finopsFrameworkVersion: '2024'
focusVersion: '1.1'
provider: duckduckgo
last_verified: '2026-05-23'
sources:
  - https://duckduckgo.com/api
  - https://duck.ai/
  - https://duckduckgo.com/privacy-pro
summary: >-
  DuckDuckGo's developer-facing surface (Instant Answer API, Tracker Radar,
  Email Protection) is free, so there is no FOCUS-aligned billing telemetry
  available. The commercial surface is consumer-priced subscriptions
  (Duck.ai Plus / Pro, Privacy Pro). The FinOps profile below therefore
  models consumer SaaS rather than usage-metered cloud API spend.
billingCharacteristics:
  cloudProvider: DuckDuckGo
  serviceCategories:
    - id: developer-api
      services:
        - Instant Answer API
        - Tracker Radar dataset distribution
      pricing_model: free
      focus_alignment:
        ChargePeriodStart: n/a
        BillingAccountId: n/a
        ServiceCategory: AI / Search
        PricingCategory: free
      cost_governance:
        responsible_team: Engineering / Search team
        guidance: cache responses to reduce egress and external traffic
    - id: consumer-subscriptions
      services:
        - Duck.ai Plus
        - Duck.ai Pro
        - Privacy Pro (VPN + PIR + ITR)
      pricing_model: subscription (monthly / annual)
      focus_alignment:
        ChargeCategory: Purchase
        PricingCategory: Committed
        BillingFrequency: Monthly or Annual
      cost_governance:
        responsible_team: Procurement / IT
        guidance: review trial conversion, regional availability, and seat allocation; not metered per call
  exportFormats:
    - none publicly documented
practices:
  - principle: Inform
    actions:
      - Maintain an internal subscription register for Duck.ai Plus/Pro and Privacy Pro seats.
  - principle: Optimize
    actions:
      - Cache Instant Answer responses to minimize redundant external calls.
      - Pin or mirror Tracker Radar to avoid GitHub raw-content rate limits.
  - principle: Operate
    actions:
      - Track renewal dates manually; DuckDuckGo does not expose a billing API.