01
The price
$5/mo is the way in, $10/mo is the tier that works.
Trial covers 100 searches, 100 assistant interactions, full kagi search experience.
Published tiers top out at $25/mo.
Kagi.
Paid ad-free search engine with AI assistant.
01
Price, complaint, verdict
Read this if you read nothing else02
The complaint
Paying $10/mo for search feels unusual when Google is free, sticker shock is the most common reason to churn
6 recurring complaints show up in public reviews, and 0 of them come up often.
Praise is just as consistent: no ads, no tracking, no sponsored content, the business model is funded by subscriber payments not data harvesting.
03
The verdict
A tracker priced to be tried rather than committed to.
The most frequently raised complaint: paying $10/mo for search feels unusual when google is free, sticker shock is the most common reason to churn.
It reports where you stand. Turning that into published pages and earned citations is still work somebody has to do.
Buy: Small budget, in-house teamSkip: Nobody to act on it
02
Pricing matrix
Scroll sideways for all tiers| Included | Trial$0/mo | Starter$5/mo | Professional$10/mo | Ultimate$25/mo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 100 searches | 300 searches per month | Unlimited searches | Unlimited searches |
| 2 | 100 Assistant interactions | Kagi Assistant Quick mode | Kagi Assistant Quick mode | Assistant Research mode |
| 3 | Full Kagi search experience | Limited Assistant interactions | Expanded monthly AI usage | Access to Claude, GPT-4, Gemini, DeepSeek, Mistral flagship models |
| 4 | · | Domain ranking customization | Lenses (custom search filters) | Custom Assistants |
| 5 | · | · | Privacy Pass | Family plan add-ons available |
03
What reviewers say
Bars show how often it is raisedPraise
7 themesNo ads, no tracking, no sponsored content, the business model is funded by subscriber payments not data harvesting
Lenses let you filter searches to academic, programming, recipes, or custom domain lists for cleaner results
Block, boost, or bury domains like Pinterest at the personal account level so your results improve over time
Question mark suffix triggers an AI summary of results at the top, useful for quick research without leaving search
Complaints
6 themesPaying $10/mo for search feels unusual when Google is free, sticker shock is the most common reason to churn
Starter plan caps at 300 searches, easy to blow through in a single research session
Local business searches are weaker than Google Maps, fall back to Google for restaurants and directions
Orion browser is Mac/iOS only, Windows and Linux users get Chrome and Firefox extensions instead
04
What it does
Ad-free search results
Web search with no ads, no tracking, no sponsored placements, results ranked purely by relevance
Lenses
Custom filters that scope searches to specific domains, content types, or topical sets you define
Personal rankings
Block, boost, or bury specific domains at the account level so your search results improve with use
Kagi Assistant
Multi-LLM chat interface with access to Claude, GPT-4, Gemini, DeepSeek, Mistral on Ultimate plan
Universal Summarizer
Summarize any web page, PDF, or YouTube video by appending the URL to a Kagi summary endpoint
Privacy Pass
Cryptographic tokens let you search anonymously while still proving valid subscription status
05
Integrations
Orion browserChrome extensionFirefox extensionSafari extensionAlfred (macOS)RaycastBoltAIKagi Search API
06
The actual decision
We sell one of these twoPath A
Buy Kagi
Right when small budget, in-house team. You get the measurement, and the work of turning it into published pages and earned citations stays with your team.
Path B
Hire someone to run it
Right when nobody to act on it. Disclosure: this is what we sell, which is a reason to read us critically. It is also why every figure here carries the date we checked it, and every judgement carries the quote it came from.
07
Questions people ask
What is Kagi?
Paid ad-free search engine with AI assistant.
How much does Kagi cost?
Kagi starts at $5/mo per month, across 4 published tiers. Pricing checked 7 June 2026.
Does Kagi have a free trial?
Yes. Kagi offers a free tier or trial.
What do users complain about in Kagi?
The most frequently raised issue is: Paying $10/mo for search feels unusual when Google is free, sticker shock is the most common reason to churn
Should I buy Kagi or hire a managed service?
A tracker priced to be tried rather than committed to. Buy the tool if small budget, in-house team. A managed service is the better fit when nobody in-house has hours each week to act on what it reports.
Not sure which path you are on?
Thirty minutes. We show you the buyer questions where an engine names a competitor instead of you, and say plainly whether a tool or a managed programme fits your situation.
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