metaGer

metaGer combines results from multiple search engines while keeping the search experience free of advertising. Better known by its MetaGer branding, the service offers a paid route away from searches funded by profiling. Its distinctive feature is anonymous access through a key, rather than an account requiring a name and email address.

Queries draw on outside search services, so this is a metasearch engine rather than a wholly independent web index. A prepaid key pays for searches, and anonymous browsing tools extend protection beyond the results page. The service offers a server-side private browser, an Android app and a browser extension, with anonymous tokens available through the app or extension.

Key benefits:

• Multiple result sources combine different search services within a single results interface.
• Advertising-free search removes sponsored distractions from the process of finding a page.
• Anonymous key avoids requiring a named account to access the search service.
• Prepaid tokens let users fund searches without committing to a recurring subscription.
• Anonymous browsing opens websites through a private browser running on MetaGer's servers.
• Published source code lets technical readers examine the implementation behind the service.

MetaGer is developed and operated by SUMA-EV, a nonprofit association registered in Hanover, Germany. Its European operator focuses on access to knowledge and privacy, with origins in a University of Hanover research project launched in 1996. Combining external indexes still creates dependencies on those search providers.

The published entry package costs €5 for 500 tokens. A default web search uses one token; selecting other sources can change the cost. Paying per search is the central compromise for anyone accustomed to a free search box, even when the nonprofit model is appealing.