Best Recoll Alternatives

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, Search Monkey and RecentX.

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

Recoll alternatives page was last updated

Recoll

Free • Open Source
File Search Utility

This package is a personal full text search package which is based on a very strong backend (Xapian), for which it provides...

More about Recoll

Everything
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Proprietary
File Search Utility
File Manager
Windows
100 Everything alternatives
"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...
- - Everything is the most popular Windows alternative to Recoll.
- - Everything is the most popular free alternative to Recoll.
Suggest and vote on features
Everything Features
1. LightweightEverything consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
2. PortableEverything can be used from a USB stick or similar with no prior installation.
3. Ad-freeEverything doesn't contain any form of external advertising.
4. Windows Explorer ExtensionEverything can extend Windows Explorer in various ways, for example add context menu options, etc..
5. Works OfflineEverything can be used without the need to connect to the internet.
Instant results
Fast file and folder search
Clean design
Support for regular expressions
Quick search
Monitor File Changes
Exclude files and folders
Data export/import
Search-in-files
Search output is not sortable
Comments about Everything as a Alternative to Recoll
pros, cons and recent comments
renArD
Everything Search doesn't look the file contents
Negative comment•
6
DocFetcher
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
File Search Utility
Mac
Windows
Linux
110 DocFetcher alternatives
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.
- - DocFetcher is the most popular Mac & Linux alternative to Recoll.
- - DocFetcher is the most popular Open Source alternative to Recoll.
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DocFetcher Features
1. Full-Text SearchDocFetcher lets you search for specific words or phrases from inside a document or database.
2. PortableDocFetcher can be used from a USB stick or similar with no prior installation.
3. Built-in viewerDocFetcher shows you a quick preview of an image, page or file in supported formats.
4. Shared FoldersDocFetcher supports shared folders that can be used to store, search, and access files with multiple people.
Search-in-files
File content indexing
Indexed search
Content Searching
Semantic Search
Reads odt files
Network Scanner
Search in Archives
Comments about DocFetcher as a Alternative to Recoll
Most users think DocFetcher is a great Recoll alternative.
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•
1

Guest
Comparatively trivial to install.
Positive comment•
0

Guest
Doesn't search WITHIN documents.
Negative comment•
-10
Catfish
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
File Search Utility
Linux
BSD
GTK+
Xfce
24 Catfish alternatives
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.
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Catfish Features
1. Ad-freeCatfish doesn't contain any form of external advertising.
2. Command line interfaceCatfish either have CLI support or is a CLI-only app.
3. Works OfflineCatfish can be used without the need to connect to the internet.
4. Built-in viewerCatfish shows you a quick preview of an image, page or file in supported formats.
5. Full-Text SearchCatfish lets you search for specific words or phrases from inside a document or database.
Filtering
Search Monkey
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
File Search Utility
Windows
Linux
BSD
72 Search Monkey alternatives
A fast real-time search engine for displaying regular expression matches (both file name and content) across multiple directories.
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Search Monkey Features
1. PortableSearch Monkey can be used from a USB stick or similar with no prior installation.
Content Searching
Content preview
Real-Time Search
RecentX
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Paid • Proprietary
File Search Utility
Application Launcher
Clipboard Manager
Windows
271 RecentX alternatives
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.
- - RecentX is the most popular commercial alternative to Recoll.
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RecentX Features
1. File TaggingRecentX can organize and highlight your files with tags and labels.
2. Windows Explorer ExtensionRecentX can extend Windows Explorer in various ways, for example add context menu options, etc..
3. PortableRecentX can be used from a USB stick or similar with no prior installation.
Tagging
Indexed search
Folder-Search
Tabbed interface
Clipboard monitoring
Image Preview
Tag based
Folder Tagging
Bookmark History
Local Search
SwiftSearch
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
File Search Utility
File Manager
Windows
70 SwiftSearch alternatives
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...
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SwiftSearch Features
Persistent Linux
FileSearchy
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free Personal • Proprietary
File Search Utility
Windows
71 FileSearchy alternatives
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.
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FileSearchy Features
Local Search
Discontinued
The official website is no longer available. Last version, 1.43, released in October 2016, can be still downloaded from Majorgeeks
Index Your Files
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Proprietary
File Search Utility
Windows
Linux
Wine
76 Index Your Files alternatives
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.
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Index Your Files Features
1. PortableIndex Your Files can be used from a USB stick or similar with no prior installation.
Network Scanner
Indexed search
Archivarius 3000
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Paid • Proprietary
File Search Utility
Duplicate File Finder
Windows
Self-Hosted
32 Archivarius 3000 alternatives
Full-text morphological search among documents and e-books of dozens of file types, including text in archives and disk images; on the your desktop, LAN, clouds (WebDAV) and removable drives.
- - Archivarius 3000 is the most popular Self-Hosted alternative to Recoll.
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Archivarius 3000 Features
1. PortableArchivarius 3000 can be used from a USB stick or similar with no prior installation.
2. Full-Text SearchArchivarius 3000 lets you search for specific words or phrases from inside a document or database.
Multiple languages
Morphological search
Self-hosted search
Fuzzy Finder
Network Scanner
Content Searching
Indexed search
AndroSearch
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Proprietary
File Search Utility
Android
Android Tablet
61 AndroSearch alternatives
Search INSIDE documents/files on your device like no other files manager/finder do.
- - AndroSearch is the most popular Android & Android Tablet alternative to Recoll.
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AndroSearch Features
1. Full-Text SearchAndroSearch lets you search for specific words or phrases from inside a document or database.
2. Works OfflineAndroSearch can be used without the need to connect to the internet.
3. LightweightAndroSearch consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
Search-in-files
Discontinued
no new version since 2017no working website anymorehttps://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.chocosoft.as&hl=gsw&gl=US
VX Search
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Freemium • Proprietary
File Search Utility
Windows
68 VX Search alternatives
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.
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VX Search Features
Rule based
AIKIN Desktop HyperSearch
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Freemium • Proprietary
File Manager
Windows
63 AIKIN Desktop HyperSearch alternatives
AIKIN is a powerful new desktop search that can find item names and content using advanced pattern recognition and semantic awareness, that doesn't require the user to always know exactly how something was named or written.
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AIKIN Desktop HyperSearch Features
Semantic Search