Firefox lets you change your default search engine in three clicks from the Settings menu

Open Firefox and click the menu button (three horizontal lines) in the top right corner. Select Settings, then click Search in the left sidebar. Under "Default Search Engine," click the dropdown menu and choose from the list of built-in options: Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, Ecosia, or Startpage. Your choice takes effect when ready — the next time you search from the address bar, Firefox will use your new default engine.

If you want to use a search engine that is not on the built-in list, you can add it manually. This is useful if you prefer a smaller search engine or one focused on privacy, or if you want to search a specific website directly from your address bar.

Key Takeaways

  • Your default search engine is what Firefox uses when you type a search query into the address bar instead of a web address.
  • Firefox includes five built-in search engines: Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, Ecosia, and Startpage, and you can switch between them in Settings without installing anything.
  • You can add a search engine that is not on the built-in list by visiting its website and using the "Add Search Engine" option that appears in the address bar.
  • Changing your default search engine does not affect which search results you see — it only changes which company's search tool processes your query.

Why you might want to change your default search engine

Your default search engine is the tool Firefox uses when you type words into the address bar. If you type "weather" or "pizza near me," Firefox sends that query to your default search engine and shows you the results. Different search engines collect different amounts of information about your searches and sell or share that data in different ways.

Google is the default in most browsers because it is the largest search engine, but it also keeps detailed records of your searches tied to your Google account if you are signed in. DuckDuckGo and Startpage do not store your search history or tie searches to your identity. Bing is Microsoft's search engine. Ecosia uses search revenue to fund tree-planting projects. Choosing a different default does not change what you can search for — it changes who processes your query and what they do with the information.

How to add a search engine that is not built into Firefox

If you want to use a search engine that Firefox does not include by default, you can add it yourself. Visit the website of the search engine you want to use — for example, Qwant, Yandex, or a privacy-focused engine like SearX. Look for a search box on the homepage. Right-click inside the search box and select Add a Keyword for this Search (or Add Search Engine, depending on your Firefox version).

Firefox will ask you to name the search engine and assign it a keyword — a short abbreviation you can type in the address bar to use that engine. For example, you could assign the keyword "q" to Qwant, so typing "q pizza" in the address bar searches Qwant for pizza. Once you have added the engine, go back to Settings > Search and you can set it as your default.

Not every website has a search box that Firefox can recognize. If the right-click option does not appear, the website may not support this feature. In that case, you can still visit the site and search manually, but you cannot make it your default search engine through Firefox's built-in tools.

The difference between your default search engine and search suggestions

Firefox has two separate settings related to search. Your default search engine is what processes your actual search query when you type in the address bar. Search suggestions are predictions Firefox shows you as you type — they come from your default search engine by default, but you can turn them off or change which engine provides them.

To control search suggestions, go to Settings > Search and scroll down to "Search Suggestions." You can turn suggestions off entirely, or keep them on but choose a different search engine to provide them. For example, you could use Google as your default search engine but get suggestions from DuckDuckGo, or vice versa. This is useful if you want one engine to handle your actual searches but prefer another engine's suggestions.

What happens when you search from different places in Firefox

Your default search engine only applies to searches you type in the address bar (the field at the very top where you normally type web addresses). If you click on a search box that is already on a website — like the search box on Wikipedia or Amazon — Firefox uses that website's search tool, not your default engine. This is true no matter what your default is set to.

If you open a new tab, Firefox shows you a search box in the middle of the page. Searches from that box use your default search engine. Some websites also have their own search boxes embedded in the page itself; those always use that website's search tool. The only place your default search engine matters is the address bar at the top.

How to set different search engines for different situations

Firefox lets you assign a keyword to any search engine you have added, so you can use different engines without changing your default. For example, you could set Google as your default (so regular searches use Google), but assign the keyword "d" to DuckDuckGo. Then, whenever you want to search DuckDuckGo specifically, you type "d your search term" in the address bar.

To set up keywords, go to Settings > Search and scroll down to "One-Click Search Engines." This section shows all the search engines you have added. Click the three-dot menu next to any engine and select Edit. In the "Keyword" field, type a short abbreviation — one or two letters work best. Save your changes. Now you can type that keyword followed by your search term in the address bar to use that specific engine.

This approach is useful if you want to keep your default search engine straightforward but have quick access to specialized engines. For instance, you might use Google by default for general searches, but keep DuckDuckGo available for searches where you want more privacy, or Wikipedia available for fact-checking.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does changing my search engine affect my browsing history or cookies?

No. Your search engine choice only determines which company processes your search queries. Your browsing history, cookies, and cached data are stored separately by Firefox and are not affected by which search engine you choose. You can clear your history and cookies independently in Settings > Privacy & Security.

Can I use the same search engine as my default and for suggestions?

Yes, and this is the default setup. When you set a default search engine, Firefox automatically uses it for suggestions too. You can change this in Settings > Search under "Search Suggestions" if you want a different engine to provide suggestions.

What if I want to search Google even though I set a different default?

You can always visit google.com directly and search from there, or you can add Google as a keyword search engine. Type "g your search term" in the address bar to search Google without changing your default. This works for any search engine you have added to Firefox.

Will changing my search engine make Firefox faster or slower?

Search engine choice does not affect Firefox's speed. All major search engines return results at similar speeds. The difference between them is in privacy practices, result quality, and what they do with your search data — not in how fast they work.

Can I set a different default search engine for private browsing windows?

Firefox does not have a built-in option to set separate defaults for private and normal browsing. Your default search engine applies to both. If you want to use different engines in different situations, use keywords instead — assign a keyword to your privacy-focused engine and use it when you want that engine's behavior.