P
PDuckDuckGo vs Semantic Scholar
Pricing, features, platforms and who each one suits — side by side.
D
Choose DuckDuckGo if…
- you work on iOS, Android, macOS
- you're in its core audience: privacy-conscious internet users, everyday searchers
S
Choose Semantic Scholar if…
- you need an API to build on
- you're in its core audience: researchers, students
Side by side
Feature DuckDuckGo Semantic Scholar
Pricing modelFreeFree
Starting priceFreeFree
Free plan
Free trial
API
Open source
Trains AI on your contentNo—
Inline citations—
Citation export—
Model choice—
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, ChromeWeb, API
CategoryAI SearchResearch Assistants
CompanyDuck Duck Go, Inc.The Allen Institute for AI
Based inUnited States—
Founded20082015
Part of—Ai2
Key features
D DuckDuckGo
- Private web search
- Duck.ai chat available from the search box
- Browsers for iOS, Android, Mac and Windows
- Browser extension that blocks web trackers
- Email Protection service
- Themes and search settings
S Semantic Scholar
- Search across 239+ million scientific papers
- Coverage of all fields of science
- Semantic Reader augmented reading for select papers (beta)
- Developer API with paper search
- API documentation, tutorials and gallery
- Free user accounts
- Resources for librarians and publishers
Plans and prices
From each vendor's site. Prices change — confirm before buying.
DuckDuckGo
FreeFree
Semantic Scholar
FreeFree
Strengths and limitations
DuckDuckGo
- Search is described as private and free
- Browsers available for iOS, Android, Mac and Windows
- Free tracker-blocking extension
- AI chat (Duck.ai) built into the search experience
- The home page does not describe Duck.ai's features or which AI models it uses
- No API or developer access listed
Semantic Scholar
- Free to use
- Indexes over 239 million papers from all fields
- Public API with documentation and tutorials
- Built by the nonprofit research institute Ai2
- Semantic Reader is in beta and only works on select papers
- No mobile apps listed
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Built from each vendor's public website; we haven't tested them hands-on. Editorial policy