Search Tool Capability Baseline v1.0
A normalized dataset of 18 search and discovery tools, published August 23, 2026. It records documented capabilities and access models—not subjective performance scores.
Search products are often compared as if they perform the same job. They do not. This dataset normalizes the job, retrieval scope, source visibility, access model and primary audience so comparisons start with entity facts before moving to performance tests.
Methodology
Each row is based on the current first-party documentation linked from the corresponding Searches.com profile. Searches.com records the product’s primary search job, access model, how results expose sources or destination context, the retrieval/index scope, and whether the product is primarily human-facing or developer/AI-facing. Where a product spans several jobs, the row names the dominant role relevant to this directory.
Capability baseline
| Tool | Primary job | Access | Source visibility | Retrieval scope | Audience |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Perplexity | AI answer synthesis | Freemium | Inline citations | Web retrieval + AI synthesis | Human-facing |
| Kagi | Premium web search | Paid subscription | Result URLs | Search ranking + lenses/domain controls | Human-facing |
| Google Scholar | Scholarly discovery | Free | Publication/citation records | Scholarly literature | Human-facing |
| Semantic Scholar | AI-assisted scholarly discovery | Free | Paper/citation records | Scholarly corpus | Human-facing |
| PubMed | Biomedical literature | Free | Citation/abstract records | MEDLINE + NLM records | Human-facing |
| DuckDuckGo | Privacy-oriented web search | Free | Result URLs | General web retrieval + privacy model | Human-facing |
| Brave Search | Independent privacy-oriented web search | Free / premium options | Result URLs | Independent web index + search features | Human-facing |
| GitHub Search | Repository/code discovery | Free / GitHub account | Repository/file context | GitHub-hosted code and metadata | Human-facing |
| Sourcegraph | Enterprise code search | Enterprise | Repository/file/symbol context | Cross-repository/code-host search | Human + developer |
| Google Lens | Visual web/object search | Free | Linked visual/web results | Visual recognition + web/product retrieval | Human-facing |
| TinEye | Reverse-image matching | Free web / commercial APIs | Matched image pages | Image fingerprint matching | Human + API |
| Pinterest Lens | Visual inspiration discovery | Free account | Pins/product links | Pinterest visual/content graph | Human-facing |
| Indeed | Broad job discovery | Free for job seekers | Job/employer links | Job marketplace + AI matching | Human-facing |
| LinkedIn Jobs | Networked professional job discovery | Free / Premium | Job/company/profile links | Professional graph + jobs | Human-facing |
| Wellfound | Startup job discovery | Free for job seekers | Job/company links | Startup talent marketplace | Human-facing |
| Google Shopping | Product/merchant discovery | Free | Merchant/product links | Shopping Graph + merchant feeds | Human-facing |
| Wayback Machine | Historical web retrieval | Free | Archived capture URLs | Historical web archive | Human-facing |
| You.com | Web search/research infrastructure | Free tier + usage pricing | Source URLs / cited API answers | Web/news search APIs + research synthesis | Developer/AI-facing |
Notable entity corrections found during this audit
AngelList Talent is not a current job-search product name. AngelList and Wellfound officially separated in 2022; AngelList Talent became Wellfound. Searches.com corrected the directory to the current Wellfound entity and redirects the legacy AngelList profile URL.
You.com’s center of gravity has changed. Its 2026 public positioning emphasizes web-search and research APIs for AI systems. Searches.com now classifies it as AI-search infrastructure rather than freezing the profile around its older consumer-search identity.
How to cite or reuse the data
Use the dataset for capability comparisons, entity resolution and research planning. For consequential claims, follow the profile to its primary sources because features and pricing change. This dataset should not be cited as evidence that one search tool is “better” than another.
The Search Tool Benchmark defines how Searches.com will add controlled query-set results without mixing documented product facts with performance observations.