DuckDuckGo is a privacy-focused search engine that doesn't track your searches or build personal profiles on you. It competes directly against Google, Bing, and other search giants, and despite the odds, it continues to grow its user base year over year. 

In this guide, we gathered the most useful DuckDuckGo statistics for 2026 on its search volume, active users, market share, trends, and more.

We keep things up to date with fresh data every quarter. This is the Q2 2026 edition.

DuckDuckGo Statistics Overview

• DuckDuckGo has about 0.86% of the global search market, growing slightly year over year, and it’s now the third most-used search engine
• It handles around 36 billion searches per year, which is a huge jump from 15 billion in 2019.
• Daily searches are now at about 100 million, growing over 7x in the last 10 years.
• Ads are much cheaper, at about $0.41 per click, compared to $4.93 on Google.

DuckDuckGo Global Market Share in 2026

• Globally, DuckDuckGo holds about 0.86% of the total search engine market across all devices as of the end of 2025. It increased by 0.23% since 2024.
• DuckDuckGo is the 3rd most-used search engine globally after Google (93.05%) and Bing (4.61%), but ahead of Ecosia (0.48%), Yahoo(0.47%), Quart (0.06%), AOL (0.01%), and Yandex (0.01%).

DuckDuckGo Market Share by Region and Country

DuckDuckGo grew steadily since 2019, with its biggest surge in the US. Growth spiked around COVID (April 2020) and the U.S. elections, then slowed, staying just under 3% since early 2023 (Source).

Currently, DuckDuckGo's largest market share is in North America (1.66%), followed by Oceania (0.93%), Europe (0.89%), and Asia (0.89%).

DuckDuckGo by Device: Desktop, Mobile & Tablet Market Shares

Per device distribution of global market share for DuckDuckGo looks like this (Source):

• Desktop: 0.76% (March 2026) from 0.99% (March 2025)
• Tablet: 0.82% (March 2026) from 0.80% (March 2025)
• Mobile: 0.73% (March 2026) to 0.71% (March 2025)

DuckDuckGo Search Volume 2026: How Many People Use DuckDuckGo?

The current shift toward a safer, more private internet has helped DuckDuckGo to gain more users over the last couple of years. 

Total Number of Searches on DuckDuckGo Conducted Annually

• DuckDuckGo processed an estimated 36 billion searches in 2026, a 140% increase from 15 billion in 2019. 
• The biggest jump occurred from 2020 to 2021, when the platform saw a ~49% increase in annual searches. During the post-COVID-19 reality, people sought alternatives to traditional data-collection search engines.

Note: The estimations were done based on DuckDuckGo’s public information after 2022. 

Monthly Visits to DuckDuckGo

• DuckDuckGo reports roughly 3 billion monthly searches
• In February 2026, DuckDuckGo traffic reached 647.1 million visits, down from 730.1 million in January and 747.7 million in December 2025 (Source).

Daily Search Queries on DuckDuckGo

• DuckDuckGo sees an estimated 100 million daily traffic in 2026.
• DuckDuckGo’s daily searches increased 750,4% in the last 10 years, from ~11,759,000 in 2016 (Source).

Who Uses DuckDuckGo? User Demographics, Behavior, Location & Income Breakdown

• 63.38% of DuckDuckGo users are male, and 36.62% are female. That’s a clear contrast to Google or Bing, where the gender split is close to even. 

• The 25-34 age group accounts for the largest user share, with 23.98%. Interest among younger users (18-24 years old) is slowly increasing to 19.3%. 
• The smallest age demographic is 65+, at 10.69%.

• In 2026, most users sending traffic are from the US (53.47%), then Germany (8.37%), the UK (4.54%), Canada (3.41%), and France (3.08%).

• Income data shows that 60% of DuckDuckGo users make at least $100,000 per year. That makes the platform appealing to advertisers looking to reach higher-earning, privacy-conscious consumers. Even with a no-tracking model, DuckDuckGo’s audience offers strong opportunities for contextual ads.

Why Do People Choose DuckDuckGo? A Deep Dive Into Privacy Preferences

Users go for DuckDuckGo because of a couple of privacy features:

• No search history stored or personal associations with individuals 
• Advanced Tracker Blocking (prevents trackers from loading)
• Smarter Encryption for HTTPS redirects (automatically redirects users to encrypted sites)
• Email Protection (gives users an @duck.com address to keep their real inboxes private)
• Android App Tracking Protection (blocks trackers across other apps as well)

Together, these tools create a safer experience, which is DuckDuckGo’s main competitive advantage. 

DuckDuckGo Mobile App Statistics and Performance

• DuckDuckGo mobile app has more than 50 million downloads on Google Play, with a 4.7-star rating on Google Play and a 4.8-star rating on App Store. 
• DuckDuckGo’s mobile browser ranks among the top 200 apps on Google Play and ranks 18th in the Utility category on the App Store.
• As of March 2026, the DuckDuckGo Privacy Browser was downloaded about 600,000 times on iPhones in the past 30 days.
• The DuckDuckGo mobile app is the second-most-used mobile search engine in North America, with 6 million monthly downloads. In March 2024 alone, it had 800,000 downloads worldwide.

DuckDuckGo Advertising and Marketing Statistics

A focus on privacy does not mean DuckDuckGo can’t be used by advertisers. Ads are shown not based on personal data or browsing history, but on keywords and user searches. It still makes money from ads, but users' identities remain anonymous because clicks aren’t tied to any tracking profile.

The average cost per click on DuckDuckGo is about $0.41, compared to around $4.93 on Google for similar ads (Source).

In terms of its own traffic and marketing, most social media traffic for DuckDuckGo comes from the following sources (Source):

• YouTube - 63.64%
• Facebook - 16.93%
• Reddit - 6.01%
• X (Twitter) - 4.38%
• Instagram - 1.77%
• Other - 7.27%

DuckDuckGo Donations Statistics

• DuckDuckGo has donated more than $8,050,000 to organizations that work on and support internet privacy. 
• $1,100,000 was donated by DuckDuckGo in 2025 only (2026 data is not yet public).
• Year-by-year distribution of donations looks like this (Source):

DuckDuckGo Latest News (2026)

DuckDuckGo has made some meaningful updates to improve both reach and usability (Source):

• DuckDuckGo now supports 64 languages, a significant increase from just 10, making it more accessible to users worldwide.

• DuckDuckGo rolled out AI answers and chat (Duck.ai), but users can control or turn them off completely. 
• Users can chat with models like GPT and Claude anonymously, with no data stored or used for training. 
• Paid plans now include advanced AI models, VPN, and identity protection features. 
• Users can switch to a completely AI-free search experience, reflecting demand for simpler results. 
• Users can filter out AI-generated images from search results. DuckDuckGo is one of the first engines to offer this. ‍
• The new sync feature lets users share bookmarks and passwords without accounts or tracking.

Final Thoughts

Although DuckDuckGo is still a small player compared to Google, its steady growth shows that more users are actively choosing privacy over personalization. With rising search volume, a loyal high-income audience, and cheaper ad costs, it’s becoming a serious alternative in the search market. If the focus on privacy and user control continues, DuckDuckGo is likely to keep gaining traction in the years ahead.

DuckDuckGo Statistics FAQs

How Many Users Does DuckDuckGo Have?

DuckDuckGo has 30 million users in the U.S. and over 100 million globally as of 2026.

How many people have the DuckDuckGo Chrome Extension?

DuckDuckGo Chrome Extension (DuckDuckGo Search & Tracker Protection) has more than 4 million users as of 2026. 

Is DuckDuckGo’s browser faster than Chrome?

Yes, DuckDuckGo is usually faster than Chrome in everyday use, mainly because it blocks trackers and ads by default, so less data has to load.

How many employees does DuckDuckGo have?

335 people work at DuckDuckGo as of Q1 2026.

References

1. DuckDuckGo. About DuckDuckGo. Accessed on April 1, 2026.
   https://duckduckgo.com/about

2. DuckDuckGo. DuckDuckGo Donations. Accessed on April 1, 2026.
   https://duckduckgo.com/donations

3. DuckDuckGo. DuckDuckGo Updates. Accessed on April 1, 2026.
   https://duckduckgo.com/updates

4. Larry Ludwig. How to Advertise on DuckDuckGo. Accessed on April 1, 2026.
   https://larryludwig.com/how-to-advertise-on-duckduckgo/

5. SE Ranking. Top Search Engines. Accessed on April 1, 2026.
   https://seranking.com/blog/top-search-engines/

6. Similarweb. DuckDuckGo.com Demographics. Accessed on April 1, 2026.
   https://www.similarweb.com/website/duckduckgo.com/#demographics

7. Similarweb. DuckDuckGo.com Display Ads. Accessed on April 1, 2026.
   https://www.similarweb.com/website/duckduckgo.com/#display-ads

8. Similarweb. DuckDuckGo.com Geography. Accessed on April 1, 2026.
   https://www.similarweb.com/website/duckduckgo.com/#geography

9. Similarweb. DuckDuckGo.com Ranking. Accessed on April 1, 2026.
   https://www.similarweb.com/website/duckduckgo.com/#ranking

10. Statcounter. Search Engine Market Share. Accessed on April 1, 2026.
    https://gs.statcounter.com/search-engine-market-share

11. Statista. DuckDuckGo Search Engine Market Share by Region. Accessed on April 1, 2026.
    https://www.statista.com/statistics/1220046/duckduckgo-search-engine-market-share-by-region/

12. Statista. DuckDuckGo Search Queries. Accessed on April 1, 2026.
    https://www.statista.com/chart/15770/duckduckgo-search-queries/

13. Statista. Market Share Held by DuckDuckGo Worldwide. Accessed on April 1, 2026.
    https://www.statista.com/statistics/1382438/market-share-held-by-duckduckgo-worldwide/