Top 20 Most Popular Search Engines in 2023

In this article, we create a comprehensive list of the top Search Engines in the world with usage statistics. Search Engines like Google, Bing, Baidu, and various others occupy the most coveted places in the modern and digitalized global scenario. These powerful tools are a necessity in both personal and professional lives as they can easily organize the available information and find the required content within a short period. In the US tablets and smartphones alone generate 53% of the total organic search engine visits.

Online desktop search usage plays a vital role in steering the user flows to various websites and generate global web traffic. They are also able to display suitable ads to targets in real-time. It is a fact that online users take the help of search engines before purchasing any item. This is why almost all companies are using SEO tactics to achieve optimal exposure and resulting sales

The top search engines in the world in 2023 are as follows

1. Google Search Engine

• Search Engine Market Share: 87.6% of desktop searches
• Origin Country: United States of America
• Owner: Alphabet Inc.
• Launched: 1997
• Headquarters: Mountain View, California, USA
• Revenue: $257 billion USD
• Commercial: Yes
• Registration: Optional
• Availability: 150 languages
• Search queries per day: 9 billion (2023)
• Query Volume: 77%

Google Search is a search engine provided and operated by Google. It is the most-visited website in the world and has a 90.82% share of the global search engine market. Over in the US, Google handles 91.20% of all search queries, while Microsoft’s Bing is responsible for 5%. In February 2023, Google introduced its AI-powered search assistant called Bard.

Google’s search engine uses a special algorithm to determine its search results, and while Google shares some facts about its algorithm, the specifics are a company secret. Google uses automated programs called spiders or crawlers, like most search engines, to help generate its search results. Google has a large index of keywords that help determine search results, and what sets Google apart is how it ranks its results, which determines the order Google displays results on its search engine results pages.

Google is the most visited site in the global market and occupies the topmost position in the list of the top search engines in the world. This is because most people use the Google online search engine to stay connected and informed about the world happenings.

2. Bing

• Search Engine Market Share: 5.8% of desktop searches
• Origin Country: United States of America
• Owner, Created and Operated By: Microsoft
• Launched: 3rd June 2009
• Headquarters: Redmond, Washington, USA
• Revenue: $10.5 billion USD
• Commercial: Yes
• Registration: Optional
• Availability: 40 languages
• Status: Active
• Written In: ASP.NET
• Query Volume: 4.8%
• Search queries per day: 900 billion (2023)
• PC Searches per Month: 15.2 billion
• Monthly Active Users: 475 million
• Single-word Search Queries: 26.27% market share
• Monthly Search Volume: 12.3 billion search request globally
• Organic search engine visits: 23% mobile share
• Unique monthly visitors: 1,055 billion (March 2023)

After Google, Bing is the largest search engine in the world and has consistently ruled the market for a long time. It is Microsoft’s rebranded version and has origins in its previous engines MSN Search, Live Search and Windows Live Search. Bing has put its onus on four areas that include health, local, travel and shopping.It provides a variety of search services, including web, video, image, and map search.

Bing also offers a rewards program that allows users to earn points for using the search engine, which can be redeemed for gift cards and other rewards.. Additionally, Bing has a mobile app available on Google Play that allows users to chat with an AI powered by GPT-4.

Bing is the second-largest search engine in the world. It has a 2.77% market share as of June 2023. In 2023, Bing became the first mainstream search engine to introduce an AI-powered search assistant in its search results.

Bing is considered an important alternative search engines in the world for Google as it has several features that help it in occupying a huge chunk of search engine market share. Bing can interpret queries and offer better search results so that the users can make the best decisions.

3. Yahoo

• Search Engine Market Share: 2.2% of desktop searches
• Origin Country: United States of America
• Owner: Verizon Media
• Launched: 2nd March 1995
• Headquarters: Sunnyvale, California, USA
• Revenue: $4.4 billion USD
• Commercial: Yes
• Registration: Optional
• Availability: 40 languages
• Written: PHP
• Query Volume: 2.3%
• Search queries per day: 56 million 
• Mobile visits in the U.S.: 1.5% market share
• Total Organic Search: 2.5%

Yahoo Search is the oldest search engine on the internet which was launched in 1994. In the beginning, it provided an interface to send queries and was powered first by Inktomi and later Google until it became independent.

In 2009, a deal was signed by Yahoo and Microsoft so that Bing would power Yahoo Search. Later a new deal was signed where Yahoo would use Bing only for a majority of searches. Since 2019 Bing once again has started fully powering Yahoo Search which is one of the alternative search engines in the world against Google dominance. Yahoo Search has an international presence and provides its search interface in at least 38 international markets and various languages.

Yahoo Search offers a mobile app called “Yahoo Search” that allows users to find information on-the-go, get fast answers, access sports scores, breaking news, and trending topics

The product portfolio of Yahoo includes announcements, features and updates, selection-based search, scan and search verticals that include Audio, News, Local, Videos, Shopping, Directory, Mobile, Jobs and Yahoo Answers

4. DuckDuckGo

• Search Engine Market Share Global: 0.9% of desktop searches
• Search Engine Market Share in the U.S.: 2.7%
• Origin Country: United States of America
• Net Worth: $1.4 billion USD
• Owner: Duck Duck Go Inc.
• Created By: Gabriel Weinberg
• Launched: 5th September 2008
• Headquarters: Paoli, Pennsylvania, USA
• Employees: 170 (June 2023)
• Commercial: Yes
• Registration: None
• Availability: Multilingual, 47 languages
• Search queries per day: 98.79 million (2023)
• Daily Average Search Queries: 103 million (May 2023)
• Worldwide Users: 35 million +
• Mobile downloads: 5,00,000 times (February 2023)

Concerns about the data collection and resulting privacy have helped DuckDuckGo to become one of the most popular alternative search engines in the world. It is an independent service and a hybrid tool that has received 13 million U.S. dollars in funding.

DuckDuckGo offers a private search engine, a browser and browser extension, email protection, and app tracking protection for Android . The search engine is written in Perl and runs on nginx, FreeBSD, and Linux. DuckDuckGo is built primarily upon search APIs from various vendors, making it a “hybrid” search engine. The company gains revenue via advertisements and affiliate programs.

It doesn’t track, collect, or store any of your data. It still uses non-personalized ads, though.The search results come from a variety of sources, including its own crawler and other search engines (but not Google). DuckDuckGo offers features such as advanced commands, which allow you to speed up your search.  DuckDuckGo has a relatively small market share compared to search engine giants like Google. However, it has been steadily growing in popularity over the years.

The platform does not profile results nor does it track the users. The service supports ads but also gives the users an option to disable them. The main users of the most popular search engine DuckDuckGo are in the U.S. where the queries have increased three times.

5. Sogou

• Search Engine Market Share: 1.3% of desktop searches
• Mobile Search Engine Market Share in China: 17.3%
• Origin Country: China
• Owner: Tencent, Sohu and CEO Sogou
• Created By: Wang Xiaochuan
• Launched: 9th August 2010
• Available in: Chinese
• Users: 600 million
• Headquarters: Beijing, China
• Employees: 2,800 (2023)
• Annual Revenue: $1.1 billion USD
• Net Income: $120 million USD

Sogou is a Chinese technology company that offers a search engine. It was launched on August 3, 2004, and operated as a separate division within Sohu. Sogou is currently the third-largest search engine in China.

Sogou, a subsidiary of its parent company Sogou Inc. and a publicly-traded company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. It is an alternative search engine for Google, Bing and Yahoo and has been able to carve out a niche place for itself.

Sogou is a technology company that offers the use of one of the best search engines to its users. Its product portfolio includes search engine and web application products to classify map, news, music, picture, video clip etc. It has quickly developed the necessary tools and partnerships to win the interests of locals and international users, making it a good tool to add to a China SEO strategy. Sogou has the unique opportunity to tailor results to specific users within a geographical area and time frame of their choice by having access to a wealth of data.

6. Baidu Inc.

• Search Engine Market Share: 0.8% of desktop searches
• Origin Country: China
• Founder: Robin Li and Eric Xu
• Launched: 1st January 2000
• Headquarters: Beijing, China
• Market Cap: $110 billion USD
• Search queries per day: 1.54 billion
• Query Volume: 15.2%
• Global Market in China: 78.1%

If you are looking for a domestic Google Bing competitor then Baidu occupies a prominent position as an alternative search engine in the world. The Chinese search engine encourages queries and keeps track of the content for neutrality and correctness. Baidu is China’s largest search engine, with 61.47% market share in the country as of June 2023. Baidu was incorporated in January 2000 by Robin Li and Eric Xu.

Since October 2018 Baidu Search is the second-largest worldwide based on query volume and the fourth-largest website based on the Alexa Internet Rankings. Baidu offers about 57 search and community services, such as Baidu Baike (an online encyclopedia), Baidu Wangpan (a cloud storage service), and Baidu Tieba (a keyword-based discussion forum).

7. YANDEX Search

1. Search Engine Market Share: 0.7% of desktop searches
2. Origin Country: Russia
3. Owner: Yandex
4. Created By: Arkady Volozh, Ilya Segalovich and Arkady Borkovsky
5. Launched: January 2015
6. Headquarters: Russia
7. Popular: Russia, Germany, Belarus, China and Ukraine
8. Commercial: Yes
9. Registration: Optional
10. Current Status: Active
11. Availability: English and Cyrillic languages
12. Total Search Traffic in Russia: 67%
13. Local Search Results in Russia: 1,500 cities
14. Monthly users:  3.8 billion visits(2022) (93% from Russia)

Yandex is the largest search engine in Russia with 58.22% local market share as of June 2023. It is also used in other countries, including Belarus, Turkey, and Kazakhstan.

In Russia ,its dominance amongst the locals is also very high because of the use of local language in the algorithm that makes it easy for the locals to understand and use one of the best search engines. Google and Yandex’s algorithms are often considered similar.

Yandex is considered a media powerhouse as its product portfolio includes e-mail service, photo storage, maps, images, video, news, shopping, blogs and a translation platform. It is one of the best alternative search engines in the world for Google due to its easy accessibility on a single page. Yandex Search engine facilitates real-time queries and is easily accessed from tablets, mobile phones and personal computers.

8. Ecosia

• Search Engine Market Share: 0.25% of desktop searches
• Search Engine Market Share in Germany: 1.19%
• Origin Country: Germany
• Founder and CEO: Christian Kroll
• Launched: 7th December 2009
• Headquarters: Berlin, Germany
• Commercial: Yes
• Availability: English and 28 languages
• Users: 20,000,000
• Global Market Penetration: 3.1% (January 2023)
• Income: 3.5 million Euros (January 2023)

 

Ecosia is a search engine based in Berlin, Germany. The search engine Ecosia plants a tree each time a user uses it. Twenty-one reforestation initiatives are underway globally. More than 125 million trees have already been planted, and that number is rapidly increasing. More than 700 native tree species have been planted, restoring more than 85,000 hectares of land.

 

Privacy concerns over the use of the Google search engine have helped Ecosia to gain a good chunk of global search engine market share. Ecosia only keeps specific user data for a maximum of one week before completely anonymizing it. Ecosia places a higher value on user privacy than other search engines, as shown by the company’s “Privacy” page. Every search is also encrypted to give you even more security as you browse. Unlike other search engines, Ecosia does not sell your information to marketing companies.

Ecosia is available in English and 27 other languages. It is a commercial search engine, and like other search engines, it makes money through ads. However, Ecosia uses 100% of its profits for the planet, and the company is a not-for-profit tech company that dedicates all of its profits to climate action. Ecosia is a great option for those who want to make a positive impact on the environment while searching the web.

9. Naver

• Search Engine Market Share: 0.23% of desktop searches
• Search Engine Market Share in Korea: 76.4%
• Origin Country: South Korea
• Owner: Naver Corporation
• Launched: 1999
• Commercial: Yes
• Registration: Optional
• Availability: Korean languages
• Users: 50 million enrolled users
• Daily Visitors on Mobile Applications: 30 million
• Search queries: 130 million 

Naver is the biggest search engine in South Korea and one of the best Google alternative search engines in the world.

It’s the second most popular search engine in its native South Korea, with 35.35% of local market share in June 2023, according to Statcounter. It includes content from paid search, social platforms and users and groups the results together as social results, organic listings, images, blogs, products and paid listings. Additional services include Knowledge iN, a Q&A platform, news and email.

Either way, Naver is reportedly losing users to AI chatbot services, such as Google Bard, Microsoft Bing, and ChatGPT. It plans to launch an AI-powered search service called SearchGPT later this year.

Naver is often described as the Google of South Korea because of its high user base and popularity in the country. The portal was the first of its kind in South Korea to use its search engine. It was the first in the world to introduce a search feature that compiled search results from different categories and presented them on a single page.

10. Haosou

• Search Engine Market Share: 0.07% of desktop searches
• Search Engine Market Share in China: 2.52%
• Origin Country: China
• Owner: Qihoo 360
• Launched: in 2012 as so.com
• Rebranded: 2015 so.com rebranded as Haosou.com
• Headquarters: Beijing, China

Haosou, also known as 360 Search, is a Chinese search engine developed by Qihoo 360. It offers a range of search options including web search, news search, image search, Q&A, video, music, map, doctors, and wiki. Haosou’s algorithm uses a combination of factors, including user behavior, content relevance, and page authority, to rank search results. It is known for being safer than Baidu and has a reputation for emphasizing cybersecurity.

Haosou is the third-largest domestic search engine in China. It has a simplified interface and an increased focus on mobile experiences. Haosou is a significant player in B2B marketing because many Chinese companies recommend using it due to its security features.

Being a default search engine on the Qihoo web portal has helped the product to grow at a steady pace.

11. MSN

• Search Engine Market Share: 0.03% of desktop searches
• Origin Country: United States of America
• Owner: Microsoft
• Launched: 1998
• Headquarters: U.S.
• Commercial: Mixed
• Registration: Optional
• Written in: ASP.NET

MSN is a web portal that offers apps for mobile devices and Windows and associated internet services. At the onset, it was a dial-up service that later transformed into an internet service provider provided by Microsoft and launched on August 24, 1995, alongside the release of Windows 95

MSN Search was initially launched by using search results from Inktomi. Microsoft previously used the MSN brand name for its web search engine which is now rebranded as Bing.

12. Seznam

• Search Engine Market Share: 0.06% of desktop searches
• Search Engine Market Share in the Czech Republic: 23%
• Origin Country: Czech Republic
• Founder: Ivo Lukacovic
• Area Served: Czech Republic
• Launched: 1996
• Headquarters: Prague, Czech Republic
• Availability: Czech language
• Parent Company: Helifreak Limited
• Employees: 1,500+

Seznam.cz is a Czech online company that runs a web portal called Seznam.cz, which is the first choice for millions of Internet users from the Czech Republic.

Seznam. cz is one of the best search engines and web portal in its country and is considered an important alternative search engines in the world for Google. The product portfolio of the search engine includes news, community dating, music, real estate, maps, job and business directory

The company started its journey with a search engine and currently has 30 web services attached to its brand name.

13. Qwant

• Search Engine Market Share:  0.06% of desktop searches
• Origin Country: France
• Owner: Qwant SAS
• Founder: Jean-Manuel Rozan, Patrick Constant and Eric Leandri
• Launched: July 2013
• Headquarters: Paris, France
• Commercial: No
• Registration: None
• Availability: Multilingual 26 languages
• Current Status: Active
• License: Proprietary
• Search queries per day: on the website 12 million search requests
• Individual users in the world: 55 million per month

Qwant is a French search engine that was launched in February 2013. Qwant is one of the EU-based best search engines that has its indexing engine. The platform does not personalize or track search results and this is a blessing for the users. The encrypted service is meant to guarantee full privacy and impartiality to the users. The cookie-free search engine is one of the most ethical, safe and efficient search engines in the world.

In January 2023, for Data Privacy Day, Qwant released the first edition of its online privacy barometer alongside Proton, Murena and Olvid.

Operated from France, Qwant is among the front-runners in the country and has a desktop search engine market share of 1.4%. It has a component like DuckDuckGo’s !bangs meant for searching any other website and has named it as Qwick.

14. CocCoc

• Search Engine Market Share: 0.09% of desktop searches
• Origin Country: Vietnam
• Developer: Coc Coc
• Initial Launched: 14th May 2013
• Stable Release: 2021
• Commercial: Yes
• Registration: Optional
• Availability: English and Vietnamese languages
• License: Freeware
• Operating System: Android, iOS, macOS, Windows XP, Windows and Mobile, Xbox One and Windows 10
• Engine: Chromium open-source code
• Written: C++, JavaScript, Python, Java, Assembly
• Users: 23 million

CocCoc is a Vietnamese search engine and web browser developed by the Vietnamese company C?c C?c. It is focused on the Vietnamese market and aims to optimize search results for the Vietnamese language.

CocCoc is the biggest, fastest and most convenient search engine in Vietnam that is used for online shopping and finding local businesses. Its product portfolio includes CocCoc Search, CocCoc Map, and CocCoc Ads.

15. Daum

• Search Engine Market Share: 0.05% of desktop searches
• Search Engine Market Share in South Korea: 6.0%
• Origin Country: South Korea
• Owner: Kakao Corp
• Launched: May 1997
• Commercial: Yes
• Registration: Optional
• Availability: Korean language

Daum is one of the best alternative search engines in the world for Google. It offers a range of products and services to its web users that include email, webtoon service, news, shopping, forums and messaging services.

The popular search engine is free and does not levy any charges for its use.  The Daum search engine is a mobile-friendly search engine that provides services to both its users as well as businesses who want to tap into the Korean market. Daum search engine is a popular search engine in Korea, but it is not as popular as Naver. Daum search engine is available in Korean language only.

16. Mail.ru

• Search Engine Market Share: 0.04% of desktop searches
• Origin Country: Russia
• Launched: 15th October 1998
• Headquarters: Moscow, Russia
• Commercial: Yes
• Registration: Optional
• Availability: Russian language
• Revenue (TTM): $1.5 billion (For Mail.ru Group in 2022)
• Net Income (TTM): $315 million (For Mail.ru Group in 2022)

Mail.ru Group is one of the best internet information providers in Russia. It has a huge chunk of audiences attached to its web portal and has been able to capture a good screen time. Mail.ru is an email service provider and mobile application that allows users to send and receive emails, as well as access other features such as calendar organization and cloud storage.

Mail.ru operates its own search engine called Search Mail.ru. Mail.ru Group discontinued Google Search services and started its search engine in 2013. Its product portfolio includes search, price comparisons, email and Headhunter

17. Norton Safe Search

• Search Engine Market Share: 0.01% of desktop searches
• Developers: Symantec Corporation
• Commercial: Yes
• Registration: Optional
• Availability: English and 11 other languages
• License: Proprietary

Norton Safe Search is a secured search engine that is free for use by its users. It offers protection from risky sites and phishing that might appear doing search results.

Norton Safe Search takes the help of Norton’s safe Web Technology to offer an additional layer of security to its users who are concerned with privacy issues. The product portfolio includes shopping results, maps, videos, and info on Wikipedia etc.

18. AOL.com

• Search Engine Market Share: 0.04% of desktop searches
• Origin Country: United States of America
• Parent company: Verizon Media
• Founded: 1983
• Launched: 1989
• Headquarters: New York City, U.S.
• Employees: 5,600+
• Dial-up Internet Service Users: 1.5 million

AOL Inc. earlier known as America Online, is an American internet service provider and web portal. Within a short period, it was able to displace some very well-known search engines from their prominent positions and create a niche place for itself. It provides comprehensive listings and one-click access to relevant web results, images, videos, maps, and more. AOL Search is powered by Bing™

The product portfolio of AOL.com includes search, email and news. On May 2921 the company has announced that AOL will be sold at 5 billion U.S. dollars to Apollo.

19. Ask.com

• Search Engine Market Share: 0.33%of desktop searches
• Origin Country: USA
• Owner: IAC
• Launched: 1996
• Headquarters: Oakland California, U.S.
• Registration: Optional
• Availability: English language
• Monthly users: 55 million
• Average time per visit: 4 minutes, 30 seconds

Ask.com is a search engine and question-answering e-business that was founded in 1996. At the onset, the site was named Ask Jeeves which was later changed to its current brand name Ask.com. Ask.com provides automated, keyword-focused search results, related search suggestions, and original content.

The web portal is based on a question/answer format where the user has to type the query on the website and press the search button. It will be answered either by other users or in the form of a poll.

20. Others

Search Engine Market Share: 0.03% of desktop searches

Some of the top search engines that are not mentioned in the list of top 20 but are equally important are

• C C Search
• Swisscows
• Start Page
• Search Encrypt
• Internet Archive
• Contextual Web Search
• Yippy Search
• Dogpile
• WolframAlpha
• YouTube
• t-online
• Yandex RU

Conclusion

Every company considers high rankings as a top priority and are doing their utmost to navigate the web traffic towards themselves. It is no longer a luxury to use search engines but a necessity and this is why we are seeing rapid growth in the search engine market in the world.

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