How to Search All of Craigslist at Once (2024)

Today’s online marketplaces like LetGo, Offerup, and Facebook Marketplace have taken the spotlight away from Craigslist, but unlike the old classifieds – which are long dead – Craigslist is still a viable site for buying and selling. The site is great at finding deals located in your area. With specific Craigslist listings in each market, it’s easy to shop for items that are available in your area without having to worry about shipping.

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However, many users want more results than just their local area, which is where third-party Craigslist search applications come in handy. In this article, we’ll show you how to use web-based Craigslist search engines as well as smartphone apps to run searches in multiple areas at once.

How Craigslist Works

Craigslist is a really useful site, but users have long seen areas where it could be far more functional. Suggestions in that direction have been in vain, however, because Craigslist has a very definite founding philosophy that is built around serving local communities.

Craigslist could easily include cross-location searching, but the site’s creator wanted people to use the site for geo-localized transactions, not as a way to access statewide, national, or global markets. From the time the site was launched, people have tried to use Craigslist in ways that do not keep with the founder’s vision, and that’s OK. As users, we are not under any obligation to keep Craigslist the way its creators want it to be.

However, be advised that going “against the grain” in this fashion runs the risk of having one’s participation on the site curtailed if it is detected. How to Search All of Craigslist at Once (2)

Can I Search all of Craigslist at Once?

The simple fact is that it’s highly useful to be able to search all of Craigslist at once. True, you’re not likely to fly across the country to buy a few Beanie Babies, but you might be able to work out a long-distance deal with someone.

Craigslist is also invaluable when trying to research prices and values. A relatively rare item might not show up on your local Craigslist site, but you can find it in a few places nationwide, and from those ads, you can get an idea of what the item is worth. Results from a nationwide Craigslist search help you cast a far wider net across the country or globe, searching for brand new items for sale without having to pinpoint the specific location you want to search. How to Search All of Craigslist at Once (3)

How to Search Craiglist Outside of Your Area

Although Craigslist does not natively support any type of cross-location searching, third parties have created a plethora of tools for bypassing the site’s self-imposed restrictions. Several services allow you to search Craigslist in its entirety without limiting yourself to a single city.

By casting a broader net, you’re more likely to find the item you’re looking for, especially if you don’t mind driving for it. There are a wide variety of websites to choose from, complete with some recommendations on which sites are great for which services.

Web-Based Craigslist Search Engines

Much of the browsing done on Craigslist takes place on a good, old-fashioned desktop computer. While browsing on the go can be handy (Craigslist has a mobile site just for that), there are plenty of reasons why you’d want to browse at home over browsing on your mobile device.

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For one, it’s far easier to navigate through Craigslist with a mouse and keyboard than with a touchscreen, especially if you’re looking for specific items, looking to browse through a lot of listings at once, or simultaneously recording your findings in a database or spreadsheet. For that very reason, we kick this list off with some web-based Craigslist search engines that make it easy to browse through listings outside of your general Craigslist area. Some of these sites can even help you find listings on lesser-known Craigslist alternatives, making it easy to locate the desired item.

SearchTempest

SearchTempest narrows your search results a bit more than what you may expect from other search sites, but for many users, the search engine may be the most useful site of all.

Instead of searching in entirety on Craigslist without regard to location or limiting your returns to one single state or province, SearchTempest allows you to search by a distance from your existing zip code or city name.

That means that shoppers who live near the border of states or Canada can easily search content close to them instead of searching by a general state area, such as Buffalo and Toronto. You can exclude or include US and Canadian city listings, search by category and sub-category, and even include search requests like filtering listings without photos or limiting a price request.

SearchTempest also has options to search by state and worldwide, making it truly one of the most useful sites on this list. Once you enter your search criteria, SearchTempest will group your results by location, making it easy to browse based on mileage and distance.

Statewidelist

Statewidelist makes the process of searching your entire state for a specific item far more accessible than the traditional Craigslist site. The site’s homepage requires you to enter your search term, select a category of your choosing (by default, this setting sets to search all categories), and then select the state or Canadian province.

Due to Google search changes, the site cannot list Craigslist results directly, but it does show eBay results. To work around the search-restricted issue, simply click a location found in the “Direct results links” row. The site will then populate Craigslist results based on your specified search criteria.

While SearchTempest and Statewidelist are two of the best Craigslist multi-location search tools, other sites have an option to search Craigslist outside of your area (along with other site searches like Amazon or Pennysaver).

  • Search All Junk: This search engine allows you to consolidate your results from Craigslist with results from other classified offerings, including Pennysaver, Oodle, Recycler, and more. How to Search All of Craigslist at Once (7)
  • ZoomTheList: The interface isn’t that pretty, but ZoomTheList can make searching through Craigslist a breeze with its advanced filtering. How to Search All of Craigslist at Once (8)

Following the ads at the top of your search results, you will see all Craigslist posts for the search criteria you entered.

  • DailyLister: This site is similar to ZoomTheList, containing a full list of options using Google Custom Search. Check this one out if ZoomTheList isn’t doing it for you. How to Search All of Craigslist at Once (9)
  • Onecraigs: Another “Search All Cities” Craigslist site, this one seemed more focused on major cities throughout the United States like LA and New York City. If you live in a major metropolitan area or you travel quite a bit, this one may be the site for you.
  • Search Craigslist: This site accomplishes what most users need, which is looking to search the entirety of Craigslist. It has a simple interface and an even more straightforward premise: seeking every Craigslist listing regardless of your location. Using a custom Google search engine, Search Craigslist loads every result from the site based on your search terms, with sorting options for relevancy (by default) and date posted. Since the site is searching for active Craigslist postings, everything is up to date and current on the site. Clicking on each listing simply retrieves the information for you, making it easy to load the links inside your web browser.

iOS Craigslist Search Engines

If you’re on an iPhone, using a mobile app is a much better way to browse through Craigslist to find that unique item you want. If you’re on the move, using a mobile app for iOS is the best way to search. After many years, Craigslist has released an official app for iOS, but it is less functional than the third-party apps. Here is the best app to use on your iPhone.

  • CPlus: In many ways, CPlus is the must-have app for iPhone users looking to browse through Craigslist. The app looks good, especially when compared to most other Craigslist services on the market today. CPlus features a color-based interface that makes everything feel a little more simplified while browsing through listings. The app has a ton of features, including, most importantly, the ability to search through multiple cities at once within the app. CPlus can even show your listings within a map view that’s built right into your phone, making it easy to pinpoint the exact location of the item. You also get the ability to post and edit your listings. Our favorite feature: CPlus will grey out listings you’ve already viewed, making it simple to pick up your searches later on in your day. How to Search All of Craigslist at Once (10)

Android Craigslist Search Engines

The Play Store on Android has dozens of listings for Craigslist apps, with some quality listings making the top cut. The official app from Craigslist is less functional than the third-party apps, sad to say, but you can always check it out. But if you’re looking to search multiple cities or regions for your items on Craigslist, starting with a quick search on your Android device might be the best way to go about it.

  • CPlus: Android is just copying the name and design of the successful iOS app of the same name, but it gets things right on its own. CPlus ranks at the top of our list for Android, as well as iOS, primarily because of its powerful search features. Overall, CPlus on Android does lack some of the visual polish that the iOS version delivers, but it’s also complete with the mapping ability we loved on iOS. Grab this one today.
  • Postings: In terms of visual design, everything about Postings works great. It’s a gorgeous application that almost matches the graphical interface we’ve come to expect and appreciate on Android, making it one of our favorite ways to search through Craigslist regularly. Seriously, this app looks great, incorporating curved edges and a material design that makes it easy to browse while also using the amazing search engine provided by Postings (allows you to search multiple cities at once). Just note that you can’t search the Personals section of Craigslist on this app, due to past issues with the app getting pulled off of Google Play because of that feature.
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Sometimes, you put together a way to ship items without having to rely on Craigslist or eBay, making the distance between locations a non-issue for most users. These websites and apps make it quick and easy to search all of Craigslist from a single page.

While it may still take a little effort to find what you want, these sites help you use Craigslist to its full potential and help you find that unique item you’ve been looking for online. Third-party search engines and apps are the smartest way to browse the site, whether you’re using your mobile phone, desktop, or laptop computer.

Searching Craigslist

There’s a lot to love about shopping for items on Craigslist, even if you aren’t looking for something specific. The major problem with Craigslist is that its search functionality is limited to what you can find in your area. While that limitation works well for broad searches, many Craigslist users have the means to travel to get the items they want.

If you’re more interested in selling more than in buying, you’ll want to check out our article on how to advertise using Craigslist on multiple sites at once. We also have a good article on how to monitor Craigslist for specific keywords or items.

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How to Search All of Craigslist at Once (2024)

FAQs

How do I search multiple Craigslist locations at once? ›

How to search all of Craigslist at once
  1. SearchCraigslist.org — Web app.
  2. SearchTempest — Web app.
  3. CPlus for Craigslist — iOS and Android.
  4. Search All Junk — Web app.
Mar 29, 2021

How do you search multiple terms on Craigslist? ›

"OR" Search: You can find postings with one or multiple terms by using the vertical bar symbol between words. Grouping: You can group terms together in parenthesis when queries are complicated. Wildcards: You can search for different forms of a word by using the star symbol.

How to do a US wide search on Craigslist? ›

In the search field, enter what you're looking for—whether jobs, merchandise, or love—it's all the same to Google! Follow your search word or words with "site: craigslist.org". This will focus the search for information on Craigslist and all of its subdomains. Use additional modifiers to narrow your search.

How do you select multiple cities on Craigslist? ›

Changing Cities

If Craigslist is automatically loading your true location, and you have decided that you want to list an item for sale on another city's site, click the "Craigslist" title menu on the upper left side of the page. Doing so will direct you to a master list of Craigslist's available cities.

How do I mass post on Craigslist? ›

https://post.craigslist.org/bulk-rss/post - Submit RSS to this URL to be posted.
  1. send an HTTP POST request. with a Content-Type of "text/xml" encoded as UTF-8. containing RSS content in the correct format.
  2. wait for a response.
  3. check the response for an <cl:warning> tags.

How do I find old ads on Craigslist? ›

Go to the internet archive here https://archive.org/web/Next to where it says wayback machine type www.craigslist.com into the box and click browse history.

How do I post on all Craigslist? ›

Creating a craigslist posting
  1. Visit our list of available sites. ...
  2. Click on "create a posting"
  3. You may need to confirm the geographic location for your posting.
  4. Select a type for your posting.
  5. Select a category for your posting.
  6. Enter the text of your posting.

How do I search nearby areas on Craigslist? ›

Location Searching
  1. Go to any craigslist site and click the geographical name at the top of the page.
  2. A map will open up - you can write in the name of a city or ZIP code or adjust the map.
  3. As you type you are presented with suggestions. Select the location you wish to search.

How do you search multiple terms? ›

Searching for multiple keywords

You can search for multiple keywords by connecting them with AND, OR, or AND NOT (known as Boolean operators). Narrows a search by requiring that both keywords are found. A search for guggenheim AND bilbao would find both "Museo Guggenheim Bilbao" and "Guggenheim Museum Bilbao."

Does Craigslist hide your email when you reply? ›

Craigslist uses email obfuscation to protect your actual email address from exposure. When you click on the response button in the Craigslist ad, the site generates for you a Craigslist email address. When the other user responds to your message using this address, you receive the message into your real email address.

What is the competition of Craigslist? ›

The best alternative to Craigslist, in our opinion, is Offer Up. The app offers a robust array of listings, is easy to use, includes a verified account feature, and includes buyer ratings. Other worthy alternatives to Craigslist include Facebook Marketplace, Locanto, Mercari, and Recycler.

How do I search Craigslist Nationwide with Google? ›

The best way to search Craiglist nationwide is to use Google. There are advanced settings you can use on Google to search an entire site at once. This can be done using Google search operators. Simply input the site and the keyword you want to search for on that site for Google to return your search results.

What search engine does Craigslist use? ›

Originally Answered: how does the craigslist search engine searchtempest.com work? Most search tools that include results from craigslist do so using Google's Custom Search Engine tool. This lets you pass user queries to Google, along with parameters to tailor the results you receive back.

How do I narrow a search on Craigslist? ›

Use a minus sign to indicate which term you want to exclude from the search results. For instance, “Herman Miller Aeron C -gray” (without the quotation marks) would leave out any gray chairs from the results. Use more than one minus sign and a term to indicate more than one term that you want excluded.

Can you have multiple Craigslist accounts? ›

There is no explicit rule that limits the number of Craigslist accounts. You can have multiple accounts but you are at the risk of getting flagged if you post the same ad across different locations.

Can I list multiple items on Craigslist? ›

While posting multiple ads for the same product is against the site's Terms of Use, if you have a number of different items to sell in your city, registering a Craigslist account will help you to eliminate steps and post your ads more efficiently.

How does Craigslist map work? ›

What is Show on Maps? Checking Show on Maps is the 1st step for being included in map-based searches on craigslist. Checking this box allows you to enter your city and postal code -- and street address if you want. You will then see a map on the next page, where you can move the pin if needed to refine the location.

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