Yandex
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Use it only if you specifically need Russian-language search or hunt for obscure content and images . it is free and genuinely good at that.
New check
Comparison
Yandex vs DuckDuckGo
Yandex lands on Depends, and DuckDuckGo lands on Worth it.
DuckDuckGo
Worth it
Confidence: Medium
The free search, browser, and Duck.ai are easy wins for privacy-minded individuals.
| Compare | Yandex | DuckDuckGo |
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Depends | Worth it |
| Best for | Russian-language searchers | Privacy-first everyday searchers |
| Who it's not for | Privacy-conscious users . tracking criticism and breach history are real | Google power users needing maps, shopping, and deep filters |
| Privacy | Active bug bounty, but a 2014 account dump, a 2021 insider breach, and tracking criticism weigh heavily.⁶ | Generally rated safe; runs a HackerOne bug bounty, but has shipped past browser CVEs and a Microsoft tracker controversy. |
| Support quality | No support evidence in sources | No support-quality evidence in sources |
| Public sentiment | Opinions split sharply: some praise its results for hard-to-find content, while many warn about privacy and trust.² | Users generally like the privacy defaults, but some find the browser noisy, less strict than advertised, and weaker than Google for results. |
| Biggest gotcha | Plus subscribers complain about rising prices, ads, and formerly free features going paid | is free but has usage limits; heavy AI chat pushes you into the paid plan15 |
Pick Yandex when
- Russian-language searchers
- Reverse-image and niche-content hunters
- Yandex Mail/Disk ecosystem users in Russia/CIS
When Yandex is not a fit
- Privacy-conscious users . tracking criticism and breach history are real
- English-first searchers . users report weak English results
- Companies with Russian-jurisdiction vendor restrictions
- Anyone needing Western compliance guarantees
Pick DuckDuckGo when
- Privacy-first everyday searchers
- Users fleeing AI-saturated Google results
- Zero-config privacy seekers
- One-bundle VPN + AI + tracker blocking
When DuckDuckGo is not a fit
- Google power users needing maps, shopping, and deep filters
- Anyone needing browser extensions . the DuckDuckGo browser doesn't support them
- Enterprises wanting a managed browser with admin controls
- Users who won't tolerate any Microsoft data pathways
Sources
- Yandex search engine review . TechRadartechradar.comreview
- should i use yandex? . Reddit r/browsersreddit.comreview
review
- Yandex Browser with Alice AI . Google Playplay.google.comreview
- Read Customer Service Reviews of yandex.com . Trustpilottrustpilot.comreview
- Yandex Dump Data Breach . Have I Been Pwnedhaveibeenpwned.comsecurity
- Yandex Insider Breach Hits Nearly 5000 Inboxes . Infosecurity Magazineinfosecurity-magazine.comsecurity
- Meta and Yandex break security to save their business model . Privacy Internationalprivacyinternational.orgsecurity
news
news
- Yandex 360 plans . Yandex360.yandex.comofficial
- Yandex homepageyandex.comofficial
- How much does DuckDuckGo cost?duckduckgo.comofficial
- DuckDuckGo Pro plansduckduckgo.comofficial
- Does Duck.ai have usage limits?duckduckgo.comofficial
news