Arky vs Kagi

Side-by-side comparison of features, pricing, and ratings

Analysis reviewed Live tool data as of 2026-10-09
Cross-checked through our multi-step verification ·
Saved

At a glance

DimensionArkyKagi
PricingFreemium (free tier + paid plans)Freemium (free tier + subscription plans)
Core FunctionVisual thinking canvas with AIAd-free private search engine with AI assistant
AI FeaturesAI chat with context awareness, background processing, deep web research with citationsAI Assistant with GPT-5.5, Claude 4.8 Opus, Gemini 2.5 Pro; Quick Answers; Summarize
Key IntegrationsYouTube, Vimeo, Mermaid, Notion (MCP), Linear (MCP)Orion Browser
Best ForStudents, researchers, product managers, writersPrivacy advocates, power users, teams, libraries
Latest News2026-06-04: Comments, background AI, deep research, embed blocks2026-07-02: AI toggle in search; widgets for coin flip, dice rolling

Choose Arky if you need a visual, AI-powered workspace to gather and structure complex ideas, ideal for research and project planning. Choose Kagi if you prioritize privacy and a superior search experience with AI assistance, but don't need a spatial canvas. For most buyers seeking a blend of structured note-taking and AI, Arky offers more specialized value; Kagi is purely a search/utility tool.

Try ArkyTry Kagi
Arky
Arky

Arky is a canvas-based document editor that turns scattered notes, PDFs, and research fragments into a structured outline you can actually see.

Visit Website
Kagi
Kagi

Kagi is a paid, ad-free private search engine with AI Assistant answers grounded in its own ad-free results.

Visit Website
Pricing
Freemium
Paid
Plans
$0/seat/mo
$7/seat/mo
$0/mo
$12/mo
$30/mo
$0
$5/mo (+ Sales Tax)
$10/mo (+ Sales Tax)
$25/mo (+ Sales Tax)
Popularity
5 views
6.4k views
Skill Level
Intermediate
Beginner-friendly
API Available
Platforms
DesktopWeb
WebMobileAPI
Categories
🗺️ Diagrams, Whiteboards & Mind Maps📝 Notes & Knowledge Management
🤖 AI Assistants📰 News & Feed Digests✨ Translation & Localization
Features
Infinite spatial canvas for mapping ideas and connections
Drag, group, and nest fragments into shell hierarchies
Doc view for linear writing once structure is set
Mind map view that follows your document's shell hierarchy
Context-aware AI chat reading what's visible on your canvas
Floating background AI chat (double-press Alt / Option)
Deep research with citations
AI Skills builder invoked via slash commands
In-place AI editing of selected text or table cells
Chat voice dictation with waveform and transcript
Queued chat messages while AI is still replying
Comment anywhere on canvas or docs with @Arky mentions
PDF attach, text selection, highlight, and drag-into-draft
Callouts with custom color and icon
Image generation on GPT Image 2.5
Ad-free search results with no sponsored placements or click tracking
Anti-tracking search that avoids building user profiles
Bangs ('!') for instant jumps to specific sites and lenses
Built-in lens bangs including !forums, !fediverse, !programming, !small_web, !academic, !usenet_archive
Site-specific search ('@') and regex filters for narrow queries
Lenses with direct URLs (e.g. /search?lens=forums)
AI toggle to opt in or out of AI-assisted results
Setting to automatically remove paywalled links from results (Aug 2026)
Kagi Assistant grounded by Kagi search results
Quick mode and Research mode AI interaction tiers
Flagship models including Claude 4.8 Opus, GPT 5.5, Gemini 3.1 Pro (Preview), DeepSeek V4 Pro, and Mistral Medium 3.5
Assistant Markdown and LaTeX support with thread search and folder filtering
Native iOS and Android apps for Kagi Assistant (Jul 2026)
Stocks widget covering stocks and ETFs with price charts (Aug 2026)
Orion Browser with built-in ad-blocking and anti-tracking, supports Safari/Chrome/Firefox extensions
Integrations
Notion
Obsidian
Slack
YouTube
Vimeo
Orion Browser
PayPal
OpenNode

What real users say: Arky vs Kagi

Not marketing copy and not our opinion — a structured sweep of public discussion (reviews, forums, communities and video comments), showing what people praise and what they complain about for each tool.

Arky

25 mentions across 3 sources · 57% positive — mixed (averaged across 3 sources)

Hacker News, Product Hunt, Lemmy

What users praise

  • • Spatial canvas with markdown hierarchy for free-form ideation.
  • • AI chat understands context and works in the background.
  • • Exports to Markdown, PDF, Word, and PNG — flexible output.
  • • Imports Obsidian vaults from zip — smooth migration for note-takers.

What frustrates them

  • • Too early to judge reliability — beta software may have bugs.
  • • No integrations with popular tools like Notion or Slack.
  • • Free tier likely limited — exact restrictions not well documented.
  • • Spatial layout may not export fully, causing migration pain.

Researched Jul 3, 2026

Kagi

66 mentions across 5 sources · 81% positive (averaged across 5 sources)

Hacker News, Product Hunt, Bluesky, Lemmy, Tech Press

What users praise

  • • Completely ad-free, no tracking, and respects privacy.
  • • Power users love domain blocking/promoting result customization.
  • • Regular feature updates like Quick Answers, Small Web, and SlopStop.
  • • Ability to view Hacker News discussions directly under search results.

What frustrates them

  • • Monthly subscription is too expensive for many casual users.
  • • Non-English search results are significantly weaker than competitors.
  • • Founder's political ties and use of Yandex source raise ethical concerns.
  • • AI Assistant is less capable than dedicated tools like ChatGPT.

Researched Jul 25, 2026

Who should pick which

  • Student researching a thesis
    Pick: Arky

    Arky's spatial canvas and deep web research with citations are perfect for synthesizing multiple sources into structured outlines.

  • Privacy-conscious web surfer
    Pick: Kagi

    Kagi offers ad-free, no-tracking search with AI assistant, ideal for someone who avoids Google's data collection.

  • Product manager planning roadmap
    Pick: Arky

    Arky's visual hierarchy, drag-and-drop nodes, and Notion/Linear integrations support roadmapping and priority visualization.

  • Power user needing advanced search syntax
    Pick: Kagi

    Kagi's site limits and bangs provide fine-grained control for efficient research across specific domains.

  • Writer drafting a structured article
    Pick: Arky

    Arky's canvas-to-Docs view, markdown export, and AI structuring are tailored for compiling research into drafts.

Frequently Asked Questions

Arky vs Kagi: which should you choose?

Choose Arky if you need a visual, AI-powered workspace to gather and structure complex ideas, ideal for research and project planning. Choose Kagi if you prioritize privacy and a superior search experience with AI assistance, but don't need a spatial canvas. For most buyers seeking a blend of structured note-taking and AI, Arky offers more specialized value; Kagi is purely a search/utility tool.

Can I use Arky for team collaboration?

Yes, Arky supports real-time collaboration with canvas and doc comments, including @mentions, as of version 1.1.

Does Kagi have a mobile app?

Kagi Translate has a mobile app, but the search engine is accessible via mobile browsers; no native search app is mentioned.

Can Arky import from other tools?

Yes, Arky can import Obsidian vaults via zip and supports web scraping, but no direct Evernote or Notion import is listed.

Is Kagi's AI Assistant free?

Kagi offers a free tier, but AI Assistant usage may be limited; full access requires a subscription.

Does Arky work offline?

Arky is primarily web and desktop, but it is not mentioned as offline-only; recent updates emphasize local file access for desktop apps.

Can I disable AI features in Kagi?

Yes, as of July 2026, Kagi added an option to disable AI features in search.

More Arky or Kagi comparisons

Arky vs Surge AI comparison

If you need a visual workspace to gather and structure ideas with AI assistance, Arky is your tool. If you need to train or evaluate frontier AI models with expert human feedback, Surge AI is essentia

Arky vs Praktika comparison

Choose Arky if you need a visual canvas to structure ideas, research, and collaborate — best for knowledge workers and students. Choose Praktika if you want AI-powered speaking practice for language l

Jobright.ai vs Kagi comparison

Kagi and Jobright.ai serve completely different needs: Kagi is a privacy-focused search engine with an AI assistant, while Jobright is a specialized job search tool. If you want ad-free, private web s

Kagi vs ReadTube comparison

If you're a privacy-focused searcher who hates ads and wants deep search controls plus an AI assistant, choose Kagi. If you're drowning in YouTube subscriptions and prefer reading over watching, choos

AI PDF Summarizer by PDF Guru vs Kagi comparison

Choose AI PDF Summarizer if your core need is extracting key points from PDFs quickly with interactive chat, and you want basic PDF editing for occasional use. Choose Kagi if you prioritize privacy in

HermesPet vs Kagi comparison

If you need a full privacy-first search ecosystem with AI, choose Kagi. If you want a native, local, always-on AI companion on your desktop that lets you run multiple models in parallel without subscr

Explore each tool further

Arky
View Arky reviewArky alternatives
Kagi
View Kagi reviewKagi alternatives

Browse these categories

Best AI Diagrams, Whiteboards & Mind Maps toolsBest AI AI Assistants toolsBest AI Notes & Knowledge Management toolsBest AI News & Feed Digests tools
Still deciding? Get the weekly AI tools brief

One email a week — new tools, honest comparisons, no spam.

Last reviewed: July 30, 2026