Do we like Ecosia?
Berlin-based not-for-profit search engine that spends its ad profits on tree planting and climate projects.
Our score: 8 out of 10. Yes, we'd back them. The company can't be sold and profits can't be taken out. They publish financial reports. Watch the AI add-ons and how much goes to trees.
Christian Kroll started Ecosia in 2009 from his Berlin apartment, after travelling and seeing deforestation first-hand. The idea was a search engine that earns from ads and spends the money on trees. It has grown into a big name in green tech.
The standout move came in 2018. Kroll and co-founder Tim Schumacher moved Ecosia into steward-ownership with the Purpose Foundation. In practice, nobody can sell the company or pull profits out of it. Reports describe a binding veto share and monthly published financial reports.
On results, Ecosia reached 250 million trees in April 2026, according to Good News Network. It says it works with local experts on 1,600 native species, 144 of them endangered or vulnerable. TechCrunch noted that tree planting draws scepticism, and Ecosia says it plants native species rather than monoculture plantations.
It isn't perfect. One review site noted the share of revenue going to tree planting fell in early 2023, while reserves grew. In 2026 Ecosia added AI chat, users pushed back, and it added an AI-free setting. It then dropped Mistral for open-weight models, including Chinese ones, run via a German platform.
Overall, we like them a lot. The ownership is about as mission-proof as it gets, the reporting is open, and we found no fines or major scandals. We docked points for the dips in tree-planting share, the AI push, and its reliance on Bing for results.