There are many search engines out there and sometimes it is hard to decide, which one to use. Here is a simple pros and cons listing about few of them.
Google google.com
Pros.
Google knows it all. Google can find almost anything since it is a very powerful search engine.
No adds and news headlines on the search page, which is good if you have a low speed online connection.
Cons.
Google uses tracking cookies and monitors your search results.
Google is so widespread that pretty much every resource will at some point get back to Google: meaning they can collect massive amounts of information – and some users may dislike this.
Yahoo yahoo.com
Pros.
Good search engine that finds mostly what you are looking for.
Integrated with Yahoo mail.
Cons.
Not so good on finding results as Google.
The Yahoo front-page is full of headlines and all other stuff, which makes an impact on the surfing speed.
Like Google, Yahoo uses tracking cookies to optimize user experience. The previous also enables tracking of the user’s preferences.
DuckDuckGo https://duckduckgo.com
Pros.
A search engine that does not use tracking technologies.
Really fast.
Adds privacy and does not track user’s via cookies.
Good at finding information.
Cons.
You do not have personalized search results like with Google and Yahoo (because cookies are not enabled).
Startpage https://www.startpage.com
Pros.
A search engine that is buit for privacy.
Uses Google as a backbone but removes identity and tracking information.
Really fast.
Cons.
Not any that I could find, except for the fact that Startpage seems to be still quite unknown.
Microsoft’s Bing https://www.bing.com
Pros.
Integrated with Microsoft Outlook service.
Good clean design.
Quite fast.
Cons.
Tracks users.
Searching abilities might not be as good as Google’s or Startpage’s (but still remain decent).
What search engine should I use?
While general users do not mind about tracking cookies it is always a good thing to at least try to maximize the security. If you are already one of those persons who does
use adblockers or is concerned about security then there remains second to none reasons why you should not start using more privacy oriented search engines. In the end the choice is yours.