Folks seek for info in additional methods than ever—from conventional engines like google to YouTube movies and AI chatbots.
Understanding the huge panorama helps you see which instruments your potential clients are utilizing and why. For every search engine on this checklist, we’ve included month-to-month site visitors (as estimated by Semrush’s Traffic Overview device based mostly on April 2025 knowledge) that can assist you perceive how in style each choice is.
Conventional Search Engines
1. Google
International month-to-month visits: 92.7 billion
Greatest for: A complete and customized search expertise
Google stays the most popular search engine to date. Doubtless resulting from its massive index of internet sites and the power to offer related search results shortly.
One in every of its strongest factors lies in having the ability to anticipate customers’ intent—its auto-complete function can typically decipher what you’re searching for earlier than you end typing.
It presents helpful options like featured snippets and AI-generated summaries that assist customers get the data they want as shortly as potential. And the introduction of AI Mode is making it extra interactive than ever.
Elevated promoting and monitoring lately have raised privateness issues. However in the event you’re purchasing on-line or searching for instructions, Google will often provide you with what you want in seconds.
2. Bing
International month-to-month visits: 4.2 billion
Greatest for: Picture-based searches
Microsoft’s Bing presents robust visible search capabilities that make it straightforward to seek out pictures, preview movies, and browse merchandise.
It additionally consists of seamless integrations with different Microsoft merchandise, resembling Home windows and Edge. And distinctive options like factors that may be redeemed for rewards like present playing cards.
It’s price noting that Bing’s search outcomes usually comprise fewer adverts than Google outcomes.
In addition they really feel extra curated since Bing tends to prioritize informational sources (resembling Wikipedia or official authorities websites) over extra industrial web sites.
3. Yahoo
International month-to-month visits: 2.5 billion
Greatest for: Informal search constructed right into a broader homepage expertise
Yahoo’s unique search engine functioned as a manually curated listing of internet sites that customers may search via to seek out what they wanted however now makes use of Bing’s index and algorithm to generate search outcomes.
The entire expertise is bundled into the Yahoo homepage, which options information, climate forecasts, an e mail service, and extra.
It presents dependable and related search outcomes for many queries.
However the platform isn’t centered on offering a sophisticated search expertise. Presently, there aren’t AI-powered solutions or superior filters that may assist with discovering extremely particular info.
AI Search Engines (Additionally Referred to as Reply Engines)
4. ChatGPT Search
International month-to-month visits: 4.5 billion
Greatest for: AI-generated solutions backed up with citations and sources
ChatGPT search presents conversational solutions, summarized info, and supply hyperlinks fairly than a listing of search outcomes.
You may ask follow-up questions, which lets you refine even extremely particular search queries.
Whereas it’s nice for synthesizing info and studying about advanced subjects, it’s not essentially designed to find recent content material like information articles.
5. Perplexity
International month-to-month visits: 125.Four million
Greatest for: Scientific analysis and fact-checking
Perplexity gives AI-generated solutions backed by credible sources by default. And gives inline citations, with every sentence being linked to a supply.
It’s nice for getting insights on technical and factual questions.
Perplexity’s Professional Search function allows you to ask multi-turn questions and get progressively extra refined solutions. It presents a minimalistic interface, with few to no adverts or pointless muddle.
Whereas Perplexity doesn’t retain conversational historical past in the identical means ChatGPT does, it nonetheless does a fantastic job of surfacing credible info on a variety of subjects.
Social Media Search Engines
6. YouTube
International month-to-month visits: 42.Eight billion
Greatest for: How-to content material, evaluations, and video-based studying
Whereas YouTube isn’t a standard search engine, it’s a preferred alternative for folks searching for tutorials, product evaluations, leisure, and different varieties of video-based content material.
The platform does a fantastic job of surfacing related and fascinating movies based mostly in your preferences and any search queries you enter.
Engagement metrics influence YouTube’s search outcomes, which suggests in style movies are sometimes prioritized over different (and doubtlessly extra related) content material.
There are additionally loads of adverts and sponsored movies on the platform, particularly for industrial subjects.
7. TikTok
International month-to-month visits: 1.9 billion
Greatest for: Chew-sized video content material and crowd-sourced suggestions
TikTok presents customers a technique to seek for short-form movies on trending subjects, product evaluations, native suggestions, and extra.
It ranks content material based mostly on a number of elements, together with how nicely a video matches your search question, your exercise on the platform (e.g., movies watched, favored, shared, or commented on), and issues like location and language.
It’s useful for exploratory searches, resembling “issues to do in [city]” or “greatest books for [topic].”
Since a lot of the content material on TikTok is designed for leisure functions and fast engagement, it may be tougher to seek out in-depth info on a subject.
Privateness-Centered Search Engines
8. DuckDuckGo
International month-to-month visits: 1.9 billion
Greatest for: A search expertise with no monitoring of any form
DuckDuckGo is a well-liked privacy-focused search engine that doesn’t retailer search historical past, observe customers, or provide any form of customized outcomes based mostly on person conduct.
Its outcomes are gathered with its personal internet crawler in addition to from platforms like Bing.
Whereas DuckDuckGo doesn’t personalize search outcomes, it nonetheless presents handy options like immediate solutions, shortcuts, and maps. These make it simpler for customers to seek out info with out violating their privateness.
This search engine is a good alternative for folks searching for a personal search expertise with out having to make use of VPNs, proxies, or related applied sciences.
9. Ecosia
International month-to-month visits: 254 million
Greatest for: A feel-good search expertise that helps environmental causes
Ecosia is an eco-friendly search engine that makes use of the income from its search ads to plant bushes.
Up to now, the platform has helped plant greater than 230 million bushes all over the world.
It will get search outcomes and adverts from Bing and Google. The supply used on your outcomes depends upon issues like your location and your cookie settings.
Whereas not as privacy-focused as DuckDuckGo, Ecosia nonetheless anonymizes person knowledge. It’s a good selection for individuals who need their every day searches to contribute to an excellent trigger.
10. Startpage
International month-to-month visits: 49.Four million
Greatest for: Getting Google’s search outcomes with out being tracked by Google
Startpage serves Google’s search outcomes however strips away identifiable info (IP addresses, person conduct, and search queries) to offer a personal search expertise.
There’s additionally an choice to open outcomes utilizing a proxy server for elevated anonymity.
The shortage of customized search outcomes helps cut back algorithmic bias, making Startpage a good selection for goal analysis.
11. Courageous Search
International month-to-month visits: 367.2 million
Greatest for: A largely ad-free search expertise
Brave Search presents a personal and largely ad-free search expertise.
It doesn’t depend on Google or Bing—it makes use of its personal internet crawler and search index. This enables Courageous to offer search outcomes that aren’t influenced by mainstream tech algorithms to present customers an alternate view of the net.
The search engine allows you to use “Goggles”—customized filters customers can apply to tailor outcomes to their wants (e.g., to solely present outcomes from unbiased information sources).
Area-Particular Search Engines
12. Baidu
International month-to-month visits: 728.2 million
Greatest for: Chinese language-speaking customers fascinated by domestically optimized search outcomes
Baidu is the primary search engine in China. As a result of nation’s strict web rules, most Western engines like google stay inaccessible and make Baidu the primary technique to entry the net in China.
Baidu presents an ad-heavy search expertise with many sponsored outcomes. There’s additionally an enormous emphasis on in-house companies and platforms, resembling Baike (the Chinese language various to Wikipedia) and Tieba (a preferred on-line discussion board).
It’s an indispensable search engine for native Chinese language searches. That stated, worldwide customers may discover the search engine limiting resulting from censorship and language limitations.
13. Shenma
International month-to-month visits (to the web site—not the cell app): 519,800
Greatest for: Chinese language customers searching for a mobile-first search expertise
Shenma is a mobile-first search engine aimed on the Chinese language market.
The search outcomes are extremely industrial and aimed toward customers who need to make a purchase order. This shouldn’t be shocking, since Shenma is partially owned by Alibaba, the largest ecommerce firm in China.
Shenma is a good choice for Chinese language customers seeking to uncover merchandise, apps, and leisure content material.
14. Yandex
International month-to-month visits: 238.Three million
Greatest for: Russian customers searching for native search outcomes
Yandex is the preferred search engine in Russia.
It presents real-time search options, fast solutions, and voice search. Yandex additionally consists of different companies, together with e mail and maps.
15. Naver
International month-to-month visits: 1.1 billion
Greatest for: Korean-speaking customers searching for a information portal mixed with native search outcomes
Naver is a South Korean search engine that gives search outcomes mixed with content material from associated companies, resembling Naver Weblog (user-generated blogs) and Data iN (a Q&A discussion board).
It prioritizes internally hosted content material (resembling Naver and Data iN pages) to maintain customers on the platform.
This creates a singular expertise that’s nice for exploring Korean tradition and tendencies.
16. Seznam
International month-to-month visits: 246.1 million
Greatest for: Czech customers searching for native information and search outcomes
Seznam is the search engine of alternative for customers within the Czech Republic. And has its personal internet crawler and index.
It’s constructed to be used with the Czech language particularly, which helps it get a greater understanding of queries that comprise Czech idioms and cultural context.
Whereas it may not have superior options (e.g., AI-powered overviews) just like the extra in style world engines like google, it’s an excellent choice for Czech customers searching for native information and solutions to native search queries.
Particularly because it integrates with different in style Czech platforms—for mapping, actual property, and information.
Paid Search Engines
17. Kagi
International month-to-month visits (web site visits—not search engine customers): 2.Four million
Greatest for: A extremely customizable, ad-free search expertise
Kagi is an ad-free search engine supported by paid person subscriptions.
Its search outcomes are derived from a mix of a number of indexes, together with its personal indexes (resembling Teclis), and the indexes of Google, Bing, and different platforms.
Kagi’s search outcomes additionally depend on API calls to platforms like WolframAlpha, Wikipedia, and others.
Kagi allows you to determine which web sites you’d prefer to see in your search outcomes via the “Lenses” function. Which helps you to slim down your search to seek out what you’re searching for extra simply.
For instance, Kagi has a pre-built programming lens that solely shows outcomes from programming language web sites and boards.
Being a freemium search engine (with paid plans beginning at $5/month), Kagi is aimed toward energy customers (resembling researchers and writers) who carry out in depth analysis and need to get rid of noise and clickbait.
Specialised Search Engines
18. The Wayback Machine
International month-to-month visits: 23 million
Greatest for: Wanting up historic variations of webpages
The Wayback Machine offers customers a technique to lookup web sites at particular factors in historical past. This may be helpful for monitoring web site modifications or recovering misplaced content material.
Its interface is pretty primary. You simply sort in a URL and are then introduced with a calendar of obtainable snapshots of that web site throughout completely different time limits.
From right here, you may click on on a date to be redirected to an archived model of that web site.
Whereas the Wayback Machine doesn’t have each web site that ever existed in its archive, it has a big database of internet sites you may lookup.
19. ResearchGate
International month-to-month visits: 92.9 million
Greatest for: Peer-reviewed scientific and tutorial analysis
ResearchGate is a search engine and social community for researchers. Scientists use the platform to share their work, ask questions, and add publications.
ResearchGate permits customers to seek for papers by writer, subject, journal, or establishment. And quite a lot of the papers can be found for obtain instantly from the platform.
It’s nice for locating latest research and staying updated on a particular subject of analysis.
20. WolframAlpha
International month-to-month visits: 5.Four million
Greatest for: Knowledge evaluation, math-based downside fixing, and factual solutions
WolframAlpha isn’t technically a search engine. (It calls itself a “computational data engine.”) However it might probably operate as one for fact-based queries.
As an alternative of retrieving search outcomes like a standard search engine, it calculates solutions to your questions utilizing algorithms and an enormous database.
You should use it to resolve math issues, examine statistics, and carry out analyses.
Whereas it’s not significantly helpful for open-ended queries, it does extraordinarily nicely with regards to questions that contain knowledge or computation.
It’s a fantastic alternative for analysts, engineers, scientists, and college students.
Optimize Your Web site for Search Engines
Google continues to be the preferred search engine on the earth. However AI search platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity are gaining traction.
Meaning companies seeking to enhance visibility ought to be certain that their web sites are optimized for AI platforms as nicely.
That is the place the Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit may help. It analyzes your efficiency throughout AI platforms and gives insights that can assist you enhance your outcomes.
