What are some good alternatives to Ecosia?

If you like Ecosia because it combines a Google-like search experience with privacy and a mission-driven business model, there are several good alternatives. The best one depends on which part of Ecosia you care about most.

🥇 Brave Search — my top recommendation

This is probably the closest general-purpose replacement for Ecosia if you don't specifically need the environmental mission.

Brave Search has its own independent web index, doesn't profile users, and offers AI-generated answers with citations.

Why I'd pick it: You get privacy and independence from Google/Bing, while still getting a fairly conventional search experience.

🦆 DuckDuckGo — easiest switch

If your main reason for using Ecosia is privacy, DuckDuckGo is an excellent choice. It says it doesn't track searches or browsing history and doesn't sell personal information.

The tradeoff is that its web results rely substantially on Microsoft's Bing index, so it's less independent than Brave or Mojeek.

🔎 Startpage — best if you want Google-like results

Startpage is interesting because it essentially gives you Google-powered results through a privacy layer. It's a good option if you frequently find DuckDuckGo/Brave results aren't as good for obscure searches.

The downside is precisely that dependence on Google/Bing: you're getting privacy from the search provider, but not an independent search index.

💎 Kagi — best if you're willing to pay

Kagi is my pick for the highest-quality search experience, rather than the best free Ecosia substitute. It's ad-free, has its own index supplemented by other sources, gives you unusually good control over rankings, and offers zero search telemetry according to its documentation.

The catch: it's paid.

🌱 If the environmental mission is what you love about Ecosia

That's harder to replicate. Ecosia's distinctive feature isn't merely privacy—it's using search revenue to fund environmental projects.

So I'd divide the choice like this:

• Want privacy + independence? → Brave Search
• Want simple/private/free? → DuckDuckGo
• Want Google-quality results without Google directly tracking your searches? → Startpage
• Want the best search experience and don't mind paying? → Kagi
• Want a genuinely independent search index? → Brave or Mojeek
• Want Ecosia's environmental mission specifically? → Stick with Ecosia

My personal ranking for an Ecosia user: Brave Search → Kagi → DuckDuckGo → Startpage → Mojeek. Brave is the one I'd try first.

• Brave Search is an independent privacy-focused search engine that runs on its own index, meaning it doesn't track you or rely on big tech conglomerates like Google or Bing for its results.
• DuckDuckGo is the quintessential privacy search engine, famous for blocking trackers, refusing to store your search history, and offering handy features like "!bangs" to jump straight to searches on other sites.
• Ekoru is a fantastic alternative if you loved Ecosia's environmental mission; it donates a portion of its ad revenue to clean up oceans, plant trees, and protect habitats, while running its servers on hydro-power.
• Qwant is a European privacy-oriented search engine based in France that respects user data privacy by design and doesn't log your search queries.
• Startpage lets you get completely unpersonalized, anonymous Google search results without any of Google's tracking cookies or data profiling.
• Swisscows is a family-friendly privacy search engine based in Switzerland that encrypts queries strictly and uses semantic recognition to deliver precise answers without storing personal data.

If you'd like, let me know:

• Is your priority environmental impact or strict privacy/no tracking?
• Do you prefer an engine that uses its own index or one that proxies results from a major provider?

I can help you pick the ideal replacement for your workflow.

If you love Ecosia's mission of environmental consciousness or privacy, but want to try a different search engine, here are some of the best alternatives categorized by what they do best:

• Brave Search is an exceptional choice if privacy is your main priority. It operates completely independently with its own index (not relying on Google or Bing) and refuses to track your searches, clicks, or personal data.
• DuckDuckGo is the classic choice for private browsing . It doesn't track you, provides clean and unbiased results, and includes fun quality-of-life features like "bangs" (typing "!w" before a query to search Wikipedia directly, for instance).
• Lilo is a direct ideological match for Ecosia if you want to support social and environmental causes . It donates 80% of its advertising revenue to social and environmental projects of your choice, tracked via a drop-of-water counter system.
• Qwant is a privacy-first European search engine based in France. It respects user privacy by not storing search queries or personal data, and it features a clean, visually distinct layout for web, news, and social media results.
• Startpage is the best option if you want Google-quality results paired with strict privacy. It acts as a private intermediary, submitting your search to Google anonymously so you get top-tier search results without any of the tracking or targeted profiling.
• The Humble Search Engine is a newer minimalist alternative focused on low digital carbon footprints and simplicity, stripping away the bloat and heavy tracking scripts found in mainstream search portals.

Would you like to know more about how to set one of these as your default browser search engine , or are you looking for an alternative that specifically focuses on a particular cause or privacy feature?

If you like Ecosia because it combines privacy, independent-ish search, and a mission beyond profit, there are several good alternatives—but they each prioritize something different. Ecosia currently funds climate action with its profits and says it doesn't use your search data to personalize ads elsewhere.

My picks

• Closest overall replacement: Brave Search — probably the first one I'd try if you're moving away from Ecosia.
• Best for privacy: DuckDuckGo or Brave Search.
• Best results: Kagi, if you're willing to pay.
• Best for avoiding Google/Bing dependence: Mojeek or Brave Search.
• Best if the environmental mission is the main reason you use Ecosia: Ecosia is still unusually strong here. Its profits go toward climate action, and it publishes monthly financial reporting.

One interesting point about Ecosia itself in 2026: its results aren't simply "Bing results" anymore. Ecosia says it now uses Bing, Google, and EUSP, depending on location, device, permissions, and other factors.

If you tell me what you like most about Ecosia (privacy, trees/environment, search quality, avoiding Google, or avoiding ads), I can narrow this down to the 2–3 best choices for you.

If you love Ecosia's mission-driven approach or its utility as a cleaner search alternative, but want to explore other options depending on whether you prioritize other environmental causes, strict privacy , or independent search indexes , here are the best alternatives:

• OceanHero — Best for ocean conservation. Instead of planting trees, OceanHero uses ad revenue to fund the removal of plastic waste from oceans and protect marine life. It operates like a traditional search engine and is available as a browser extension.
• Ekoru — Best for marine restoration and low-emission searches. Ekoru donates a major share of its revenue to ocean cleanup partners and plants seagrass (which absorbs carbon rapidly). Their servers run on hydro-electricity and use natural cooling data centers to keep energy consumption low.
• DuckDuckGo — Best for everyday privacy. If you want to move away from Bing-backed results (which Ecosia utilizes) while keeping a clean interface and zero user tracking, DuckDuckGo is the standard go-to private search engine.
• Brave Search — Best for complete index independence. Built by the privacy-focused team behind the Brave browser, Brave Search uses its own independent index rather than relying on Big Tech scrapers (like Google or Microsoft), offering robust privacy without corporate tracking.
• Mojeek — Best for unbiased, eco-friendly infrastructure. Mojeek runs its own independent search crawler and index, and it is unique for being hosted in a green data center powered with a strong emphasis on low environmental impact and non-profiled results.
• Search for Trees — Best alternative tree-planter. Unlike Ecosia (which leans on Bing), Search for Trees utilizes Google results and dedicates a larger percentage of its ad revenue directly to global reforestation efforts through partners like Trees for the Future.

If you want to narrow down your choice, let me know:

• Are you looking to support another specific cause (like clean oceans vs. reforestation)?
• Is absolute data privacy your primary concern?

I can help you pick the right fit or show you how to set it up in your browser.

If you like Ecosia because it’s an alternative to Google with a privacy/ethical angle, there are several good options. The best one depends on why you use Ecosia.

My picks

1. Brave Search — best free replacement

Probably the one I'd try first. Unlike Ecosia, DuckDuckGo, and Startpage, Brave has its own independent web index, rather than primarily depending on another company's index. Brave also says it doesn't track users, searches, or clicks.

2. Startpage — if you like Google's results

If your biggest complaint with alternative search engines is that their results aren't as good as Google, Startpage is interesting: it provides Google/Bing-powered results while keeping your searches and personal profile separate from Google.

3. Kagi — if you're willing to pay

This is the one I'd recommend to a heavy searcher. It's subscription-funded, so there are no search ads, and it offers an unusually high degree of control over results, including the ability to block or down-rank sites. It also has its own index.

4. Mojeek — if independence matters most

Mojeek maintains its own search index and is particularly interesting if you want to get away from the Google/Bing search ecosystem entirely. It's less polished and comprehensive than the biggest engines, though.

5. DuckDuckGo — easiest mainstream switch

It's a solid, familiar choice and doesn't require an account. The tradeoff is that its traditional web results largely come from Bing's index, so you're not getting the same degree of search-engine independence as Brave or Mojeek.

One important distinction

If what you really like about Ecosia is the environmental mission, most of these aren't direct replacements. Ecosia's advertising revenue is specifically directed toward environmental projects, whereas the alternatives above prioritize privacy, independence, or search quality instead. Ecosia is also working with Qwant on a European search index called European Search Perspective, currently available through Ecosia in France.

My quick ranking:
🥇 Brave Search — best free all-rounder
🥈 Kagi — best if you don't mind paying
🥉 Startpage — best if you want Google-quality results privately
🌱 Ecosia — still best if the environmental mission is the priority
🔎 Mojeek — most interesting independent alternative

If you tell me what you like about Ecosia—tree planting, privacy, search quality, avoiding Google, or avoiding Microsoft/Bing—I can narrow it down to the best 2–3 choices.

The best alternative to Ecosia depends on whether you are looking for another way to help the environment , want stricter privacy , or prefer independent search results.

• Search For Trees is ideal if you love Ecosia's tree-planting mission but prefer Google-powered search results over Bing. It directs a large portion of its revenue directly to reforestation projects.
• OceanHero is a great choice if you want to support ecological causes, focusing its revenue on recovering ocean-bound plastic bottles rather than planting trees.
• Brave Search is a powerful, independent search engine with its own fully independent web index that does not rely on data rented from Google or Microsoft. It offers great privacy controls and optional AI-assisted summaries.
• DuckDuckGo is the leading choice for zero-tracking search. It doesn't build a personal profile on you, and it offsets its own carbon footprint while providing clean, private search.
• Mojeek stands out as an ethical, UK-based search engine that uses its own independent web crawler and index while hosting its servers in data centers powered entirely by renewable energy.
• Startpage delivers anonymous, un-personalized Google search results by acting as a privacy-protecting proxy between you and Google's engine.

If you want to narrow down your choice, let me know if your primary goal is maximizing environmental impact or avoiding Big Tech tracking and ads.

If you like Ecosia because it’s a more ethical/privacy-conscious alternative to Google, there are several good choices—depending on what you value most:

My picks

🥇 Brave Search — probably the closest overall replacement I'd recommend. It has its own independent index rather than simply repackaging Google or Bing results, and Brave says it doesn't collect personal information about your searches.

🥈 Kagi — if you're willing to pay, this is arguably the nicest experience. It's completely ad-free and tracker-free, and its business model is subscriptions rather than advertising.

🥉 Startpage — excellent if what you really want is Google-quality results without directly giving Google your searches. It's a particularly good choice if Brave's results aren't quite what you're looking for.

🌱 Mojeek — worth considering if Ecosia's environmental mission isn't the main attraction and you instead want an independent search ecosystem. It builds its own index rather than depending on Google or Bing.

One important distinction: none of these is really a one-for-one replacement for Ecosia's environmental mission. Ecosia's appeal is partly that its search-ad revenue is used to fund environmental projects. If that's the part you care about most, I'd choose a search engine based on privacy/quality and separately support an environmental organization.

If I were choosing today:

• Free: Brave Search
• Best privacy + quality: Kagi
• Closest to Google: Startpage
• Most independent: Mojeek
• Most similar philosophy to Ecosia: Ecosia itself remains hard to beat

If you tell me what you like most about Ecosia (trees/environment, privacy, search quality, no Google, etc.), I can rank the alternatives specifically for you.

If you are looking for alternatives to Ecosia , the best choice depends on whether you want to support a different eco-friendly cause , prioritize absolute privacy , or use an independent search index.

Eco-Friendly & Charity-Based Alternatives

• Ekoru: Focuses on ocean conservation instead of forests. It uses hydro-electricity for its servers and donates ad revenue to clean up ocean plastics and plant seagrass (which absorbs carbon dioxide rapidly). You can check it out on Ekoru.
• OceanHero: Another ocean-cleanup alternative that converts your web searches and ad clicks into clearing plastic waste from the world's oceans. Learn more at OceanHero.
• giveWater: A charity search engine that uses its ad revenue to fund safe drinking water and sanitation projects in developing regions. Explore their mission on giveWater.

Privacy-First Alternatives (No Tracking)

• Brave Search: Unlike Ecosia (which relies on Bing for its search index), Brave Search uses its own completely independent web index. It offers robust privacy protection without tracking your search history and features customizable ranking tools called Goggles.
• DuckDuckGo: The most well-known privacy search engine. It does not build user advertising profiles, blocks hidden trackers, and offers a clean interface. You can search directly on DuckDuckGo.
• Startpage: Delivers the exact look and quality of Google search results while acting as an anonymous proxy, ensuring your personal data and IP address are never logged. Check it out via Startpage.

If you want to narrow this down, let me know:

• Do you prefer a search engine that supports another specific cause (like clean water or oceans)?
• Or is your primary goal moving to something completely private and independent of major tech companies?

If you like Ecosia because it is a more ethical alternative to mainstream search, the best replacement depends on what you value most: privacy, independence, sustainability, or search quality.

My quick picks:

• 🌱 Closest to Ecosia’s values: Qwant or Mojeek (privacy/independence focus), though neither has Ecosia’s tree-planting mission.
• 🔒 Best free privacy replacement: Brave Search or DuckDuckGo.
• 🔎 Best overall search experience: Kagi if you are comfortable paying.
• 🌳 If you mainly want environmental impact: Ecosia is still fairly unique because its core identity is funding environmental projects rather than just being a private search engine.

A lot of people end up using a combination: one default privacy-focused engine (like Brave or DuckDuckGo) plus Kagi/Startpage for harder searches.