Comparison

CustomSearch 2 vs Rote

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

Head to head
About

CustomSearch 2

Take control of your web searches with a customizable engine selector. Choose from dozens of pre-built options or add your own, and use quick shortcuts to switch engines on the fly. Your privacy is protected as the extension only operates at the URL level.

Highlights
  • 29+ built-in search engines
  • Add custom search engines
  • Bang shortcuts for quick switching
  • Native iOS and iPadOS app
  • Privacy-focused operation
  • Safari toolbar integration
Features
Read full description

Custom Search Engine 2.1 has been rebuilt from the ground up with SwiftUI. Faster, cleaner, and now including a full native iOS app for iPhone and iPad that syncs with iCloud. Take back control of where Safari sends your searches. Choose from 33 built-in engines or add your own. Enable, disable, and switch engines in seconds from the Safari toolbar. 33 Built-in Search Engines Brave Search, Kagi, DuckDuckGo, Startpage, SearXNG, Perplexity, Google, Bing, and 21 more, all pre-configured and ready to use. No setup needed. Bang Shortcuts Override your default engine for any single query. Type k! for Kagi, d! for DuckDuckGo, pp! for Perplexity, y! for YouTube... no settings change required. Works at the start or end of any search. Add Your Own Engines Any search engine works. Enter a URL with %s as the query placeholder, assign a bang shortcut, and go. Your Privacy, Protected The extension operates at the URL level only. It never reads page content, never stores your queries, and never makes network requests. What you search is yours alone. How It Works 1. Enable the extension in Safari Settings → Extensions 2. Tap the toolbar icon to pick your default engine 3. Search as you always do, Safari redirects automatically Available for Mac (Safari App Extension) and iPhone & iPad (Safari Web Extension). Free, no account, no subscription, no ads, no tracking.

About

Rote

Capture inspirations, daily snippets, or to-do lists effortlessly. Share and export notes freely, with options for self-hosting and public timelines. Enjoy multi-platform synchronization and a PWA experience.

Highlights
  • Effortless note capture
  • Social media-like sharing
  • Full export capabilities
  • Self-hosted solution
  • Public note timelines
  • Multi-platform synchronization
  • Desktop components
Features
Read full description

We believe that taking notes should not be a burden that adds pressure; it should be as easy and purposeless as posting on a social media timeline. Whether it's capturing interesting inspirations, recording daily snippets, or arranging simple to-do lists, you can jot down notes effortlessly. At the same time, Rote will not become the "digital cage" that confines you. The content you write should not be locked down by any form or tool. In Rote, you can record, share, and even fully export all your notes in any posture. You have absolute sovereignty over your data, with the freedom to come and go, and say goodbye to data bondage forever! We even provide a self-hosted solution. Just rely on the mirrors and scripts we provide, and you can quickly set up and host your own Rote, achieving absolute data sovereignty (Data Sovereignty)! Rote also has a super cool feature - public notes. You can choose to make any of your notes public, whether it's a single share or a personal homepage, allowing anyone to see the content you want to share, just like a public "personal social media timeline." Geek mode: Private circle! If combined with self-hosting and registration restrictions, you can even create a customized version of a social media timeline for personal use or sharing with a few friends! I personally also place a high priority on recording efficiency! With shortcuts, you can quickly record after copying a piece of text or an image with a single click. As we said, we don't want note-taking to be stressful, and we are shortening the path to recording to the extreme. In addition to the above, there's more! - Multi-platform synchronization, PWA experience to the max: In addition to the app, we also have a web version, allowing you to use Rote on any platform. - Thanks to Rote's excellent PWA configuration, you can still enjoy a smooth experience close to the native app even without installing the app! - Desktop component family: Including recent notes, random reviews, and heatmaps, making your note stream always jump on the desktop. - Open-source repository gateway: Welcome to visit the open-source repository for Rote self-hosting, let's build together! GitHub: https://github.com/Rabithua/Rote Terms of Use: https://rote.ink/app/terms

Screenshots

CustomSearch 24 screens
Rote4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Rote at Free against CustomSearch 2's $1.99. Rote also leads on rating (5.0 vs 2.5) and update cadence (every 4 days vs every 6 weeks). CustomSearch 2's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3). On ratings volume, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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

Rote is free to download; CustomSearch 2 costs $1.99 up front. Rote sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. CustomSearch 2 asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Rote holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 2.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 2 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 77% of CustomSearch 2's written reviews are positive against 100% of Rote's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

CustomSearch 2 ships an update every 6 weeks, Rote every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
CustomSearch 2 versus Rote: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCustomSearch 2Rote
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating2.5 (2 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews76.9% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings22
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.618.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB72 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMarco Cebrian Muino宗泉 赵

Customer experience

CustomSearch 2

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews26 reviews
Positive76.9%
Neutral11.5%
Negative11.5%

Rote

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

CustomSearch 2

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Rote

Subscriptions3
  • Rote Pro Monthly1 Month trial$2.991 Month
  • Rote Pro Quarterly$4.993 Months
  • Rote Pro Yearly$24.991 Year

Questions

Is CustomSearch 2 free?
CustomSearch 2 costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Rote free?
Rote is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, CustomSearch 2 or Rote?
Rote is rated higher. CustomSearch 2 averages 2.5 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while Rote averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do CustomSearch 2 or Rote have ads?
Neither CustomSearch 2 nor Rote shows ads.
Which is updated more often, CustomSearch 2 or Rote?
CustomSearch 2 ships an update every 6 weeks, and Rote every 4 days. Most recently, CustomSearch 2 was updated on October 30, 2026 and Rote on October 28, 2026.

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