued.
  • Data Privacy Concerns
    Some organizations might have concerns about data privacy and control, as the search data is processed and stored by Google.
  • Keyword Restrictions
    Certain keywords and search terms might be restricted or censored, limiting the scope of searchable content based on Google's policies.
  • Cost for Advanced Features
    Access to advanced features and higher query limits requires a paid subscription, which could be a significant expense for large-scale or heavily trafficked websites.

Analysis of Kagi

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Kagi is generally considered good, especially for users who prioritize privacy and quality search results. It provides a reliable alternative to traditional search engines while maintaining a strong focus on user experience and data protection.

Why this product is good

  • Kagi is often praised for its focus on privacy, delivering a search experience without tracking users. It also offers customizable search settings and a clutter-free interface. Users value the quality of search results and the platform's commitment to maintaining user independence and trust.

Recommended for

  • Privacy-conscious users
  • Those seeking alternatives to big tech search engines
  • Users who value high-quality, ad-free search experiences
  • Tech enthusiasts curious about privacy-focused internet tools

Analysis of Google Custom Search

Overall verdict

  • Google Custom Search is considered to be a robust and effective tool for individuals or organizations needing a customizable search solution. Its ability to integrate with various platforms and provide analytics makes it a valuable asset for managing and enhancing user search experiences.

Why this product is good

  • Google Custom Search allows users to create a tailored search experience by focusing on specific websites or sections of websites, providing control over search results and prioritizing content that's most relevant to their audience.

Recommended for

  • Website owners looking to improve site search functionality
  • Developers needing to integrate precise search capabilities into applications
  • Businesses and educational institutions aiming for targeted content discovery
  • Content creators wanting to highlight specific resources in searches

Kagi videos

Kagi Spa Island Maldives Review

More videos:

  • Review - KAGI RESORT AND SPA, MALDIVES Walk around the Island
  • Review - Kagi Swiss Chocolate Wafer Review

Google Custom Search videos

Create a Google Custom Search Engine To Monetize Your Site

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Kagi and Google Custom Search)
Search Engine
78 78%
22% 22
Custom Search Engine
0 0%
100% 100
Internet Search
100 100%
0% 0
Security & Privacy
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Kagi and Google Custom Search

Kagi Reviews

The Next Google
Another thing that Kagi focuses on is delivering non-commercial results. Kagi has an entire index of non-commercial websites, which they’ve also made available separately as Teclis. This allows them to find results that you won’t find on Google and most other search engines.
Source: dkb.io

Google Custom Search Reviews

We have no reviews of Google Custom Search yet.
Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Kagi seems to be a lot more popular than Google Custom Search. While we know about 127 links to Kagi, we've tracked only 7 mentions of Google Custom Search. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Kagi mentions (127)

  • Ask HN: Kagi Worth It?
    If anyone from Kagi is here, I found a bug: On https://kagi.com/welcome, your logo links to https://kagi.com/index.html which cannot be found. - Source: Hacker News / 7 months ago
  • Kagi.com Welcome Page Source Code
    Compared with Google's page source, this source code is really neat and tidy! HN didn't like the URL, but here it is: view-source://https://kagi.com/welcome. - Source: Hacker News / 9 months ago
  • End of the Road: An AnandTech Farewell
    From TFA: > If anything, the need has increased as social media and changing advertising landscapes have made shallow, sensationalistic reporting all the more lucrative. And your comment: > There were people among us who would gladly pay for this kind of coverage It's Friday so I'm going to be optimistic. I'd like to think (maybe fantasise) that we've past the low point of ad-fuelled, sensational,... - Source: Hacker News / 10 months ago
  • Ask HN: Google Search is completely unusable. How do you work around it?
    I have been using ChatGPT or http://kagi.com. - Source: Hacker News / 12 months ago
  • Google confirms the leaked Search documents are real
    >Our own index of the finest results augmented by the results from the best search engines on the market. https://kagi.com/. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
View more

Google Custom Search mentions (7)

  • Creating your own federated microblog
    Google offers Programmable Search Engine [0], a service where you can create site-specific search box. That's probably good enough for most small personal websites. [0] https://developers.google.com/custom-search/. - Source: Hacker News / about 2 months ago
  • Is there a way to search keywords faster?
    Google's programmable search engine comes to mind: https://developers.google.com/custom-search/. Source: over 2 years ago
  • How important are Google search operators/ Google dorks compared to other tools?
    Dorking is not only a very useful technique to find not-indexed results and unvoluntarly exposed content, it it also helps to improve beginner's analyst mindset. You can take it as an introduction to basic query language. What I can strongly suggest is to test your skills by creating your own google custom search engine (https://developers.google.com/custom-search/) that will faciltate your onlime search by... Source: over 2 years ago
  • Brave Search passes 2.5B queries in its first year
    It looks like is targeted towards website owners and not the general public. https://developers.google.com/custom-search. - Source: Hacker News / almost 3 years ago
  • Google-clone - Google Search Clone Built Using React/Next js And Tailwind CSS
    A functional replica of Google's search page, you can use it for searches. Styled with Tailwind CSS to Rapidly build and look as close as possible to current google search page, the search results are pulled using Googles Programmable Search Engine and it was build using Next.js the react framework. - Source: dev.to / about 3 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Kagi and Google Custom Search, you can also consider the following products

DuckDuckGo - The Internet privacy company that empowers you to seamlessly take control of your personal information online, without any tradeoffs.

Algolia - Algolia's Search API makes it easy to deliver a great search experience in your apps & websites. Algolia Search provides hosted full-text, numerical, faceted and geolocalized search.

Brave Search - Private search that puts you first, not big tech

Site Search 360 - Site Search 360 enhances and improves your built-in CMS or product search with autocompletion, semantic search, filters, facets, detailed analytics, and a whole lot of customization options.

Google - Google Search, also referred to as Google Web Search or simply Google, is a web search engine developed by Google. It is the most used search engine on the World Wide Web

ElasticSearch - Elasticsearch is an open source, distributed, RESTful search engine.