Brave Search review
8.3/10★★★★★Private search on its own index, with free cited AI answers and Ask Brave chat
- Best for
- Privacy-minded people who want free AI answers without a Google account
- Price
- Freemium · from $3/month
Free: Search, AI answers and Ask Brave free with no account - Platforms
- Web, iOS, Android
- Made by
- Brave Software
- App store ratings
- iOS 4.8★ (667K) · Android 4.8★ (3.93M)
What it is
Brave Search runs on its own independent index and puts a cited AI summary at the top of results. Ask Brave turns a search into a chat with follow-ups and an optional deep research mode. It's free with no account, works in any browser, and Brave says it doesn't profile users.
What the AI does
- Cited AI answers at the top of results
- Ask Brave chat with follow-up questions
- Deep research mode with visible steps
- Type ?? after a query to open Ask Brave
Pros and cons
- Independent index rather than Google or Bing results
- No account needed; chats expire after 24 hours and aren't used for training
- Ad-free search for just $3 a month
- Works in any browser, plus Brave's apps
- Smaller index leaves gaps on long-tail queries
- AI answers are less sharp than Perplexity's or Google's
- No photo search or model choice
How it scores
The best free private option, held back by a smaller index and less polished answers.
Feature checklist · 7 of 9
- Inline citations linked to each source (yes)
- Follow-up questions that keep the context (yes)
- Deeper multi-step research mode (yes)
- Search with a photo or image (no)
- Choose which AI model answers (no)
- Works without an account (yes)
- Ad-free results (free or on a paid plan) (yes)
- Doesn't profile you or train AI on your searches (yes)
- iPhone and Android apps (yes)
Alternatives
See all Brave Search alternatives, ranked →
- Perplexity 8.8/10Getting a quick, sourced answer you can check claim by claim
- Google AI Mode 8.6/10Anyone who wants AI answers without leaving Google or paying
- ChatGPT search 8.4/10Searches that are one step in a longer task
- Kagi 7.8/10Heavy searchers happy to pay for ad-free results and model choice
Perplexity vs Brave SearchGoogle AI Mode vs Brave SearchChatGPT search vs Brave Search
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