Recoll AlternativesFile Search Utilities and other similar apps like Recoll

Recoll is described as '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' and is a popular File Search utility in the file management category. There are more than 25 alternatives to Recoll for a variety of platforms, including Windows, Linux, Mac, Xfce and Android apps. The best Recoll alternative is Everything, which is free. Other great apps like Recoll are DocFetcher, Catfish, Desktop Docs and Copernic Desktop Search.

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Recoll alternatives are mainly File Search Utilities but may also be File Managers or Application Launchers. Filter by these or use the filter bar below if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of Recoll.

Recoll

File Search Utility
Free • Open Source

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.

More about Recoll

Recoll alternatives page was last updated Sep 8, 2024

Everything
"Everything" is an administrative tool that locates files and folders by filename instantly for Windows. Unlike Windows search "Everything" initially displays every file and folder on local or removable NTFS volumes on your computer (hence the name...
106 Everything alternatives
License model
- Free • Proprietary
Application types
- File Search Utility
- File Manager
Platforms
- Windows
Top Everything Features
1. File Search
2. Instant results
3. Fast file and folder search
4. Clean design
5. Support for regular expressions
6. Lightweight
7. Quick search
8. Monitor File Changes
9. Portable
10. Ad-free
11. Exclude files and folders
12. Works Offline
Show all NaN Everything features ▾
Everything VS Recoll
Is Everything a good alternative to Recoll?
Comments about Everything as an Alternative to Recoll

renArD
Everything Search doesn't look the file contents
Negative comment •Jan 28, 2019
7
- Everything is the most popular Windows alternative to Recoll.
- Everything is the most popular free alternative to Recoll.
- Everything is Free and ProprietaryRecoll is Free and Open Source

DocFetcher
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.
118 DocFetcher alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application type
- File Search Utility
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
+2
Top DocFetcher Features
1. Search-in-files
2. File content indexing
3. Indexed search
4. Full-Text Search
5. Content Searching
6. Portable
7. Built-in viewer
8. Shared Folders
9. Reads odt files
10. Network Scanner
11. Search in Archives
Show all NaN DocFetcher features ▾
DocFetcher VS Recoll
Is DocFetcher a good alternative to Recoll?
Comments about DocFetcher as an Alternative to Recoll

ph soft
Similar program as recoll. Plus: Includes a realtime indexer and free executable on windows. Minus: much slower for large datasets, less configurable.
Positive comment •Aug 29, 2020
2
Guest
Comparatively trivial to install.
Positive comment •Oct 7, 2020
0
Guest
Doesn't search WITHIN documents.
Negative comment •Jul 31, 2020
-11
- Most users think DocFetcher is a great Recoll alternative.
- DocFetcher is the most popular Mac & Linux alternative to Recoll.
- DocFetcher is the most popular Open Source alternative to Recoll.
- DocFetcher is Free and Open SourceRecoll is also Free and Open Source

Catfish
Catfish is a handy file searching tool for Linux and Unix. The interface is intentionally lightweight and simple, using only GTK+3. You can configure it to your needs by using several command line options.
26 Catfish alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application type
- File Search Utility
Platforms
- Linux
- BSD
- GTK+
- Xfce
Catfish Features
1. Works Offline
2. Full-Text Search
3. Lightweight
4. Ad-free
5. Command line interface
6. Built-in viewer
7. Filtering
Show all NaN Catfish features ▾
Catfish VS Recoll
Is Catfish a good alternative to Recoll?

Ad
Copernic Desktop Search
Instantly find documents, e-mails(full text), attachments, videos, pictures, music(metadata), and other types of files(file names). The size limit of the index of the free version is 75,000.

https://www.copernic.com/en/products/desktop-search/
Learn More
Desktop Docs
Desktop Docs is the all-in-one platform to browse, edit, and export your media files.
52 Desktop Docs alternatives
License model
- Paid • Proprietary
Application type
- File Search Utility
Platforms
- Mac
Desktop Docs Features
1. Ad-free
2. No Tracking
3. Works Offline
4. Built-in viewer
5. File Tagging
6. No registration required
7. AI-Powered
8. Local Search
9. Video search
Show all NaN Desktop Docs features ▾
Desktop Docs VS Recoll
Is Desktop Docs a good alternative to Recoll?
- Desktop Docs is the most popular commercial alternative to Recoll.
- Desktop Docs is Paid and ProprietaryRecoll is Free and Open Source

Copernic Desktop Search
Instantly find documents, e-mails(full text), attachments, videos, pictures, music(metadata), and other types of files(file names). The size limit of the index of the free version is 75,000.
75 Copernic Desktop Search alternatives
License model
- Freemium • Proprietary
Application type
- File Search Utility
Platforms
- Windows
Copernic Desktop Search Features
OCR
Outlook search
PDF OCR
Indexed search
Show all NaN Copernic Desktop Search features ▾
Copernic Desktop Search VS Recoll
Is this a good alternative to Recoll?

Search Monkey
A fast real-time search engine for displaying regular expression matches (both file name and content) across multiple directories.
76 Search Monkey alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application type
- File Search Utility
Platforms
- Windows
- Linux
- BSD
Search Monkey Features
Portable
Content Searching
Content preview
Real-Time Search
Show all NaN Search Monkey features ▾
Search Monkey VS Recoll
Is Search Monkey a good alternative to Recoll?

RecentX
RecentX is an innovative launcher that gives you instant access to your files, folders, programs, websites & clipboard history. It automatically remembers your favorite & recent items so that you can launch them even faster.
281 RecentX alternatives
License model
- Paid • Proprietary
Application types
- File Search Utility
- Application Launcher
Platforms
- Windows
+7
Top RecentX Features
1. File Tagging
2. Windows Explorer Extension
3. Portable
4. Tagging
5. Indexed search
6. Folder-Search
7. Tabbed interface
8. Clipboard monitoring
9. Image Preview
10. Tag based
11. Folder Tagging
12. Bookmark History
Show all NaN RecentX features ▾
RecentX VS Recoll
Is RecentX a good alternative to Recoll?

SwiftSearch
SwiftSearch is a lightweight program whose purpose is to help you quickly find the files you need on your Windows machine without ever requiring you to index your drives. Most search utilities that achieve similar speeds do so by indexing drives while the computer is idle, but...
73 SwiftSearch alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
- File Search Utility
- File Manager
Platforms
- Windows
SwiftSearch Features
Lightweight
Portable
Persistent Linux
Support for regular expressions
Show all NaN SwiftSearch features ▾
SwiftSearch VS Recoll
Is SwiftSearch a good alternative to Recoll?

TextSeek
TextSeek is a professional full-text desktop search tool for Windows and MacOS. It supports PDF, Word, Excel, Powerpoint, RTF and other formats.
97 TextSeek alternatives
License model
- Freemium • Proprietary
Application type
- File Search Utility
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
+2
TextSeek Features
1. Portable
2. Full-Text Search
3. Privacy focused
4. Ad-free
5. Works Offline
6. No registration required
7. Lightweight
8. No Tracking
9. In-document search
Show all NaN TextSeek features ▾
TextSeek VS Recoll
Is TextSeek a good alternative to Recoll?

FileSearchy
File search utility that provides instant search by file name, and powerful search by file contents, size and date. Supports search inside PDF, Microsoft Office and other documents. Highlights found text in file names and contents. Clean and intuitive multi-tabbed user interface.
72 FileSearchy alternatives
License model
- Free Personal • Proprietary
Application type
- File Search Utility
Platforms
- Windows
FileSearchy Features
Local Search
Show all NaN FileSearchy features ▾
Discontinued
The official website is no longer available. Last version, 1.43, released in October 2016, can be still downloaded from Majorgeeks
FileSearchy VS Recoll
Is FileSearchy a good alternative to Recoll?

Index Your Files
Index Your Files allows you to search through all your files or folders on local or networked drives without remote admin rights (as necessary for the similar app "Everything"). Searching can be done by name, date, size, location etc.
77 Index Your Files alternatives
License model
- Free • Proprietary
Application type
- File Search Utility
Platforms
- Windows
- Linux
- Wine
Index Your Files Features
Portable
Network Scanner
Indexed search
Show all NaN Index Your Files features ▾
Index Your Files VS Recoll
Is Index Your Files a good alternative to Recoll?

VX Search
VX Search is an automated, rule-based file search solution allowing one to search files by the file type, category, file name, size, location, extension, regular expressions, text and binary patterns, creation, modification and last access dates, EXIF tags, etc.
70 VX Search alternatives
License model
- Freemium • Proprietary
Application type
- File Search Utility
Platforms
- Windows
VX Search Features
Full-Text Search
Rule based
Show all NaN VX Search features ▾
VX Search VS Recoll
Is VX Search a good alternative to Recoll?