DocFetcher AlternativesTop File Search Utilities and other similar apps like DocFetcher

DocFetcher is described as 'Portable German/English open source desktop search application. It allows you search the contents of documents on your computer. - You can think of it as Google for your local document repository' and is a very popular File Search utility in the file management category. There are more than 100 alternatives to DocFetcher for a variety of platforms, including Windows, Mac, Linux, BSD and Flathub apps. The best DocFetcher alternative is Listary, which is free. Other great apps like DocFetcher are Recoll, FSearch, Cling Fuzzy Finder and Agent Ransack.

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DocFetcher alternatives are mainly File Search Utilities but may also be Application Launchers or Duplicate File Finders.  Filter by these or use the filter bar below if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of DocFetcher.
DocFetcher iconDocFetcher
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DocFetcher is a portable German/English open source desktop search application. It allows you search the contents of documents on your computer. - You can think of it as Google for your local document repository.

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More about DocFetcher
DocFetcher alternatives page was last updated Mar 13, 2025
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Alternatives
  1. Listary icon

    Listary

     276 likes
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    Listary is a revolutionary search utility for Windows that makes finding your files and launching applications blazing fast, for casual and power users alike!.

    114 Listary alternatives

    License model

    • Freemium • Proprietary

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • CN flagChina

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • PortableApps.com
    • File Explorer
    Global Search

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Customizable

    Features

    1.  Fast file and folder search
    2. File Explorer icon  Windows Explorer Extension
    3.  Integrated Search
    4.  File Search
    5.  Application Launchers
    6.  No registration required
    7.  Ad-free
    8.  Full-Text Search
    9.  Quick Switch
    10.  Content Searching
    11.  Portable
    12.  Fuzzy Finder

    Listary VS DocFetcher

     
    Comments about Listary as an Alternative to DocFetcher
    Guest
    Negative •Sep 26, 2021
    4

    Listary does not support full text search

    Guest
    Negative •Oct 21, 2020
    0

    Only supports windows operating system.

    DocFetcher Icon
    Listary icon

    • Some users think Listary is a great DocFetcher alternative, some don't.

    • Listary is the most popular Windows alternative to DocFetcher.

    • Listary is the most popular free alternative to DocFetcher.

    • Listary is Freemium and ProprietaryDocFetcher is Free and Open Source
    • Listary is LightweightDocFetcher is not according to our users
  2. Recoll icon

    Recoll

     60 likes
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    This package is a personal full text search package which is based on a very strong backend (Xapian), for which it provides an easy to use and feature-rich interface.

    43 Recoll alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    Search results

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  File Search
    2.  Indexed search
    3.  File content indexing
    4.  Full-Text Search
    5.  File preview
    6.  Search-in-files
    7.  Dark Mode
    8.  Ad-free
    9.  No registration required
    10.  Command line interface
    11.  Works Offline
    12.  Semantic Search

    Recoll VS DocFetcher

     
    Comments about Recoll as an Alternative to DocFetcher
    Most Recent Comment
    SFN
    Negative •Oct 11, 2021
    2

    The installation in macOS is anything but simple. The default installer creates an application that cannot process PDF files, a lot of manual steps are needed to make the app functional.

    Guest
    Negative •Nov 5, 2024
    0

    It is not free for Windows.

    Guest
    Positive •Oct 11, 2016
    0

    It actually is a full text index. The other choices are file finders

    Show more comments
    3 of 4 comments
    DocFetcher Icon
    Recoll icon

    • Most users think Recoll is a great DocFetcher alternative.

    • Recoll is the most popular Mac & Linux alternative to DocFetcher.

    • Recoll is the most popular Open Source alternative to DocFetcher.

    • Recoll is Free and Open SourceDocFetcher is also Free and Open Source
    • Recoll is Lightweight and Privacy focusedDocFetcher is not according to our users
  4. FSearch icon

    FSearch

     65 likes
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    FSearch is a fast file search utility for GNU/Linux operating systems, inspired by Everything Search Engine. It's written in C and based on GTK+3.

    84 FSearch alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Flathub
    FSearch screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  Indexed search
    2.  File Search
    3.  Support for regular expressions
    4.  Ad-free
    5.  Works Offline
    6.  Dark Mode
    7.  No registration required

    FSearch VS DocFetcher

     
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  6. Cling Fuzzy Finder icon

    Cling Fuzzy Finder

     7 likes
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    Instant fuzzy find any file, act on it in the same instant.

    53 Cling Fuzzy Finder alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    Cling Fuzzy Finder screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Distraction-free
    2.  Privacy focused
    3.  Lightweight
    4.  Minimalistic

    Features

    1.  Ad-free
    2.  Works Offline
    3.  No Tracking
    4.  No registration required
    5.  Dark Mode
    6.  Support for scripting
    7.  Support for Hotkeys
    8.  Support for Keyboard Shortcuts
    9.  Hidden files
    10.  Content Filtering
    11.  Fuzzy Finder
    12.  QuickLook File Preview

    Cling Fuzzy Finder VS DocFetcher

     
  7. Agent Ransack icon

    Agent Ransack

     109 likes
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    Agent Ransack is a tool for finding files and information on your hard drive fast and efficiently. When searching the contents of files Agent Ransack also displays the text found. Users can then quickly browse the results without having to separately open each file!

    75 Agent Ransack alternatives

    License model

    • Freemium • Proprietary

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • GB flagUnited Kingdom

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Search results, showing the contents view docked below the file list view:

    Agent Ransack Features

    1.  File Search
    2.  Search-in-files
    3.  Context Menu extension
    4.  Outlook search
    5.  Ad-free

    Agent Ransack VS DocFetcher

     
    Comments about Agent Ransack as an Alternative to DocFetcher
    sombrenote
    Negative •Dec 14, 2017
    3

    It does index the text content of all your files so that you can search by particular strings inside your files.

    misterrobato
    Negative •Sep 28, 2021
    1

    Free version doesn't support indexing, file content search takes a LONG time.

    DocFetcher Icon
    Agent Ransack icon

    • Some users think Agent Ransack is a great DocFetcher alternative, some don't.

    • Agent Ransack is Freemium and ProprietaryDocFetcher is Free and Open Source
  8. grepWin icon

    grepWin

     74 likes
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    grepWin is a simple search and replace tool which can use PCRE regular expressions to search for strings of text within files. grepWin adds an entry to the shell context menu to easily search selected folders.

    33 grepWin alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • CH flagSwitzerland

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • PortableApps.com
    • Chocolatey
    Context menu.

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Portable
    2.  Dark Mode
    3.  Command line interface
    4.  Ad-free
    5.  Support for regular expressions
    6.  External editor support
    7.  Command Line Options

    grepWin VS DocFetcher

     
  10. fzf icon

    fzf

     34 likes
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    A command-line fuzzy finder written in Go.

    24 fzf alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • KR flagSouth Korea

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Vim
    fzf screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Fuzzy Finder
    2.  Terminal-based
    3.  Works Offline
    4.  Ad-free
    5.  Command line interface

    fzf VS DocFetcher

     
  11. Anytxt Desktop Search icon

    Anytxt Desktop Search

     13 likes
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    AnyTXT Searcher is a powerful local data full-text search engine, just like a local disk Google search engine. It is your ideal desktop search tool.

    68 Anytxt Desktop Search alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Anytxt Desktop Search screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Full-Text Search
    2.  Indexed search
    3.  Real-Time Search
    4.  Dark Mode
    5.  Ad-free
    6.  Works Offline
    7.  Outlook search

    Anytxt Desktop Search VS DocFetcher

     
    Comments about Anytxt Desktop Search as an Alternative to DocFetcher
    Guest
    Positive •Aug 14, 2021
    0

    feels alot like "Everything" search except also searches within File contents

    DocFetcher Icon
    Anytxt Desktop Search icon
    • Anytxt Desktop Search is Free and ProprietaryDocFetcher is Free and Open Source
    • Anytxt Desktop Search is LightweightDocFetcher is not according to our users
  12. UltraSearch icon

    UltraSearch

     33 likes
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    UltraSearch searches files and folders on local NTFS drives and provides the results within just a few seconds.

    52 UltraSearch alternatives

    License model

    • Freemium • Proprietary

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • DE flagGermany
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Main

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Full-Text Search
    2.  Portable
    3.  Dark Mode
    4.  Works Offline
    5.  Ad-free
    6.  No Tracking
    7.  No registration required
    8.  Non-Indexing search
    9.  GDPR Compliant

    UltraSearch VS DocFetcher

     
    Comments about UltraSearch as an Alternative to DocFetcher
    misterrobato
    •Sep 28, 2021
    0

    Slow file content search compared to DocFetcher. Fast file name search. Supports adding multiple search paths.

    DocFetcher Icon
    UltraSearch icon
    • UltraSearch is Freemium and ProprietaryDocFetcher is Free and Open Source
    • UltraSearch is LightweightDocFetcher is not according to our users
  13. AstroGrep icon

    AstroGrep

     33 likes
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    AstroGrep is A Microsoft Windows GUI File Searching (grep) utility. Features include regular expressions, versatile printing options, stores most recent used paths and has a "context" feature which is very nice for looking at source code.

    38 AstroGrep alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Main window

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1. File Explorer icon  Windows Explorer Extension
    2.  Dark Mode
    3.  Portable
    4.  Graphical User Interface
    5.  Support for regular expressions

    AstroGrep VS DocFetcher

     
    Comments about AstroGrep as an Alternative to DocFetcher
    misterrobato
    Positive •Sep 28, 2021
    0

    Doesn't support folder indexing like DocFetcher, searching can take a long time.

    DocFetcher Icon
    AstroGrep icon
    • AstroGrep is Free and Open SourceDocFetcher is also Free and Open Source
    • AstroGrep is LightweightDocFetcher is not according to our users
10 of 125 DocFetcher alternatives