Kagi Search Engine: Cost, Features, and Business Model

Kagi Search Engine was a paid search engine that operated from 1998 to 2001. It was known for its unique pay-per-search model, where users were charged a fee based on the number of searches they performed.

The cost of using Kagi Search Engine varied, with a base rate of $9.95 per month for 20 searches. Additional searches were charged at a rate of $0.49 per search.

Kagi Search Engine's business model focused on providing a more personalized search experience, with results tailored to individual users' interests.

Kagi offers a free tier for up to 100 searches, but you'll need to pay $5/month for up to 300 searches or $10/month for unlimited searches.

To use Kagi, you'll need to create an account, which might be a concern for those who value complete anonymity. However, the company claims it only needs the account to track searches and handle billing.

You can pay monthly or annually with a 10% discount, and they offer a fair pricing model where you won't be charged if you don't use the service for a given month.

Here are the different pricing tiers:

The free trial is generous, allowing you to use up to 100 searches before deciding whether to pay.

Kagi's business model is unique in that it doesn't rely on ads or sponsored search results, instead opting for an account-based, subscription service.

The service starts with 100 free searches, after which users must subscribe to one of the monthly plans. These plans include a $5 tier that allows for 300 searches a month, a $10 tier that offers unlimited monthly searches, and a $25 tier that provides unlimited searches and early access to new features.

Here are the details of Kagi's subscription plans:

As of June 9, 2025, Kagi had around 50,000 subscribed members, with 845,200 searches made that day.

To try Kagi, you can install the Orion browser, which sets Kagi as the default search engine.

Installing the Orion browser is a straightforward process, but it's worth noting that it's a bit tricky to use Kagi as your default search engine on mobile devices.

To get around this limitation, you can add the browser extension that lets you use Kagi as your primary search engine.

Setting a Kagi search page as your default home page is a good workaround, and it may encourage you to use Kagi more.

Additional reading: Personal Web Page

Kagi's Assistant is currently in closed beta, a research tool backed by Kagi Search and large language models.

This tool is an alternative to ChatGPT's real-time access to internet search results, which is only available to $20/mo ChatGPT Plus subscribers.

TypingMind, connected to my OpenAI API key, is perfectly sufficient for 99% of my AI queries, making this feature less useful to me.

However, it's a cool bonus feature for premium Kagi users who want access to multiple different LLMs for more robust answers without paying OpenAI $20/mo.

Setting Kagi as your default search engine for Safari on iOS involves a mobile browser plugin, which I was able to get working immediately.

But, as David Pierce at The Verge mentioned, he's had trouble doing the same, so your mileage may vary.

Kagi's business model is unique in that it doesn't rely on ads or sponsored search results, opting for a subscription-based service instead.

The service offers users 100 free searches before they're required to subscribe to one of the monthly plan tiers.

Here are the subscription plan tiers offered by Kagi:

As of June 9, 2025, Kagi had around 50,000 subscribed members, indicating a strong adoption rate for their service.

Kagi was a search engine that used a unique algorithm to rank search results. It was developed by Andrew Weinreich in 1996.

The algorithm used by Kagi was based on the concept of "relevance" rather than "popularity". This meant that Kagi would rank search results based on how relevant they were to the user's query, rather than how many other users had clicked on them.

Kagi's algorithm was designed to be more nuanced and context-dependent than other search engines of the time. It took into account factors such as the user's location and the type of device they were using.

The search engine was initially launched as a web directory, but it later evolved into a full-fledged search engine. Kagi's directory was organized into a hierarchical structure, with categories and subcategories to help users find what they were looking for.

Kagi's algorithm was able to provide more accurate results than some other search engines of the time, thanks to its focus on relevance and context. However, it was ultimately unable to compete with the likes of Google, which would go on to dominate the search engine market.

Intriguing read: Website Search Engine Results