Brave Search
Brave Search: Affordable cited search with privacy features, rich tools, and optional premium access. Ranked #3 of 28 in AI Search Engines by our editors (9.0/10); pricing: Free plan; best for affordable cited web search.
At a glance
- Editor score9.0 / 10
- PricingFree plan
- Best forAffordable cited web search
- Free planYes
- Paid from$29.99/yr
- Deep research modeYes
- Founded2015 · San Francisco, California, United States
- Facts checked21 Sep 2026
Where it wins
- AI Answers provide inline citations and Deep Research mode
- Independent index with image, news, video, and forum results
- Free plan, $3 monthly premium tier, mobile apps, and API access
Where it doesn't
- Private ads may appear on the Free plan
- Premium mainly adds ad-free results and a cleaner results page
- The broad feature set may exceed the needs of simple web searches
Our verdict on Brave Search
Brave Search is a privacy-focused web search engine for people who want conventional search alongside AI-assisted research. It searches an independent web index and covers web, image, news, and video results, while AI Answers provide cited sources. Ask Brave supports conversational searches with follow-up questions, and Deep Research mode extends the research-oriented feature set. The service is available on the web, iOS, Android, and through an API for applications and AI systems.
Pricing is straightforward. The Free plan provides web search through search.brave.com, privacy-focused search without user profiling, and may show private ads. Search Premium costs $3 per user per month when billed monthly or $29.99 per user per year when billed annually. Both paid options add ad-free search results and a cleaner results-page view. That makes the free tier a practical entry point, while Premium is focused on removing ads and reducing visual clutter rather than adding a separate set of advanced research features.
The strongest case for Brave Search is its combination of cited AI Answers, conversational follow-ups, Deep Research, and traditional search controls. Goggles support custom ranking and filtering, while search operators and Bangs help target specific sources. Discussions add results sourced from forums, giving the product a wider range of search formats. Choose it if privacy-focused search, inline citations, an independent index, mobile access, and API availability matter. Consider another option if you want a narrowly focused search experience or if ad-free results and a cleaner page do not justify a paid plan.
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Brave Search pricing
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Brave Search fact sheet
| Free plan | Yes |
|---|---|
| Paid from | $29.99/yr |
| Citation format | Not verified |
| Deep research mode | Yes |
| Source filters | Yes |
| Browser extension | Not verified |
| Mobile apps | Both |
| API access | Yes |
| Monthly query limit | Not verified |
| Deployment | Cloud, Mobile, Browser extension |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android |
| Support | Community, Docs |
| Built for | Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise (editorial estimate) |
| Pricing | Free plan (source) |
| Website | search.brave.com |
| Facts checked | 21 Sep 2026 |
Alternatives to Brave Search
- PerplexityA broad research assistant combining cited web search, advanced models, files, and integrations.9.4
- Google AI ModeA multimodal Google Search experience for cited answers, follow-ups, and deeper research.9.2
- You.comA broad AI search workspace combining cited answers, models, agents, and collaboration.8.8
See all Brave Search alternatives →
Brave Search vs the competition
- Brave Search vs Perplexity
- Brave Search vs Google AI Mode
- Brave Search vs You.com
- Brave Search vs Kagi Search
- Brave Search vs Kimi
- Brave Search vs Microsoft Copilot Search
Compare Brave Search with any tool side by side →
Also Ranked In
Brave Search is ranked in 3 of our directories.
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Featured on iTechGuides
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Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
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