Ask a question and get a short answer from the web, with links to every source.
Research & Search
Kagi
A paid search engine with no ads or tracking, plus an AI assistant that cites sources.
4.3our rating
PaidFrom $5/moWorks with Claude Code
Quick take
- Search with no ads, no sponsored results and no tracking. You pay instead of being the product.
- Professional at $10 a month gives unlimited searches and the basic AI assistant, and it's the plan most people want.
- Block, raise or pin sites so the results you see get better the more you use it.
- If you don't use it at all in a month, Kagi credits that month back to your account.
What is Kagi?
Kagi is a search engine you pay for. In return there are no ads, no sponsored results and no tracking, so the page is just the results. Many people find it cuts out the SEO spam and AI-written filler that clogs up Google.
You can shape the results yourself. Block sites you never want to see, push your favourites higher, and use Lenses to search only forums, academic papers or recent news. Kagi Assistant is a chat that searches the web and shows its sources, and it lets you pick models from Anthropic, OpenAI, Google and others. It also summarises pages and videos, and makes the Orion web browser.
There's an API and an official MCP server (a connector that lets Claude use Kagi's search), so Claude Code can search with it. The catch is simply that it costs money, and the cheapest plan caps you at 300 searches a month.
Who's using it, and who it's for
- Researchers
- Developers
- Writers
- Privacy-minded professionals
People who search all day for work and are tired of ads and spammy results.
Key features
Ad-free results
No ads, sponsored links or tracking, just the search results.
Personalised ranking
Block sites, raise the ones you trust and pin favourites to the top.
Lenses
Search only forums, academic papers, news or your own list of sites.
Kagi Assistant
A chat that searches the web with sources, using models from Anthropic, OpenAI, Google and more.
Summaries
Summarise a web page, PDF or video in a click.
API and MCP
Use Kagi's search inside Claude Code and other tools through its API and official MCP server.
How we rate it
4.3 / 5
Our rating
From using the tool ourselves. The average of the five scores.
- Ease of use
- 4.5
- Features
- 4.5
- Output quality
- 4.5
- Value for money
- 3.5
- Speed & reliability
- 4.5
How quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.
How completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together.
How good the results are before you fix them.
What you get for the price, including the free plan.
How fast it is and how often it falls over.
Kagi pricing
Which plan should you pick?
Use the free trial for a week, then take Professional. 300 searches on Starter goes in a couple of weeks for most people. Only pay for Ultimate if you'd otherwise pay for an AI chat subscription, since it bundles the top models. Yearly billing saves 10%.
Prices in USD unless noted, checked 3 November 2026. Vendors change plans often, so confirm on their site before you buy.
Best use cases
Ways Kagi can slot into your week.
- 1
Supplier and competitor research
Search without sponsored results pushing the biggest advertisers to the top.
- 2
Clean up your results
Block content farms and AI spam sites once, and never see them again.
- 3
Forum-only answers
Use the forums Lens to find real people's experiences of a product or service.
- 4
Search inside Claude Code
Add Kagi's MCP server so Claude can search the web with Kagi while it works.
How it fits your tech stack
Make Kagi your browser's default search engine and keep Perplexity or ChatGPT for long answers. If you pay for Ultimate, its Assistant can stand in for a separate AI chat subscription.
Connects to
- Claude Code
- Safari
- Chrome
- Firefox
- Orion
Pros and cons
Pros
- No ads, sponsored results or tracking
- You control which sites show up and where
- AI assistant with a choice of top models
- Fair pricing: unused months are credited back
Cons
- It costs money, and Starter's 300 searches run out fast
- Top AI models only on the $25 Ultimate plan
- Local results like maps and shops are weaker than Google's
- API and MCP use is billed separately from the search plans
Kagi alternatives
The closest alternatives to Kagi in the library, best rated first.
NotebookLM
4.5
Best for summarising long reports
Compare with Kagi
Consensus
4.3
Best for fact-checking health claims
Compare with KagiBest for better prompts for Claude and ChatGPT
Compare with Kagi
Exa
4.0
Best for web search inside Claude Code
Compare with Kagi
Why it made the list
It's the best-known paid search engine, with cleaner results than Google and an AI assistant that lets you choose the model.
Kagi FAQ
How much does Kagi cost?
There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $5/mo. Prices checked 3 November 2026 against Kagi's pricing page.
Is Kagi free?
No. There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $5/mo.
What is Kagi best for?
Kagi is best for everyday search without ads or tracking, research where you want trustworthy sources and hiding spammy or low-quality sites for good. People who search all day for work and are tired of ads and spammy results.
What are the best Kagi alternatives?
The closest alternatives are NotebookLM, Consensus, Prompt Cowboy and Exa. NotebookLM is best for summarising long reports.
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