DuckDuckGo review

DuckDuckGo treats AI as an option rather than the main event. Search Assist, an optional feature in its results, scans the web for relevant content and generates a brief answer anonymously, and DuckDuckGo says each response links directly to one or two sources so you can read more. You can turn AI off at any time and keep plain results. Duck.ai, also free, lets you chat with popular AI models privately, and DuckDuckGo says those conversations are never used to train AI. Search, the browser extensions and the DuckDuckGo browser are free. The subscription Plus plan costs $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year and bundles a VPN, advanced AI models in Duck.ai, personal information removal and identity theft restoration. Pro, at $19.99 a month, adds top models such as Claude Opus 5.5 and higher limits. The drawback for answer seekers is depth: Search Assist answers are short, cite only one or two sources and lack a research mode.

Who it is for

Privacy-first searchers who want short cited answers that they can switch off.

Price

Free search and Duck.ai; subscription Plus $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year; Pro $19.99 a month.

The Plus plan costs $9.99 a month, or $99.99 a year
Quoted from the vendor pricing page on November 9, 2026.

Key features

• Search Assist answers generated anonymously from content found on the web
• Every Search Assist answer links to one or two sources
• AI features are optional and can be turned off
• Duck.ai for private chats with popular AI models, never used for training
• Plus subscription adds advanced AI models in Duck.ai, a VPN and identity services

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: Search, browser and Duck.ai are free
• Strength: AI is optional, so classic results stay available
• Strength: Strong privacy defaults across search and chat
• Weakness: Search Assist answers are brief and cite only one or two sources
• Weakness: No dedicated deep research mode in search
• Weakness: Advanced models in Duck.ai need a paid plan

Key facts

• Plus: $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year
• Pro: $19.99 a month or $199.99 a year
• Answer sources: One or two linked sources per answer

Where it ranks

DuckDuckGo is No. 7 in our Best AI Search Engines verdict.