To be fair this is why the $25 plan exists but if the economics are to be believed is totally unsustainable. For me 1.5¢/search is a really awkward spot. Fixed cost unlimited and GPT cheap pricing of $0.000002/token hit "use without thinking" status but at 1.5/2.5¢ I could actually rack up a rather large bill by accident so it causes me to use the service less.
And so I easily make 50–100 searches per day when I don’t even feel I’m actively searching for anything. And if I'm in a research mode, the count goes beyond that.
I noticed that only after I’ve subscribed to Kagi. After realising that I’ll burn throw the plan’s allowance very quickly, I tried doing most of my “dumb” searches via Google, and more important stuff — via Kagi. But that introduces a cognitive load, and kills the point of using a paid search engine.
Perhaps, I should switch to the $25 plan, but I can’t justify paying $250–$300 annually for a search engine, even though I have nothing against the idea of paying for one. Unfortunately, it’s too much for me. Nevertheless, I’m rooting for Kagi because it ticks all the boxes for me, and provides value. I hope that operational costs go down, and more people could use it.