# Kagi: A Better Search Engine I read [this article](https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/04/01/business/google-search-problems-alternatives-kagi/) [*(archive)*](https://web.archive.org/web/20250430155931/https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/04/01/business/google-search-problems-alternatives-kagi/) about how Google’s search results not only hide a substantial portion of the internet but can actually *cost you more money* by promoting products and services that up charge you—and it blew my mind! I’d always thought about Google in terms of privacy risks, but this piece highlights a tangible monetary cost I hadn't considered before. Once you see how much extra you can pay through paid links, it makes it easier to see the benefits of de-googling your life. By contrast, [Kagi](https://kagi.com/ "https://kagi.com/") (pronounced "ka-ghee", Japanese for "key") is a search engine that flips the equation: rather than making money on the back end like Google does through ads, they charge users a subscription fee on the front end. **This method allows Kagi to deliver the best search results possible.** My inaugural experience using Kagi was eye-opening: on my first search I got a genuine **blog post** instead of yet another click-bait AI-generated article. Think about it for a second: when was the last time you got someone's personal blog at the top of your search? Over 25 years, Google has slowly held more and more of the internet back from you and replaced it with revenue-generating links. Kagi brings the real internet back, giving you access to the quality information the internet was originally built for. It's like Google was 25 years ago--and that's good.  At first it might seem silly to pay $5/month for internet search, but remember the adage: **“If you’re not the customer, you’re the product.”** Google’s fiduciary duty is to maximize profits for its investors, not to provide the highest-quality products to its customers. Kagi, on the other hand, is like the Costco of search—they earn through membership fees and treat their members like customers.  Give Kagi a try and rediscover the internet. [https://kagi.com/](https://kagi.com/ "https://kagi.com/") [](https://kagi.com) ### Follow-Up Note Kagi and [Perplexity](https://www.perplexity.com) seem to compliment each other. Kagi is a search engine with optional AI capabilities. Whereas Perplexity is an AI chatbot with a search engine in the background. I recommend using both. Kagi definitely gives you more "search" powers than Perplexity, though. See post [[AI Use Cases]] for more. *** #knowledge #privacy