With every online search you leave an ecological footprint. At green search engine Ecosia, this is compensated. Because, while you search, new trees are planted. How does this work? And why should you choose Ecosia? You’ll read about it in this article.
Why are search engines polluting?
The Internet in 2024 is one of the most polluting industries in the world. Especially since the advent of AI tools like ChatGPT. But even a simple search on Google emits about 7 grams of CO2. By comparison, boiling water for a cup of tea is equivalent to about 15 grams of CO2. So every time you look something up on the Internet, it takes as much energy as making half a glass of tea.
That’s not nearly as much as an AI tool, ChatGPT even consumes 25 times as much as Google. So shove aside that ChatGPT for simple searches and better opt for a regular search engine like Google or Ecosia. To be clear, with Ecosia you also have emissions, but you compensate for them because new trees are planted.
Are you looking for a European alternative to ChatGPT that is privacy-friendly and sustainable? Then find out here if Le Chat by Mistral AI is for you.
How does Ecosia work?
“You search, we plant trees.” Under this motto, Ecosia enticed new users in September 2024. The idea sounds very nice, but how does it actually work? In fact, Ecosia’s revenue model is simple: the company generates revenue through ads, and a significant portion of the profit is used to plant trees.
Furthermore, Ecosia uses Bing’s technology, not Google’s. As a result, you sometimes get different search results in Ecosia than in Google. Or they are the same, but they are in a different order.
As a sustainable web designer and photographer, I signed the Sustainable Web Manifesto. Here you can read what that is and how web designers can make the internet more sustainable.
Why should you use Ecosia? 7 reasons
1. A more sustainable alternative on Google
At Ecosia, trees are planted in searches, but not at Google. While Google is doing its best to increasingly run its data centers on renewable energy, Ecosia is taking tree planting a step further.
There is also an alternative to Google Analytics called Burst. Read why Burst is the sustainable and privacy-friendly alternative to Google Analytics here.
2. A transparent company
Transparency is one of Ecosia’s core values. On the website, you can see per month how much money came in and where the profits went.
3. Climate conscious workplace
Unlike Google, Ecosia is a relatively small company with only 150 to 200 employees. The company not only considers a good work-life balance important, but also invests in good bicycle parking in its Berlin office. Employees can also participate in climate strikes in the German capital during working hours.
4. Privacy-friendly
Ecosia is a German company and therefore must comply with European privacy laws. Again, the search engine goes a step further: it says it is only interested in trees, not personal data. Searches are not permanently stored and no personal profiles based on search history are created. Data are not resold to outside parties.
So in terms of privacy, you’re in the right place with Ecosia. Want to know more about Ecosia’s privacy policy? Then listen the company’s podcast here.
5. Track your climate impact
Since May 2025, you can track your climate impact on Ecosia through a personal profile. You can see how your searches contribute to various green actions:
- Planting seedlings (saplings)
- Planting trees
- Generation of renewable energy
- Care of trees
- Restoration of the earth’s surface
This system, called the seed counter by Ecosia, works like a nudge: it encourages you to use the green search engine more often and take concrete climate actions. You can also reach higher levels and learn more about Ecosia’s environmental projects.
Want to know exactly how this works? Then read the blog about the seed counter from Ecosia.
By the way, AI also has a huge environmental footprint. Find out here what the environmental impact of AI is and how to deal with it as a green entrepreneur.
6. AI for the green goal
Not all chatbots are necessarily polluting. Ecosia launched two AI tools in its search engine in December 2025. One allows you to get an AI summary for regular searches. This is an automatically generated answer based on information sourced from other websites. Ecosia’s AI view uses the Mistral-small-3.2 language model, sourced from France’s Mistral AI, the privacy-friendly and sustainable alternative to ChatGPT. Don’t want to use Ecosia’s AI view? Then simply click the “Disable Overviews” button in the overview.
In addition, Ecosia has had the chatbot AI search since late 2025. This has been running since 2026 on the model Mistral Small 4 from the French company Mistral AI. Again, Ecosia consistently applies the aforementioned sustainable business model here. The user searches, Ecosia plants trees. The company gets that done by generating revenue from green ads. Also, this chatbot cannot generate images or videos, which is in line with the values of this German company.
7. Other product: climate-aware browser
In addition to its own search engine, Ecosia also features the Ecosia browser. By browsing, Ecosia generates solar energy. Also, this browser is said to be very privacy-friendly and shows mostly climate-conscious ads.
8. Under development: European search index
Although Ecosia uses Bing’s technology, it collaborates with the French search engine Qwant to develop an all-European search infrastructure. Since November 2024, Qwant and Ecosia have been working on a European search index, under the project name European Search Perspective(EUSP). A search index is like a table of contents for the internet; it is part of the technology behind a search engine.
The goal is to completely break away from U.S. search engines like Google and Bing. Once the EUSP comes into effect, Ecosia and Qwant will be able to get their search results from their own infrastructure and no longer depend on external technology. As of August 2025, this European search index for Ecosia is available in France and Germany. At a later stage, the search index will be rolled out in other countries. In this article from The Brussels Times, you can read how the rollout of EUSP is going anno 2026.
Why shouldn’t you use Ecosia? 2 reason
Despite all the advantages, there are also two potential drawbacks to Ecosia:
1. Different search results than in Google
While in 2024 Ecosia sometimes showed less accurate search results than Google, now in 2026 you will see different search results. There are a number of reasons for this:
- Focus on sustainability: search results that focus on a sustainable future are displayed faster.
- Focus on privacy: Ecosia doesn’t collect user data, so you won’t see personalized search results.
- Other index and ranking methods: the technology behind the search engine is different. Especially in France and Germany, where the European search index EUSP has been rolled out since 2025.
2. Ecosia shows ads
Although the ads are from green parties, they are still advertising. Some people may find that distracting. In Google Chrome you can have the ads in Google search results hidden with an ad blocker, with Ecosia this does not work.
As a web designer and photographer, how do I use Ecosia?
I have Ecosia installed in my browsers as my default search engine. I use this sustainable search engine for simple, everyday searches. That could be about a WordPress plugin or the review of a Canon lens. In the process, I see my climate impact reflected daily in the seed counter.
Want to know more? Then I go to another search engine or then I use Mistral AI’s green AI chatbot Le Chat.
Conclusion
For people, who value sustainability, Ecosia is a great search engine: you plant trees while you search. It is also a very sympathetic sustainable company that is transparent, climate-conscious and handles your privacy correctly. However, the search results may be a bit different from Google, as Ecosia has a focus on sustainability and privacy. It’s up to you to decide whether or not to choose Ecosia.
Article updated on Monday, April 13, 2026.