DeGoogle Yourself

I've been using Kagi for a near a year now and it's pretty good. Reminds me of old Google

IMHO there is no perfect solution for this, but I switched to Searxng (which can be selfhosted) and Im happy with the results. Please note that Searxng is a Meta Search engine, that basically means its using multiple other search engines with less tracking afaik...

I would recommend the following:

• Startpage
• SearXNG
• LibreY
• araa
• Whoogle
• Leta
• Brave Search
• PriEco

I use SearXNG, which I self-host.

Qwant has been decent for me. Try it out and see how it goes

In Spain I have to put .es at the end for local results.

However, I use Amazon to source the product I want then find the resellers website and buy directly from them.

My last purchase like that was an 80kg capacity bike trailer that was delivered from Germany and cost the exact same, and the company didn't have to give Bezos any cut.

For the moment, I'm using Qwant

https://www.qwant.com/?q=mens+boots&t=web

Here is a cool comparison chart I've found : https://searchengine.party/

When I do your "men's boots" test, it looks like I get better results using Qwant, which is European.

Have you tried Quant?

Startpage works well. You also need a VPN and to use private mode in a browser with a low fingerprint.

why not use more than one? use ddg for general searches of non location based things. then switch to a different preferred search for location based things

Can't live without Presearch

Presearch is a community-powered, decentralized search engine that provides better results while protecting your privacy and rewarding you when you search.

Nothing beats Google so you can use European based Startpage just like how DuckDuckGo is based on Microsoft Bing.

I just use ddg and for when i want to search something important, i just use Google(in incognito).

I am not sure why qwant seems to get mentioned so frequently. My experience is that the search results are mediocre at best and they shove ads in your face on every page.

I highly recommend Kagi, I’ve been with them since basically the beginning and they have been fantastic. I do pay for their service, but the value proposition is absolutely there.

Google works the way it does because it has basically unlimited resources. You will never find something that does EVERYTHING Google does, because running Google is like shoveling thousands of dollars into a fire constantly.

You have to choose either convenience or privacy.

I've been using Qwant its French and I've been using it for a year, it good and fast and private. Check it out.

Hmmn. If I wanted search results for stuff in Amsterdam, I'd expect to add "in Amst . . ."

Moving quickly on, there's bound to be some European SearXNG. https://searx.space/ seems like a list.

I think that still uses google though among others. It's FOSS so you could self host it and set it up how you like I think too if you're into that type of thing.

I don't regularly use searXNG though I use DDG - so I cannot vouch for the quality of the results.