Sift vs Facebook Marketplace’s built-in filters: what each can do

Side by side

Five tables, one per job. “No” means the platform has no setting for it; where there is a partial workaround, the cell says what it is.

When the built-in filters are enough

Plenty of the time, Facebook’s own filters are all you need:

• You’re on your phone. Most Marketplace browsing happens in the app, and that is where Facebook’s filters work best. Sift can’t help there.
• It’s a one-off search. Looking for a specific item once, with a price range and Local pickup, doesn’t need anything extra.
• The category has good filters. Vehicles and rentals carry their own details, and Kijiji’s owner, dealer and Offering filters go further than Facebook’s.
• You don’t mind a few ads. If sponsored listings and the odd repeat don’t bother you, the built-in filters do the job.

If a filter seems to have stopped working, the Marketplace filters guide covers the usual causes and fixes.

When Sift makes the difference

Five jobs built-in filters can’t do, each with a guide that shows the manual way first:

1. Excluding words such as wanted, parts or “message for price”. See how to exclude words from a Marketplace search.
2. Hiding listings you’ve already opened, and sold items on your Saved page. See hiding sold and already-seen listings.
3. A radius that holds. Facebook’s circle leaks; see why Marketplace shows listings outside your radius.
4. Knowing whether a price has moved. See price history on Facebook Marketplace.
5. Hearing about new listings sooner. Kijiji’s alerts are daily at best. See Marketplace notifications.

What Sift can’t do

Honest limits, so you know what you’re getting:

• No phone or app support. Sift runs in desktop Chrome, Edge and Brave only.
• It can’t show what Facebook doesn’t load. Sift works on the listings the page brings in. It can hide listings, not find ones Facebook never served.
• It doesn’t change Facebook’s ranking. The order is still Facebook’s (or newest first, if you force it); Sift removes and marks, it doesn’t reorder.
• History starts when Sift starts. Price drops and reposts are spotted from the listings Sift has seen in your browser, so a brand-new install knows nothing about last month.
• Warning signs aren’t a verdict. Sift’s scam notes read the listing’s wording and price. A clean listing can still be a scam, so the usual rules apply: see the item before you pay.

Cost and privacy

Both are free. Facebook’s filters come with your Facebook account, and what you search and click feeds Marketplace’s ranking, as Meta explains in its Transparency Center. Sift needs no account and has no server: your settings and listing history stay in your browser, there are no analytics, and there is no Sift server for anything to go to. The privacy policy has the detail.

For a wider look at other Marketplace tools, including paid alert services and other filter extensions, see the comparison of Facebook Marketplace extensions. Everything Sift does is on the features page, and the filters alone are on Sift’s Marketplace filters.