Finding an ethical web browser. Ethical and environmental rankings of 15 web browsers with recommended brands and what to avoid.
In this guide we look at the ethics of Big Tech browser companies like Google, Microsoft and Apple, as well as smaller brands doing things differently in the web browser world, particularly in the area of digital privacy.
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Ecosia, which bills itself as 'the search engine that plants trees'.
The original article was written in 2021. Since then things have changed and we have just published an in-depth guide to search engines and a separate one on web browsers, comparing Ecosia with other brands.
We have edited this article in June 2026 to remove out-dated information and will be updating it shortly.
When you search Ecosia you’re using the indexes created by the Big Tech companies, like Google and Bing, like many search engines do.
Ad revenues
Ecosia’s revenue largely comes from advertisements. The adverts are generated by Bing (Microsoft), and when you click on one Ecosia receives a share of the revenue generated by the click (and the rest of the revenue generated from the click goes to Bing).
The only way that Ecosia raises money is through clicks on advertisements. Therefore if you use the search engine but don’t click on ads, Ecosia won’t make any money and therefore won't be planting any additional trees. It is the ad revenue that enables them to plant trees.
Does Ecosia really plant trees when you search?
Ecosia’s website says “Plant trees while you search the web”.
The total money spent on planting trees is listed every month on its website. Ecosia pays partners across the globe to plant trees and bring forests back to life, through activities like firefighting and regeneration. Partner names are made public, as is the amount of funding sent to them.
It’s estimated to take about 45 searches for Ecosia to generate the revenue for a tree to be planted. As mentioned before though, if you don’t click on ads you’re not making Ecosia money, so you’re not helping to plant trees. (And random ad clicking doesn’t work, according to the Ecosia website!)
