Comparison

Vimlike vs Surfed

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Vimlike

Enhance web browsing with keyboard shortcuts, mimicking a Vim-like editor experience. Navigate pages, manage tabs, and interact with links using customizable key bindings. Offers features like dark mode and reader view for a streamlined workflow.

Highlights
  • Keyboard shortcuts for navigation
  • Customizable key mappings
  • Link interaction (open, new tab)
  • Tab management (new, close, switch)
  • Insert and normal modes
  • Reader view and dark mode
Features
Read full description

Vimlike is a Safari extension to browse the web by keyboard shortcuts like a vim-editor. See the default key binding below and you can customize every key mapping. Page Navigation: j Scroll down k Scroll up h Scroll left l Scroll right ctrl+f Page down ctrl+b Page up d Half page down u Half page up g g Go to bottom of the page g Go to top of the page i Go to the first edit box a Open the link below the cursor s Open the link below the cursor in a new window Mode: Esc/`/§ Normal mode ctrl+i Insert mode ctrl+d Dark mode shift+r Reader view ? Help History: shift+h Go back shift+l Go forward Link: f Toggle links shift+f Toggle links (open a link in a new tab) n Move to next link shift+n Move to previous link Tab: t New tab q Previous tab w Next tab x Close tab shift+x Undo close tab r Reload tab Search Bar o Open Search Bar / Search links Video: ctrl+u Play video in a fullscreen ctrl+p Play video in a PIP cmd+. Exit fullscreen video Privacy Policy: • Vimlike requires access to the websites to override the keyboard shortcuts • Vimlike never collects any data from your browser. None of the data will leave your device.

About

Surfed

This app unifies browsing history and bookmarks across devices with smart collections, tags, and notes. It offers advanced tools for developers and researchers, including a web inspector and automations, while providing a user-friendly interface for everyday browsing.

Highlights
  • Unified multi-browser history
  • Smart bookmark collections
  • Tags, notes, and reminders
  • Web Inspector and HTML Playground
  • Web Triggers automations
  • Dedicated browsing workspaces
  • Media Viewer
Features
Read full description

Surfed is a browser and unified history + bookmark manager for iOS, macOS, and visionOS that keeps a global, multi-browser history with smart bookmark collections, tags, notes, and reminders synced across devices. Search any session with powerful filters across all the context Surfed captures, then save those queries as personal, self-updating smart bookmark lists that surface the right pages at the right moment. The browser includes a built-in Web Inspector, Network Monitor, HTML Playground, JavaScript Console, and Web Triggers automations that run as you browse and can be built from extensive actions or installed from a gallery—so casual readers, normal users, and everyday browsers get a friendly UI while researchers, students, and professionals can organize knowledge and debug complex web apps. ### A Browser for Every Workflow - Create dedicated browsing workspaces with unique profiles, search engines, and automations for each context. - Use the Media Viewer to surface every image, video, and audio asset found on the current page. - Open a split browser view to compare sources or multitask across two sites at once. - Use the enhanced download manager with Live Activities, URL clean-up tools, and Share Sheet support. - Extend Surfed’s features directly inside Safari with the Surfed Safari extension for quick history, bookmarks, and automations. ### Smart Bookmark & History Manager - Keep a complete history of all your browsers across iOS, macOS, and visionOS that is fully searchable. - Build dynamic collections, reminders, and saved searches that update automatically as you browse. - Tag everything, track time-on-page, surface statistics, and protect sensitive sessions. ### Made for Power Users & Developers - Inspect layouts, watch network calls, test snippets, or prototype ideas inside the HTML Playground without leaving the page. - Edit source code live with Web Inspector + HTML Playground to test changes. - Automate repetitive steps with Web Triggers, Shortcut Actions, and JavaScript or AI-generated code—there are actions for everything. - Build browsing automations that trigger as you surf, either by composing your own Web Triggers from the extensive action catalog or installing prebuilt recipes from the gallery. - Customize search engines, clean URLs in one tap. ### Organize Research, Work, and Study - Capture ideas with notes, website tags, and Spaces dedicated to each project. - Attach Markdown notes to individual webpages and jot down per-Space notes to track decisions and next steps. - Turn history into personalized research dashboards that stay in sync across devices. - Listen Later and Read Later queues keep long-form content accessible whether you are commuting or studying. - Capture and annotate articles with Markup Mode, then share them using tons of built-in browser actions or Shortcuts workflows. ### Optional AI Assistance - Ask questions about your current browsing session or a single webpage inside the AI Chat to extract the answers you need. - Let AI tagging classify websites automatically so your collections stay organized. - Summarize long-form articles with one tap to save time during research or study. ### Privacy-First Sync - Your browsing data lives only on your devices and is protected with Face ID, Touch ID, or passcode. - Surfed does not collect analytics or diagnostics. Sync happens via secure, native Apple services. In-app purchases unlock Surfed Pro features on iOS, macOS, and visionOS. App Privacy: All browsing history is stored locally on your device and cannot be viewed by anyone else, including us. We do not collect analytics or diagnostic data. Follow @surfedapp on X and @Surfed@indieapps.space on Mastodon for updates. Privacy Policy: http://surfed.app/privacy.html Terms of Service: http://surfed.app/terms.html

Screenshots

Vimlike3 screens
Surfed4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Vimlike at 4.7 against Surfed's 3.5. Vimlike also leads on review sentiment (85% vs 43%) and in-app purchases (none vs 3). Surfed's advantage is device support (5 vs 3). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Surfed sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Vimlike asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Vimlike holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 30 and 26 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 85% of Vimlike's written reviews are positive against 43% of Surfed's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Vimlike ships an update every 2 months, Surfed every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Vimlike versus Surfed: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVimlikeSurfed
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (30 ratings) — better3.5 (26 ratings)
Positive reviews84.6% of reviews — better42.5% of reviews
Number of ratings30 — better26
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 6 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Vision Pro — better
Requires iOS16.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size34 MB51 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperJasmine StudiosHOsy - intelligent software.

Customer experience

Vimlike

All ratings28 ratings
Positive96.4%
Neutral0.0%
Negative3.6%
Written reviews52 reviews
Positive84.6%
Neutral11.5%
Negative3.8%

Surfed

All ratings26 ratings
Positive65.4%
Neutral3.8%
Negative30.8%
Written reviews40 reviews
Positive42.5%
Neutral12.5%
Negative45.0%

Bugs and requests

Vimlike

Reported bugs

14 issues
  • Default mode setting does not work
  • Scrolling bug on iPadOS
  • Cannot use 'f' to press buttons on webpage
  • Hitting F again does not cancel navigation
  • Extension not working after a while, requires reinstallation
Show 9 more
  • Scrolling no longer works on iPadOS
  • Memory leak after Ventura update
  • Issues with custom bindings in Gmail
  • Scrolling animation feels choppy
  • Scrolling stuttery on iPad Pro with ProMotion
  • Cannot get out of YouTube fullscreen with control+u
  • Reconfigs don't work
  • Safari no longer inserts username/passwords
  • Extension not working on Google Domains

Requested features

15 requests
  • Open search result in current tab
  • Customized new tab URL
  • Support for opening bookmarks/favorites
  • Visual mode for highlighting text
  • Custom search URL support
Show 10 more
  • Ability to move tabs left/right
  • Option to disable scrolling animation
  • More subtle color scheme for link selection
  • Website specific settings to exclude key bindings
  • Simulate 'o' and 'O' from other Vim plugins
  • Command focus the URL of the page
  • Specify keys for ACTIVATE_LINK command with 'Ignore keyboard layout'
  • Command for changing tab order
  • Easy in-app config for exclusion list
  • Dark mode option

Surfed

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Vimlike

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Surfed

Subscriptions2
  • Pro Feature Monthly$0.991 Month
  • Pro Feature Yearly$7.491 Year
One-time1
  • Pro Feature Purchase$17.99

Questions

Is Vimlike free?
Vimlike is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Surfed free?
Surfed is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Vimlike or Surfed?
Vimlike is rated higher. Vimlike averages 4.7 out of 5 from 30 ratings, while Surfed averages 3.5 from 26 ratings.
Do Vimlike or Surfed have ads?
Neither Vimlike nor Surfed shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Vimlike or Surfed?
Vimlike ships an update every 2 months, and Surfed every 6 weeks. Most recently, Vimlike was updated on October 14, 2026 and Surfed on October 5, 2026.

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