On Google if I search “Mens Boots” I immediately see lots of results from shops in Amsterdam and near me selling boots.
When I use DuckDuckGo the results are useless unless I add “Amsterdam” and then it only shows me Amsterdam results, instead of Google which would also show me shops from Germany etc. That has quick delivery times etc.
What are my options? (Non-American would be great)
why not use more than one? use ddg for general searches of non location based things. then switch to a different preferred search for location based things
Another vote for brave search
For the moment, I’m using Qwant
Here is a cool comparison chart I’ve found : https://searchengine.party/
Been using Qwant for a while now, happy with it.
Brave Search is the best imo. I’ve been using it for years.
Google works the way it does because it has basically unlimited resources. You will never find something that does EVERYTHING Google does, because running Google is like shoveling thousands of dollars into a fire constantly.
You have to choose either convenience or privacy.
I want something in the middle. It doesn’t have to be as good as google, just good enough.
Replying to save this for later. I’m about to start on my own selfhosting project next week so I’ll definitely add this to my list
AFAIK SearXNG is an aggregator and Whoogle is having trouble with using Google without JS
I am not sure why qwant seems to get mentioned so frequently. My experience is that the search results are mediocre at best and they shove ads in your face on every page.
I highly recommend Kagi, I’ve been with them since basically the beginning and they have been fantastic. I do pay for their service, but the value proposition is absolutely there.
I’ve been fucking with kagi. And I like the results it seems more relevant to what I searched for.
It’s fairly pricey though. $24/m for a family plan for me, with tax included. I don’t mind some adds, and I can also use a add blocker.
I’ve been using Kagi for a near a year now and it’s pretty good. Reminds me of old Google
Kagi has been amazing, I’m so disappointed every time I try to search for something on my work computer on Google.
I understand they have gone deep into LLMs, so take that into consideration
CEO: Why would we take your data, you directly fund us so obviously we will only focus on providing the best search experience
CEO: dumps money into AI and a T-shirt factory
It’s fairly pricey though. I don’t mind some adds, and I can also use a add blocker.
Kagi is a fantastic search engine, gets all the critical shit right.
Qwant has been decent for me. Try it out and see how it goes
Thanks, this seems to be the best I’ve been able to find so far
Yeah, I find it more varied and there’s less ads. Ads are still there though, but they’ve been relevant to what I’m searching for so far.
I don’t have an issue with some adds, especially if they’re relevant to me.
They’re not relevant to me specifically, that would mean Qwant would need to collect data. But they’re relevant to the thing I’m searching, sort of.
Google ads were scary specific before I degoogled myself almost completely.
Startpage works well. You also need a VPN and to use private mode in a browser with a low fingerprint.
That’s still supporting google, and not helping their competitors. I would like a EU alternative
Start page is Dutch. And skimming Google search results isn’t exactly a huge value add for Google, other than the stripped down results will include some Google-oriented SEO. A good ad blocker will effectively eliminate any benefit to Big G.
Nothing beats Google so you can use European based Startpage just like how DuckDuckGo is based on Microsoft Bing.
It doesn’t have to beat google, it just has to be close enough not to be annoying or not function properly.
Using Startpage still supports google, which is what I want to stop doing as much as possible.
In Spain I have to put .es at the end for local results.
However, I use Amazon to source the product I want then find the resellers website and buy directly from them.
My last purchase like that was an 80kg capacity bike trailer that was delivered from Germany and cost the exact same, and the company didn’t have to give Bezos any cut.
Hmmn. If I wanted search results for stuff in Amsterdam, I’d expect to add “in Amst . . .”
Moving quickly on, there’s bound to be some European SearXNG. https://searx.space/ seems like a list.
I think that still uses google though among others. It’s FOSS so you could self host it and set it up how you like I think too if you’re into that type of thing.
I don’t regularly use searXNG though I use DDG - so I cannot vouch for the quality of the results.
