CustomSearch 2 vs Bangs!
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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.
Bangs!
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Bangs! - Search Faster in Safari Unlock the power of "bangs" on every search engine! Bangs! is a Safari Web Extension that brings DuckDuckGo-style search shortcuts to Google, Bing, Yahoo, and more. Stop navigating to websites just to search them - do it directly from your address bar. WHAT ARE BANGS? Bangs are short commands that let you search other sites directly. Want to look something up on Wikipedia? Just type !w swift into your Safari search bar. Need a repository on GitHub? Type !gh [query]. Bangs! intercepts these commands and takes you exactly where you want to go. KEY FEATURES: - Thousands of Built-in Bangs: Access a massive library of shortcuts for Wikipedia, YouTube, Amazon, GitHub, Reddit, and thousands more. - Create Custom Bangs: Have a specific site or internal tool you use daily? Create your own custom shortcuts (e.g., !mytool) with ease. - Seamless Integration: Works automatically within Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, Yahoo, and Ecosia. - Privacy First: Bangs! processes everything locally on your device. Your search history stays private and is never sent to our servers. - Lightweight & Fast: Designed to be virtually invisible until you need it, with no impact on browsing speed. HOW TO USE: 1. Enable the extension in Safari Settings. 2. Go to your favorite search engine (like Google). 3. Type a bang followed by your search term (e.g., !yt funny cats). 4. Hit enter and go straight to the results! Stop wasting time with extra clicks. Search smarter, faster, and more efficiently with Bangs!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is device support: CustomSearch 2 at 3 against Bangs!'s 1. CustomSearch 2 also leads on iOS requirement (18.6 vs 26.0). Bangs!'s advantage is price ($0.99 vs $1.99). On ads and in-app purchases 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
CustomSearch 2 costs $1.99 and Bangs! $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
| Parameter | CustomSearch 2 | Bangs! |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 | $0.99 — better |
| Rating | 2.5 (2 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 76.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 2 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 18.6 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 4 MB | 8 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Marco Cebrian Muino | Sayan Goswami |
In-app purchases
CustomSearch 2
No in-app purchases
Bangs!
No in-app purchases









