n8n has no built-in DuckDuckGo node: n8n’s integrations documentation lists none. DuckDuckGo is popular in n8n as a free web search tool for AI agents, and there are two kinds of community nodes for it: one that queries DuckDuckGo directly with no API key, and several that run a DuckDuckGo scraper on Apify with your Apify token. This guide compares them, using the description and README each author publishes on npm and our own download data.
DuckDuckGo community nodes
Our DuckDuckGo hub lists 4 packages that pass our quality rule (weekly npm downloads as of 28 October 2026):
| Package | Weekly downloads | Latest version | Author’s description |
|---|---|---|---|
| n8n-nodes-duckduckgo-search | 1,414 | 32.19.0 (24 October 2026) | AI Agent-ready DuckDuckGo search of the web, images, news and videos, no API key, no outbound telemetry |
| n8n-nodes-scrapeunblocker-duckduckgo-search | 9 | 0.1.2 (29 September 2026) | Runs ScrapeUnblocker’s DuckDuckGo Search Scraper on Apify: organic results and ads |
| n8n-nodes-duckduckgo-search-api | 5 | 0.1.1 (18 June 2026) | DuckDuckGo organic results with titles, links and snippets, Apify-backed, pay per result, usable as an AI Agent tool |
| n8n-nodes-duckduckgo-scraper | 2 | 0.1.0 (19 July 2026) | Runs a DuckDuckGo search results scraper on Apify |
Versions and dates come from the npm registry. Weekly downloads: npm, last 7 days, adjusted for npm outage days.
n8n-nodes-duckduckgo-search
Almost all the DuckDuckGo installs go to this package. It calls DuckDuckGo directly, needs no API key or account, and per its README sends no telemetry. Its README lists:
- Four search types: Web, Image, News and Video, with region, safe search and, for web search, operators such as
site:,filetype:andintitle:. - Extract Page Content: give it any URL and it returns the main text and metadata, and web and news results can optionally include page text.
- Instant Answer and Search Suggestions from DuckDuckGo’s free endpoints.
- AI Agent use: the node works as a tool for n8n’s AI Agent.
The README is open about the main limit: DuckDuckGo rate-limits by IP address and answers clients it considers automated with a human-verification page sent as HTTP 202, which looks like success to a normal HTTP client. The node recognizes that page, reports a rate-limit error and backs off for about a minute. According to the README, shared and datacenter IPs, such as n8n Cloud, most VPS hosts and CI, hit the limit soonest, and Search Suggestions is the operation least affected.
Apify-based packages
The other three run a DuckDuckGo scraper on Apify, so the search itself runs on Apify’s platform. You need an Apify account and API token, the same Apify API credential type that other Apify nodes use, and runs are billed to that Apify account.
- n8n-nodes-scrapeunblocker-duckduckgo-search: one or more queries per run, organic results and ads as JSON.
- n8n-nodes-duckduckgo-search-api: organic results with position, title, link, snippet and date, region and language, recency filters and several pages; works as an AI Agent tool and supports Apify OAuth2. Its README says it is pay per result.
- n8n-nodes-duckduckgo-scraper: shows the scraper’s input fields as a form; a short README.
Check each node page here for the latest release and, where it has one, its GitHub repository for open issues before you build on a package.
How to choose
- A free search tool for an AI agent on your own server: n8n-nodes-duckduckgo-search.
- Read the text of a page an agent found: the Extract Page Content operation of n8n-nodes-duckduckgo-search.
- Frequent searches from a shared or datacenter IP that keeps hitting rate limits: an Apify-based package, at Apify’s prices.
- Search results with ads, or many queries in one run: n8n-nodes-scrapeunblocker-duckduckgo-search.
To install a package on a self-hosted instance, an owner or admin enters its npm name in Settings > Community Nodes; full steps are in How to Install n8n Community Nodes. On n8n Cloud only verified community nodes can be installed, see Verified vs Unverified n8n Community Nodes. Related: Best n8n Community Nodes for Apify and Firecrawl in n8n.
FAQ
Does n8n have a DuckDuckGo node?
Not a built-in one. DuckDuckGo search comes from community nodes, the most used being n8n-nodes-duckduckgo-search.
Can an n8n AI agent search the web with DuckDuckGo for free?
Yes. n8n-nodes-duckduckgo-search works as an AI Agent tool and needs no API key. Expect DuckDuckGo’s rate limits on shared or datacenter IPs.
Why does my DuckDuckGo search return nothing or a rate-limit error?
DuckDuckGo limits automated requests by IP address. The n8n-nodes-duckduckgo-search README says the node detects DuckDuckGo’s verification page, reports it as a rate-limit error instead of an empty result, and backs off for about a minute.
What is the most used DuckDuckGo community node?
n8n-nodes-duckduckgo-search, with 1,414 weekly npm downloads on 28 October 2026.
