Honest comparison
Zeed vs Kagi:
which fits you?
Kagi and Zeed are competitors in a narrower sense than the others on this list. Kagi's product is search: a paid, ad-free index with results ranked for you, plus the Kagi Assistant. Its browser, Orion, ships on macOS and iOS — there is no Kagi browser for Linux. Zeed is a free Linux-first browser where the AI layer is the product. They overlap on 'how do I find and digest information', and they also combine well: you can set Kagi as the default search engine inside Zeed.
Feature by feature
| Feature / policy | Zeed | Kagi |
|---|---|---|
| Native Linux browser | ✓ Linux-first | — (Orion is macOS/iOS) |
| BYO API key (direct billing) | ✓ OpenRouter key (models currently fixed) | — (model choice inside Kagi Assistant plan, Kagi's billing) |
| On-device data (by construction) | ✓ | △ (cloud search; strong no-tracking policy) |
| Open source | ✓ MPL-2.0 diff | ◯ partial (some components public) |
| MCP (reuse Claude/Cursor tools) | ✓ | — |
| Built by subtraction (no ads / tracking) | ✓ | ✓ (ad-free, no tracking — it's the product) |
| Price | $0 | $10/mo search (Orion browser free) |
✓ = full / ◯ = limited / △ = policy claim without structural guarantee / — = no
Based on each vendor’s public material as of 2026-06. Independent research —
spotted an error? Email us and we’ll fix it.
Which one should you pick?
Choose Kagi if…
- You want the best search results money can buy — ad-free, tracker-free, with personal ranking. Search quality is Kagi's whole product, and it shows.
- You're on macOS or iOS and want Orion: a WebKit browser with zero telemetry.
- You'd rather pay one flat subscription than manage an LLM API key.
- You want Kagi Assistant's bundled access to multiple frontier models inside the plan.
Choose Zeed if…
- You need a Linux browser — Orion ships on macOS and iOS only as of 2026-06.
- You want AI woven into browsing itself — sidebar reasoning over your open tabs, memory, and reading context — not just better search results.
- You don't want a monthly fee: Zeed is $0 and you pay your LLM provider per token.
- You want on-device data by construction and a public MPL-2.0 diff you can read.
- Best of both: run Zeed on Linux and set Kagi as your default search engine — they're complementary.
FAQ
Zeed vs Kagi, answered.
Is Kagi a browser?
▾
Kagi is primarily a paid search engine ($10/mo for unlimited searches) with an AI assistant. Kagi also makes the Orion browser, but Orion ships on macOS and iOS only — there is no Kagi browser for Linux as of June 2026. Zeed is a browser, Linux-first, and free.
Can I use Kagi search inside Zeed?
▾
Yes. Zeed is Chromium-based, so you can set Kagi as your default search engine in settings, exactly as you would in Chrome. Paid Kagi search plus Zeed's on-device AI sidebar is a genuinely good combination — they solve different problems.
Which is more private, Kagi or Zeed?
▾
They take different approaches. Kagi is a cloud search service with a strong no-tracking, no-ads policy — your queries reach Kagi's servers but are not used to profile you. Zeed keeps your browsing data (memory, history, bookmarks) on your device by construction, and AI requests go directly from your machine to the LLM provider you chose. One is privacy by policy, the other privacy by architecture.
Comparing others too? See all comparisons or the full feature matrix.
Try Zeed in two minutes.
Free, no account, no subscription. Paste an OpenRouter key on first launch and you’re browsing with AI.