I have to give 1 block since they indeed put ads in their search results. That’s a big trade considering they are all about “search results”. There are better trade-free alternatives out there.

3/5 for the google alternative. Their engagement in advertising makes duckduckgo not trade-free. But unlike google, they don’t collect your data and sell it to advertisers.

And as a side note, you can use an adblocker to block ads from duckduckgo.

Indeed DuckDuckGo will post ads into their search results. See here https://help.duckduckgo.com/duckduckgo-help-pages/company/advertising-and-affiliates/

It’s great search engine, and I’ve been using it as a main “searcher” for the last couple of years. It’s fast, secure, accurate (without filter bubble) and free. I’ve put 4 bars rating, because it still serving you ads, and earns revenue from advertising. Although it’s not aggressive or invasive, I guess it’s their way of making ends meet.