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#6 of 100 · Search

Paid search without ads

A paid search engine with clean results like old Google, no ads or tracking, and ideally a cheaper plan without AI features.

24asks, each re-read
23separate threads
10of 19 years
6since 2024
2012first asked

Asks per year

’08’101’12’14’161’1833’2033’2243’2421’26

What the askers want

  • Would pay83%
  • Want it local or private8%
  • Object to subscriptions0%
  • Want it open source or self-hosted0%
  • Want AI to do it0%

Share of the 24 asks that say so, as judged by Jev.

What exists on Show HN

Never launchedOne Show HN launch does part of this. Nothing does the whole job.

Instead of: Google, Kagi, DuckDuckGo, Bing

The idea, as matched

A subscription web search engine with Google-quality results, no ads and no tracking, ideally a cheaper plan with no AI features, as a paid alternative to Google or a more affordable Kagi.

Jev first matched 45 requests to this idea; a second reader kept 24 of 45.

Every ask, newest first

Each line is an AI paraphrase of what the writer wanted. The link goes to their own words on Hacker News.

Reader’s note. Several want Kagi minus AI; spam-filter-only asks excluded.

  1. May 2026Would pay for a Google-like search subscription with 2007-style quality and fresh results, without heavy AI. Read it: a comment in “Eric Schmidt speech about AI booed during graduation”
  2. Nov 2025Would pay for unlimited search with no AI features. Read it: a comment in “Kagi Assistants”
  3. Apr 2025Wants a discounted paid search plan that drops the AI features. Read it: a comment in “Try Switching to Kagi”
  4. Dec 2024Would happily pay for a clean, ad-free Google search experience. Read it: a comment in “Google's Results Are Infested, Open AI Is Using Their Playbook from the 2000s”
  5. Sep 2024Would pay an embarrassing amount for a search engine that works like Google did ten years ago. Read it: a comment in “I wish I didn't miss the '90s-00s internet”
  6. Jul 2024Wants an enterprise-grade paid ad-free search for about 150 staff to avoid scareware ads. Read it: a post: “Ask HN: Enterprise Solution Similar to Kagi?”
  7. Mar 2023Would easily pay $50 monthly for ad-free Google with sane results. Read it: a comment in “Tech Companies Are Ruining Their Apps, Websites, Internet”
  8. Mar 2023Wants a cheaper paid search tier without the costly AI features. Read it: a comment in “Update to Kagi Search Pricing”
  9. Mar 2023Would pay for Google search with ads removed and ad-driven content demoted. Read it: a comment in “Update to Kagi Search Pricing”
  10. Jan 2023Would pay for good, ad-free search. Read it: a comment in “Google calls in help from Larry Page and Sergey Brin for A.I. fight”
  11. May 2022Asks why there is no paid, ad-free version of Google search like YouTube Premium. Read it: a post: “Ask HN: Why is Google Premium not a thing?”
  12. Apr 2022Would pay $30 monthly for search that puts useful answers in the top five results, funded by subscriptions. Read it: a comment in “The next Google”
  13. Jan 2022Would pay for a good web search engine, like Google circa 2010. Read it: a comment in “Ask HN: What kind of online tools are you using, missing or can be improved?”
  14. Sep 2021Would pay for a subscription, ad-free search engine like Google in 2012. Read it: a post: “I would pay for good web search”
  15. Mar 2021Would pay for a useful, ad-free search engine. Read it: a comment in “Ask HN: Has Google search been worse at finding information lately?”
  16. Mar 2021Would pay a reasonable price for a paid search engine with better results and advanced features. Read it: a comment in “Google to stop selling ads based on your specific web browsing”
  17. Dec 2020Would pay $5 monthly for ad-free search that does not index Pinterest. Read it: a comment in “How AltaVista, the first good search engine, fell into the digital abyss”
  18. Dec 2020Wants paid, ad-free search with user-set filters that exclude junk and keep only good results. Read it: a comment in “We need legal controls on web advertising”
  19. Jun 2020Would pay $10-20 monthly for search with no tracking and no ads. Read it: a comment in “DuckDuckGo, Google, and Android choice screens”
  20. Dec 2019Would pay for ad-free Google search, as with YouTube Premium. Read it: a comment in “Google Culture War Escalates as Era of Transparency Wanes”
  21. Aug 2019Would pay good money monthly for a Google suite without recent added junk and with relevant results. Read it: a comment in “How Digital Advertising Markets Really Work”
  22. Jun 2019Would pay $10-15 yearly for an ad-free personalized search engine. Read it: a comment in “Google's PageRank patent has expired”
  23. Apr 2017Would pay $5 for a private, customizable search engine. Read it: a comment in “How Google Could Collapse”
  24. May 2012Wants Google-quality search with privacy, paying yearly for a promise of no ads or sold search history. Read it: a comment in “A Relevant Tale: How Google Killed Inktomi”

Building this?

Read ten of the asks above first, because they say what the existing launches miss. If you ship it, post it as a Show HN so the next run of this list finds it.

See all 100How the counts work

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