Top 23 Internet Search Engines List in the World (2024 Update)

Internet search engines are now part of our daily lives, whether it's researching Christmas gifts or where the nearest coffee shop is open before 7am or looking for the best restaurant in town. People are now relying more and more on search engines to get the answer to their daily queries. Since most users expect better speed and security, we are sharing the list of top internet search engines in the world.

What is an Internet search engine?

An Internet browser is an Internet portal where you can explore content on the World Wide Web. These pieces of content, including images, videos, and web pages, are connected by hyperlinks and categorized with URIs (Uniform Resource Identifiers).

Today, there are many different internet search engines available on the Internet, each with their own capabilities and features. The first internet search engine developed is considered to be Archie, which was used to search for FTP files, and the first text-based search engine is considered to be Veronica.

Currently, the most popular and well-known search engine on internet is Google. Other popular search engines include AOL, Ask.com, Baidu, Bing, DuckDuckGo, and Yahoo.

Users do not pay fees to access Internet browsers. The costs of the companies that provide the service are supported by advertising. This includes placement in the sidebar or placement at the top of the list of links to companies whose sites are relevant to a given Internet search.

For example, a sports equipment manufacturer might pay to have its website appear first when a user searches for the term "sneakers."

Because internet search engines are so important to accessing Web content, some governments censor them.

For example, German and French law prohibit anti-Semitic, Nazi, and white supremacist speech, and in compliance, Google does not show results from several of those websites to users in these countries.

In the United States, the First Amendment to the Constitution protects all political speech, including offensive speech like that found on these websites, so Google results are not censored for US users. In contrast, the Chinese government is one of the world's harshest Internet censors, with Google's China branch censoring thousands of search terms in accordance with the Chinese government's censorship policies.

How do internet search engines work?

There are three basic stages to the operation of Internet search engines.

First of all, the service provider should systematically visit as many web pages on the Internet as possible, preferably all of them. Since millions of new web pages appear daily, this effort to traverse the entire web, called " web crawling, " is an ongoing process.

The crawling is not done by humans, but by a software device known as a bot , spider , or web crawler that follows every link that appears on every web page. In reality, no internet search engine visits more than a fifth of all pages of the Web publicly available. Many pages are available only when a query has been sent to a database: no direct link to such a page appears on any web page, making it difficult for a crawler to discover it.

Second, the search engine provider must index the visited pages . All text that appears on the web page being crawled is downloaded to the service provider's computers. It takes on the order of hundreds of terabytes (trillions of bytes) to store the text available on the Internet, but storage is so cheap today that it's not an overwhelming cost factor, even with backup. The text is analyzed to determine if it belongs to a file name, web link, human readable text, or another category.

Third, the index must be searched when a user submits search terms . This is where the methods used by search engine providers become especially complex.

There may be millions or billions of results for some words, but most users don't have time to scan more than a few dozen results. Therefore, rules should be designed to display links that are likely to be of interest to a user at the top of the results list. Algorithms are continually being developed to rank results according to relevance.

When the results have been displayed, the user chooses a link by clicking on it, and their web browser takes them to the page, if it is still available. Web links become unavailable or continually relocate, a phenomenon called "link breakage."

Top 23 best Internet search engines

Google is a giant. With its powerful algorithms, dominant advertising platform, and personalized UX (user experience), Google is a force to be reckoned with and one of the most popular internet search engines in the world.

However, if you're not willing to trade privacy for convenience, there are dozens of Google alternatives, many of which offer a better search experience.

Here we leave you the best Internet search engines so that you can choose the one that best suits your needs.

Google

It is considered the best Internet search engine and the most used . There is little to say about Google, except that it is used by billions of people around the world and that it is the most powerful search engine that exists. Its results are displayed based on the combination of hundreds of algorithms based on artificial intelligence that work to show the most outstanding websites for each query.

Yahoo

Yahoo is one of the Internet search engines that was one of Google's great rivals years ago. Nowadays, Google has monopolized almost the entire market, but even so, Yahoo Search has been able to reinvent itself to offer itself as an interesting alternative.

Bing

Microsoft hoped to change the dynamics of the search engine market with the launch of Bing, a "decision engine" designed to display more retrieved information on search pages than usual, allowing better-informed decisions about which links to follow. or even, in some cases, returns enough information to satisfy the original query.

Bing also showed related searches and the user's previous searches on the left side of the page.

In February 2010, Facebook, which had more than 400 million users and was the second most visited website after Google, reached an agreement with Microsoft to present Bing results to users searching the World Wide Web from Facebook.

Although Bing's market share was initially somewhat slow compared to that of Google or Yahoo, the search engine eventually became the second largest in the United States. However, Google remained the dominant search engine, with Bing attracting only a small percentage of the market.

Baidu

Baidu is a Beijing-based Chinese internet search engine founded in late 1999. Its design is similar to that of Google and includes the ability to search for news, images, and songs, among other features.

The most popular feature of Baidu, which is not offered by other search engines like Google, is that it allows you to search for audio files (MP3, WMA/SWF…). This Internet search engine is mainly used for searching for Chinese pop music , and the search results are surprisingly accurate. Baidu is able to perform these searches because the laws of the People's Republic of China do not prohibit putting music on the Internet, and Baidu is under Chinese jurisdiction.

Ask

Ask.com, originally known as Ask Jeeves , is one of the most popular Internet search engines . It is part of the InterActive Corporation company, founded in 1996.

Ask.com has a wide variety of home interfaces for various countries such as the UK, Italy, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands and Spain, as well as an Ask for Kids version.

Ask was the first commercial question-answer search engine developed for the Internet. It allows a wide variety of queries made in English, as well as traditional keyword searches, and aims to make searches more intuitive than with other search engines. Ask Jeeves sold the same technology used on the Ask.com site to various companies such as Dell, Toshiba and E*Trade.

Dogpile

Dogpile isn't a household name when it comes to search engines, but the little search pioneer has survived through the years even as Google came to dominate the internet search market.

The Dogpile search engine pulls results from numerous search engines and directories. turning it into a metasearch engine. The results are then combined and offered to the user. The metasearch technology used by Dogpile is capable of searching 50 percent more of the web than any other search engine, according to experts.

Instead of trying to take on Google, Dogpile tries to provide a better search experience by pulling results from numerous search engines, including Google, Yahoo, and Yandex, and then providing the best results for your particular query.

Dogpile search engine can also get impressive results from image search and audio and video search. It also offers search query suggestions that can improve the search result.

Ecosia

Ecosia is better known as a search engine. There are also Ecosia apps for iOS and Android , which could be thought of as browsers but are actually more like search apps . Anything you type into the search bar will be shared with Ecosia and possibly Bing (Microsoft), its search partner.

Ecosia.com seems to be as safe to use as other internet search engines, particularly Bing or Google. Your search data comes from Bing, though the pages display differently, particularly when you search for a known person or group (useful summary information appears on the right side of the page in Bing, similar to Google).

People use Ecosia because they spend most of their income on tree planting (approximately 1 tree for every 45 searches).

DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo is a private internet browser for iOS and Android smart devices. By default, this app blocks all forms of online tracking and does not upload your search history to anyone's servers. If you are still concerned about your privacy, you can delete all your tabs and data by tapping on the flame icon in the main menu.

One particular feature that privacy buffs will appreciate is the security rating that appears next to the current website address at the top of the screen. Sites are ranked from D to A in their encryption levels and the number of trackers detected. Tapping on this grade will open a full-screen report card that presents an impressive amount of information about how they achieved the grade.

The iOS and Android apps have light and dark themes and a lock setting that requires Touch ID, Face ID, or a password to use the app. One of the best internet search engines for those who want the greatest privacy.

Archive.org

Archive.org (Wayback Machine – Internet Archive) was created by Brewster Cale in 1996 around the same time he founded Alexa Internet, a company that collects statistics on website traffic. In October of that year, the company began archiving and storing copies of web pages.

It is different from the rest of Internet search engines since it works as a repository that collects documents, images or videos that are free of rights or that have been published at some point, both online and offline

This search engine has the option of comparing two versions of a URL, with which we can guess what has changed and we won't waste time looking for news. The option is activated from the 'Changes' section, which will also show the depth of the changes that have reached a given domain by days and years.

Wayback Machine receives the ability to show all the captures of a web that have been made throughout a day.

Vivaldi

Vivaldi is a free web browser that was created in 2016 by some of the minds behind the Opera browser. The program is built on the same Chromium-based technology that powers Google Chrome, allowing you to install almost any extension from the Chrome web store.

Vivaldi's main draw is its comprehensive options that allow you to customize its appearance and functionality to a degree not seen in rival browsers. First, you can change the colors of the browser's user interface at any time you want.

You can also move the toolbar to the top, bottom, or side, and pin web pages to the side for simultaneous browsing. The latter feature is particularly useful if you like to watch YouTube videos or check out a social networking site while browsing the web.

Vivaldi is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux computers.

AOL Search

AOL Search provides users with access to the web, images, multimedia, shopping, news, and local search results. It is one of the most used search engines in the US, although it is hardly used in Europe.

By default, a search on AOL Search retrieves matches from all over the web. Most of these web listings come from Google, but listings from other data sources may also appear.

The search results page will often have a “ Sponsored Links ” area near the top. Up to four links can appear in this area, then another four are displayed in the “More Sponsored Links” section at the bottom of the page.

Seznam

If you're not from the Czech Republic, you probably haven't heard of the Seznam search engine. But for many Czechs, “Seznam.cz is synonymous with the Internet”.

Seznam is an Internet search engine whose algorithms are based on the Czech language. It was launched in 1996 in Prague. Early versions of Seznam.cz displayed a list of popular Czech sites (seznam means “list” in Czech), as well as a summary of Czech news.

As Google absorbed most of the global search market, Seznam's unique Czech identity made him the rare local player to hold his own in search. Seznam has also expanded into other free services such as maps, email, and price comparison.

Exalead

Exalead is a desktop search engine that adapts to you. Light to download and easy to install. Its unified user interface allows you to simultaneously search your PC, including network drives, as well as the exalead.com web search engine. With its patented navigation system, Exalead one offers you the fastest way to find relevant information.

Daum

It's a simple and fun way to enjoy your mobile life.

Principal functions:

• Browse faster and easily access mobile search (voice, object, barcode and QR, music)
• Check out the new voice/music search UI.
• Easily access Chinese and Japanese character dictionary with OCR.
• Check out the new sidebar menu.
• Easily access My Service, Favorites, App Center and Settings. Click “Like” (red heart button) on the site, then you can check all the “Like” contents.
• Meet the excellent content service "Storyball"
• Enjoy essays, photos and drawings, etc.
• See breaking news and issue keywords in real time.
• View various contents of comics, entertainment and shopping, etc.

Factbites

Factbites was created by Rapid Intelligence , a content technology company based in Sydney, Australia. Its focus, unlike other internet search engines, is on computational linguistics , data mining, data warehousing, and artificial intelligence.

These competencies are demonstrated on Factbites, a search engine more interested in content analysis than link popularity.

Other tools they offer include AskTheBrain and NationMaster, a free educational resource and the world's largest statistical database for comparing counties. The search results are presented with textual phrases in relation to the subject in question that you are looking for and not like any other search engine.

Kiddle

Kiddle is an Internet search engine aimed at the smallest of the house, since it filters pages with explicit or misleading content , for which it is considered a safe search engine for minors.

Its results are oriented to children, with safe and reliable sites. Most of Kiddle's search results are illustrated with large thumbnails, which makes it easy to scan the results, distinguish between them, and click on the results that best fit your query.

Thumbnails are suitable for children, who do not read as fast as adults. No personal information is collected, and logs are deleted every 24 hours. One of the most recommended Internet search engines for parents who want to protect their children from certain Internet content.

Lycos

One of the oldest Internet search engines that emerged at the dawn of the network of networks, but has continued to resist since 1995. Lycos is still used by thousands of people every day, although it has not evolved much.

When several queries are made in a row it is difficult to get results in Spanish, but we added it to the list as one of the most important search engines a few years ago. It is available in several languages and has free email accounts.

Metacrawler

When a query is made in the Metacrawler Internet search engine, it is possible to choose between carrying out a search on the web, in images, videos or in the present. Results are pulled from Google and Yahoo for web search, Yahoo for image searches, Yahoo and Truveo for video searches, and Yahoo for news searches.

The most popular searches, and the latest videos, images and news appear on the home page. You can get in each search quite a few suggestions of queries that are related.

Qwant

Qwant is a French search engine that was created recently. It uses the main Internet search engines to collect data, although it displays them differently from all the others. Divide web results on one side, news on the other, social media reactions on the other, and products for sale on a different side.

In addition, it gives the option to see the results with a list style similar to Google. As a novelty, we highlight that it presents different categories of responses on a single screen. One of the new internet search engines that are going strong.

Startpage

It is an Internet search engine, which combines Google search results with absolute privacy protection. Other search engines collect information about searches and the users who perform them, but Startpage protects your personal information.

It appeared in 2006 in order to provide secure information searches. The browser collects the search results, deletes the tracking cookies and presents the results anonymously to the user.

Every search on Startpage provides a proxy feature, which allows you to anonymously access websites by clicking on the word proxy next to the search result.

Peekier

One of the most original internet search engines, which proposes a new way of searching the web. You just have to take a look at the search results quickly and safely in this search engine that respects your privacy. Peekier offers a website preview of the search results.

Clicking on a result will maximize the preview and allow you to scroll through the website. You can then decide whether or not the information displayed on the website is of interest to you before clicking on the link. The results, instead of being shown as the typical result of any other search engine in list format, are shown as if they were news.

Yandex

It is the main internet search engine in Russia . Yandex browser offers more features than Chrome, in fact, some features are the best and user cannot use them in other browsers. Although it is also based on Chrome, it has very different interfaces and settings.

The features are:

• Built-in Plugin: Yandex has some built-in features like Antishock, Flash Content Blocking and Adguard. Also, Yandex has the Turbo function to boost the loading of the web page.
• It has protected mode to make a digital transaction, prevents malware and uses HTTPS (the secure version of the website).
• Configuration of the DNS server for a safe search. It means that you avoid adult content and sites.

Yippy

It is a metasearch engine that hit the market back in 2004 under the name of Clusty. The search engine is currently owned by Yippy, Inc, which indicated that it would apply the IBM Watson system to manage searches (interestingly, IBM was one of the owners of the search engine for a short time).

This program uses a combination of algorithms to achieve more accurate results.

You just have to do your search and it will show you data related to what you are looking for from different sources.

The above content published at Collaborative Research Group is for informational purposes only and has been developed by referring to reliable sources and recommendations from experts. We do not have any contact with official entities nor do we intend to replace the information that they emit.