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If you haven't checked out Kagi, it has been a pleasure to use.

chomp 4y ago
I'll add to this, it's completely replaced my work search, and I haven't fallen back to a google search in months, even for very arcane Linux kernel internals. You can even manually prioritize certain sites, giving you a way to have a hand in building your own search experience.
pndy 4y ago
No way to test it by yourself - you can try the provided examples; it relies on others indexes and mentions in documentation "You can think of Kagi as a "search client"". It requires an account in the first place and I can't see a word about pricing. Pass for me but maybe someone will be interested
- bogwog 4y ago
  Why does it matter where the indexes come from? As a user, I only care about the results. Also, idk if I'm grandfathered in to an old price or anything, but my subscription is $10/mo.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
mind-blight 4y ago
They seem really cool. But, I was reading the FAQ, and they claim it costs about $1 to process 80 searches. That seems extremely high. I would have expected that the up-front cost of creating and storing indexes is very expensive, but the cost of user searches to be so low that they're nearly negligible. Okay, it sounds like they lose money with each new added user
- gabeio 4y ago
  I believe they are doing some search aggregation from multiple sources and from what they say they do not seem to be caching results much.
  - danskeren 4y ago
    API's that charge by usage usually have terms that prevent caching API results. This also applies to Bing: > You must use results you obtain through the Services only in Internet Search Experiences (as defined in the use and display requirements) and must not cache or copy results. (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/bing/apis/legal https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/bing/apis/legal) It's really unfortunate Microsoft doesn't provide a free API that require users to display ads, or at the very least make their ad network accessible to all.
- supermatt 4y ago
  They are using google custom search and Bing search apis. They cost about ~$5 per 1000 queries - so thats 40c on the dollar already for those 80 queries. Thats just for a single "behind the scenes" query - and they sometimes perform multiple subqueries based on your "lens" configuration which inflates the cost further. They also have their own infra and team to support. I wouldnt call myself a search engine poweruser, but based on my usage, they are definitely losing money on those subscriptions.
bogwog 4y ago
Kagi is excellent, and it's the only monthly subscription where I actually feel like I'm getting something of value. Even my Pandora subscription feels like I'm getting ripped off since I really only ever listen to the same songs anyways, and the app is a dumpster fire. Netflix/Disney+/Hulu/etc also suck since they just feel like I'm wasting money due to feuds between companies that having nothing to do with me. I have a Proton Mail subscription, and it's okay, but extremely overpriced for what I'm getting, while a cheaper mail service would potentially get my emails blocked from the big service providers because they think I'm a spammer. There are also apps that are requiring me to pay a monthly sub while offering nothing in return for it just because they can. My workout tracker app for example is exactly the same janky mess it was ~2 years ago, yet I've been paying $4/mo for it! ..but Kagi? It works great, it works reliably, and it works for me.

I'll add to this, it's completely replaced my work search, and I haven't fallen back to a google search in months, even for very arcane Linux kernel internals. You can even manually prioritize certain sites, giving you a way to have a hand in building your own search experience.

pndy 4y ago

No way to test it by yourself - you can try the provided examples; it relies on others indexes and mentions in documentation "You can think of Kagi as a "search client"". It requires an account in the first place and I can't see a word about pricing. Pass for me but maybe someone will be interested

bogwog 4y ago
Why does it matter where the indexes come from? As a user, I only care about the results. Also, idk if I'm grandfathered in to an old price or anything, but my subscription is $10/mo.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

mind-blight 4y ago

They seem really cool. But, I was reading the FAQ, and they claim it costs about $1 to process 80 searches. That seems extremely high. I would have expected that the up-front cost of creating and storing indexes is very expensive, but the cost of user searches to be so low that they're nearly negligible. Okay, it sounds like they lose money with each new added user

gabeio 4y ago
I believe they are doing some search aggregation from multiple sources and from what they say they do not seem to be caching results much.
- danskeren 4y ago
  API's that charge by usage usually have terms that prevent caching API results. This also applies to Bing: > You must use results you obtain through the Services only in Internet Search Experiences (as defined in the use and display requirements) and must not cache or copy results. (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/bing/apis/legal https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/bing/apis/legal) It's really unfortunate Microsoft doesn't provide a free API that require users to display ads, or at the very least make their ad network accessible to all.
supermatt 4y ago
They are using google custom search and Bing search apis. They cost about ~$5 per 1000 queries - so thats 40c on the dollar already for those 80 queries. Thats just for a single "behind the scenes" query - and they sometimes perform multiple subqueries based on your "lens" configuration which inflates the cost further. They also have their own infra and team to support. I wouldnt call myself a search engine poweruser, but based on my usage, they are definitely losing money on those subscriptions.

bogwog 4y ago

Kagi is excellent, and it's the only monthly subscription where I actually feel like I'm getting something of value. Even my Pandora subscription feels like I'm getting ripped off since I really only ever listen to the same songs anyways, and the app is a dumpster fire. Netflix/Disney+/Hulu/etc also suck since they just feel like I'm wasting money due to feuds between companies that having nothing to do with me. I have a Proton Mail subscription, and it's okay, but extremely overpriced for what I'm getting, while a cheaper mail service would potentially get my emails blocked from the big service providers because they think I'm a spammer. There are also apps that are requiring me to pay a monthly sub while offering nothing in return for it just because they can. My workout tracker app for example is exactly the same janky mess it was ~2 years ago, yet I've been paying $4/mo for it! ..but Kagi? It works great, it works reliably, and it works for me.