Because it’s a free and accurate reverse image search tool, Yandex is chosen by many people. Though it’s nearly impossible to find an engine with the filtering and number of results Yandex offers, some tools surpass it.

When it lacks precision or when you simply need something different from what Yandex offers, you can rely on other tools.

I’ve conducted some research, and can confidently say these 6 are the best ones!

Alternative	Price	Pros	Cons
Google Images (Lens)	Free	Great for object recognition, integrated with Lens, easy access	Weak for face matching, often returns lookalikes
ProFaceFinder	Paid	Near-perfect face-matching accuracy for different platforms	Albeit cost-friendly, not free
Bing Visual Search	Free	Strong reverse matches, better results for Western content	Limited face search, mostly identifies celebrities
PimEyes	Paid (limited free preview)	Highly accurate face matches, huge image database	Subscription required for full results, privacy concerns
Lenso.ai	Free (may vary by region)	Good AI results, face/duplicate categorization, free access	Face search limited by region, newer tool with growing database
CopySeeker	Free	No sign-up required and prioritizes quality over quantity	Mainly works for famous people best

What Went Wrong With Yandex Images?

Yandex’s image engine had two unique strengths. 

1. It could match faces with incredible accuracy even when the photo was edited, blurred, mirrored, or low-res.

2. Its web reached places most Western engines missed (e.g., VK, Odnoklassniki, and other Russian or Eastern European platforms). This made it a go-to for reverse searching selfies, fake profiles, or stolen content.

But after 2022, everything went downhill: the search stopped returning relevant faces, facial recognition was removed entirely for many users, and accessibility was blocked across IP regions. 

Some suspect the company scaled back AI capabilities due to legal pressure or cost cuts. Others link the problem to geopolitical shifts and sanctions. 

Whatever the cause, Yandex’s dominance in face search has sharply eroded, pushing many to look for alternatives…

1. Profacefinder – For More Accurate Results

If Yandex isn’t cutting it with its face search, ProFaceFinder might be the upgrade you need.

Unlike Yandex, it works well with altered, low-quality, or even AI-generated photos. Just upload the image, and it scans across platforms to find matches.

It’s especially useful if you’re dealing with a suspected catfish. While Yandex sticks to public sources, ProFaceFinder digs into social media and dating apps where scammers usually hide.

All that, just to find accounts that use photos similar to the one you’ve uploaded or the same person’s photo in different sources.

Pricing:

• • 2 searches – $6
• • 7 searches – $10

2. Bing – Best for Similar and Related Photos

Bing has quietly become one of the best all-purpose image search tools. It’s especially useful when you’re trying to find the original version of a high-quality image: a professional headshot, a stock photo, or a viral post. 

It occasionally even outperforms Google when searching for photos from Western websites. Its face search isn’t as deep as Yandex once was, and like Google, it mostly focuses on celebrities if it tries to identify a person at all. 

However, for reverse image searching (especially lifestyle, travel, or social media content), Bing is underrated. It’s free and provides context, but doesn’t necessarily aim to find one exact match. Instead, it pulls in similar-looking images.

In testing, it returned over 100 results, with only a few being truly accurate, while the rest were similar-looking people. That’s typical unless you’re searching for a well-known person.

Also, Bing can detect and translate text in images, and all sources are just one click away. Less typing, clicking, and time wasted!

3. Google – Great For Exact Matches, Products and Details 

If you’re looking for context, like identifying an object, a landmark, or where else a product photo appears online, Google is a solid place to start. 

Its integration with Google Lens allows it to recognize text, packaging, faces, and scenes quickly and on all devices. But here’s the downside: it’s not great for facial reverse image searching. 

Instead of finding the same person, it’s usually content with “lookalike” images. You might search for a selfie and get a row of people who vaguely resemble the subject of your image.

Here, as you can see, the results were impressive. When I searched a person’s photo, I got over 50 results, all accurate. You could instantly tell where each result came from thanks to the clear site logos. 

There was even a dedicated section with the person’s name. Clicking on it took me straight to a website with their full bio. 

I also tried it on a dress, and the results were just as good. Most of them were links to places where you could buy or rent it. 

4. Lenso.ai – For Altered and Old Photos

If you’re ever curious about what happened to your old friends, just upload their picture on Lenso.ai and watch as an image of them in uniform appears, all grown up.

Lenso is one of the newer options in the space. It uses machine learning to reverse search images across several categories:

• People;
• Objects;
• Scenes, and more. 

For face searching, it’s surprisingly capable. It even categorizes its results into “Duplicates”, “Similar”, and “People”, making it easier to find matches that matter.

The downside? In some regions, face search is disabled due to privacy laws. You get 10 free searches a day, but the free version doesn’t show the sources behind the results. If you want full access, subscriptions start at $16.

I got about 20 results, and 90% were spot-on. Additionally, Lenso.ai works well for finding random people as well!

5. CopySeeker – Best For Exact Matches

If you’re after exact results and nothing else, CopySeeker might be your best bet. It’s a free tool, much like Yandex, but the way it works is different.

CopySeeker only finds exact and similar matches; you won’t get hundreds of results, but a few spot-on ones. It works especially well for semi-famous and well-known people.

Yandex, on the other hand, gives you tons of results, but most of them are either related or look-alikes. It struggles with precise matches but shines when it comes to finding similar images or related content.

6. PimEyes – Great Results for Half-Covered or Altered Faces

This is the closest tool to what Yandex once was, at least when it comes to faces. PimEyes is a dedicated facial recognition engine that scans the public web for matching faces. 

It’s scarily effective! Just upload a clear photo, and PimEyes will often return dozens of matches: 

• Old headshots, 
• Profile pictures, 
• Images from blog posts, and more. 

It’s particularly popular with journalists, digital investigators, and even people checking how their face is being (mis)used across the web.

But…it’s not free. While you can preview blurred results, you’ll need a paid subscription to unlock full URLs and image details. But if you’re serious about facial recognition, it’s worth it.

PimEyes works surprisingly well–even with the 10 free searches it offers daily. While advanced features and access to source links require a subscription, the free version still holds its own.

FAQs:

1. Can I still use Yandex if it’s blocked in my region?

It depends because, luckily, the blockage is quite inconsistent. Here’s what you can try:

• Yandex’s .ru domain (e.g., yandex.ru/images);
• A VPN set to a Russian IP (though this may be slow and trigger CAPTCHAs);
  Telegram or Discord bots that act as reverse image proxies using Yandex’s API;
• Third-party search tools like ImgOps to forward your query through Yandex.

Do keep in mind, though, that workarounds such as these ones may affect Yandex’s efficiency in image-matching.

2. If none of these tools find a match, what should I do next?

It’s very unlikely for none of the alternatives to work, but if that’s the case, what you can do is switch the image you’re reverse-searching for.

It may be too blurry, edited, or hiding the face of the person, which makes the tools unable to find quality results.

3. Which tools actually show where the photo was found? (Not just similar images)?

Let me break it down: free services like Google, Bing, or CopySeeker lack the depth needed to find the exact sources and matches, although they still do a decent job!

Tools like ProFaceFinder are designed to perfectly-match images (faces and other elements) due to the powerful technology it uses and vast database access.