MevaSearch vs Kagi: comparing two ad-free paid search engines
MevaSearch and Kagi are built on the same idea. You pay a subscription for your search engine, so you never pay with your data or by watching ads. In the details, though, they differ more than you might expect.
The same idea, two different companies
Kagi is an American search engine that has shown for several years that people are willing to pay for results without ads. According to Kagi, subscriptions from its members pay for the search results, which keeps the service ad-free.
MevaSearch is a Polish search engine created by Igor Oprządek and the WebOrbiton team. It follows the same model: there are no ads, we do not build user profiles, and we do not keep a search history linked to your account. Both search engines earn money the same way, from happy users rather than from advertisers.
Where the results come from
In its documentation, Kagi explains that its results come from its own web index, internally called Teclis, its own news index TinyGem, anonymized API calls to major search result providers worldwide, and specialised sources such as Marginalia, Wikipedia and Wolfram Alpha.
MevaSearch combines results from the Brave Search API, its own Polish index WebAtlas and Wikipedia. When you want to see more, it adds results from the independent Mojeek index. For technical, scientific or book related queries, specialist sources appear as well, including Stack Overflow, MDN, OpenAlex, Europe PMC, Zenodo, Open Library, Codeberg and the CIRCL vulnerability database for CVE numbers.
MevaSearch does not use the Google search API or any Google AI. Its own WebAtlas index is built from scratch by three crawlers, WebAtlasBot, WebAtlasDiscoverBot and WebAtlasRssSitemapBot, and every domain in it passes a security check by the NetKrypton system.
Artificial intelligence
At Kagi, AI features are handled by Kagi Assistant. The cheaper plans include its quick mode, while the top Ultimate plan adds the research mode and the most capable models.
At MevaSearch, every AI feature runs on Claude by Anthropic. That covers short summaries above the results, MevaSearch AI chat, which remembers the conversation and cites a source for each piece of information, related searches and photo search. Requests reach Anthropic from our servers without any account details, and under Anthropic’s commercial terms, data sent through its API is not used to train its models. AI answers are included in every plan, from 200 a month on Lite to 3,000 on Pro.
Privacy and where your data is processed
Both search engines say they do not track their users or sell their data. The difference lies in where and how they operate.
MevaSearch keeps account data and service files on servers in the European Union, mainly in Lithuania, with backups in France. Queries to external providers such as Brave or Mojeek are sent from our servers without your IP address or account details. Visit statistics are collected with our own tool, PriviMetrics, without tracking cookies. For many people in Europe it also matters that MevaSearch is a Polish company operating under European data protection law.
Kagi is a company based in the United States. If keeping your data in the European Union is your main concern, that is worth keeping in mind.
Prices and limits
According to Kagi’s pricing page in October 2026, the Starter plan costs 5 dollars a month and includes 300 searches, the Professional plan costs 10 dollars with unlimited searches, and the Ultimate plan costs 25 dollars and adds the most advanced AI assistant features. New users get 100 free searches to start.
MevaSearch Lite costs 4.99 dollars a month and includes 500 searches and 200 AI answers. Plus costs 14.99 dollars for 1,500 searches, 1,000 AI answers and two extra profiles. Pro costs 24.99 dollars and gives you unlimited searches, 3,000 AI answers and four profiles. The Lite plan comes with a 3-day free trial, and MevaSearch prices include VAT, so the amount at checkout matches the price list.
To be fair, if you are looking for the cheapest plan with unlimited searches, Kagi Professional costs less than MevaSearch Pro. On the other hand, MevaSearch Lite gives you more searches than Kagi Starter for almost the same price.
Families and businesses
With MevaSearch Plus and Pro you can create extra profiles, each with its own login, so family members never need your password while sharing your plan. For younger users there is Kids Mode, which locks SafeSearch at the strictest level and blocks access to payment settings.
For businesses, MevaSearch offers a separate plan at 89.99 dollars a month. It includes a shared pool of 9,000 searches, 10,000 AI answers, 10 team profiles and VAT invoices issued by the payment provider.
Where Kagi is stronger
Kagi has been around longer and is a more mature product with a large community. It offers a cheaper unlimited plan and extensive options for tailoring results to your own preferences. If the price of unlimited searching matters most to you, Kagi is a sensible choice.
What makes MevaSearch stand out
MevaSearch focuses on a European approach to privacy, a rich interface and extras that make everyday searching easier. You get NetKrypton warnings about scam websites, the option to pin or hide domains, !bang shortcuts, dead link markers and removal of tracking parameters from links. There are also separate tabs for images, videos, news, music and podcasts, and the interface is available in 16 languages.
Which one should you choose
If you want an ad-free paid search engine based in Europe, with AI from Anthropic, family profiles and a plan for businesses, MevaSearch is a natural fit. If the cheapest unlimited searching matters most and a company outside the European Union is fine for you, take a look at Kagi.
Both search engines prove that you can search the web without becoming the product. The best way to decide is to try them yourself during their trial periods.