Ecosia
Web Search Germany
Steward-owned search engine that funds tree planting from profits. Alternative to Google Search.
Details
Ecosia is a search engine whose ad-revenue surplus funds reforestation: over 200M trees planted since 2009. The company is steward-owned via the Purpose Foundation, meaning it cannot be sold and external dividends cannot be paid out.
From May 2026 Ecosia results in France come from EUSP, the independent EU search index it co-built with Qwant, with other markets to follow. Other markets still rely on Bing in the background. Buyers compare Ecosia to Google on environmental impact, privacy posture, and AI-summary depth (where it lags Google).
About Ecosia
Ecosia GmbH is a German search-engine company headquartered in Berlin, founded in 2009 by Christian Kroll. Since 2018 the company has operated under a steward-ownership model via the Purpose Foundation: shares cannot be sold and dividends cannot be paid externally, making Ecosia structurally impossible to acquire.
Roughly 80% of ad-revenue surplus is reinvested into reforestation projects (200M+ trees planted as of 2026). In May 2026, alongside Qwant, Ecosia began serving results from EUSP (European Search Perspective), the independent EU search index the two companies have co-built since 2024 — the first time in 16 years Ecosia has delivered its own results rather than relying purely on Bing.
