Spotlight Alternatives for Windows

Spotlight is not available for Windows but there are plenty of alternatives that runs on Windows with similar functionality. The best Windows alternative is Everything, which is free. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to Spotlight and many of them are available for Windows so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Windows alternatives to Spotlight are Keypirinha, Station, ueli and DocFetcher.

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

Spotlight alternatives page was last updated

Spotlight

Free • Proprietary
File Search Utility

Spotlight is the system-wide desktop search feature built into Apple's OS X operating system since version 10.4...

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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 Spotlight.
- - Everything is the most popular free alternative to Spotlight.
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.
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
Keypirinha
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Proprietary
Application Launcher
File Search Utility
Web Search Engine
Windows
154 Keypirinha alternatives
A lightning fast and flexible keystroke launcher for Windows. No installation required (portable). Extensible with Python3 plugins.
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Keypirinha Features
1. LightweightKeypirinha consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
2. PortableKeypirinha can be used from a USB stick or similar with no prior installation.
3. Extensible by Plugins/ExtensionsKeypirinha can be extended with add-ons, plugins and extensions.
4. Ad-freeKeypirinha doesn't contain any form of external advertising.
5. Works OfflineKeypirinha can be used without the need to connect to the internet.
6. Dark ModeKeypirinha supports dark mode for comfortable usage in low light conditions.
7. Support for scriptingKeypirinha supports scripts and macros to automate or customize tasks.
8. Support for ThemesYou can use themes and templates to change the look and feel of Keypirinha.
Customizable
Launcher
Configurable
Calculus solving
Opinions about Keypirinha as a Alternative to Spotlight
Almost everyone thinks Keypirinha is a great Spotlight alternative.
Station
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Application Launcher
Tab Manager
Instant Messenger
Mac
Windows
Linux
Microsoft Edge
Google Chrome
Brave
28 Station alternatives
Station is the first open-source smart browser for busy people. A single place for all of your web applications.
- - Station is the most popular Linux alternative to Spotlight.
- - Station is the most popular Open Source alternative to Spotlight.
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Station Features
1. Ad-freeStation doesn't contain any form of external advertising.
App integration
Slack client
Integrated Search
Open API
Knowledge Management
Live Push Notifications
Team Messaging
ueli
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Application Launcher
File Search Utility
Web Search Engine
Mac
Windows
73 ueli alternatives
Developed with the Electron framework, ueli is the type of tool that adopts simplicity, leaving out any unnecessary options and configuration settings. It creates an icon in the system tray at startup, where it sits silently throughout its runtime, without disturbing you with...
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ueli Features
1. Portableueli can be used from a USB stick or similar with no prior installation.
2. Extensible by Plugins/Extensionsueli can be extended with add-ons, plugins and extensions.
Custom commands
Fast file and folder search
Launcher
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.
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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
Opinions about DocFetcher as a Alternative to Spotlight
Most users think DocFetcher is a great Spotlight alternative.
Flow Launcher
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Application Launcher
File Search Utility
Windows
23 Flow Launcher alternatives
Dedicated to make your workflow flow more seamlessly. Aimed at being more than an app launcher, it searches, integrates and expands on functionalities. Flow will continue to evolve, designed to be open and built with the community at heart.
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Flow Launcher Features
1. Extensible by Plugins/ExtensionsFlow Launcher can be extended with add-ons, plugins and extensions.
2. PortableFlow Launcher can be used from a USB stick or similar with no prior installation.
3. Ad-freeFlow Launcher doesn't contain any form of external advertising.
4. LightweightFlow Launcher consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
5. Dark ModeFlow Launcher supports dark mode for comfortable usage in low light conditions.
6. No registration requiredYou can use most of the features in Flow Launcher without registration.
Customizable
Indexed search
Cerebro
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Mac
Windows
Linux
42 Cerebro alternatives
Cerebro is an open source and free electron-based productivity software alternative to Alfred and Spotlight. It is focused on speed and good UI and UX. In most cases you don't even need to open another application, because you can see results right in Cerebro, like google...
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Cerebro Features
1. Extensible by Plugins/ExtensionsCerebro can be extended with add-ons, plugins and extensions.
Theme changing
Multiplatform Export
Launcher
Calculus solving
Electron based
Opinions about Cerebro as a Alternative to Spotlight
Most users think Cerebro is a great Spotlight alternative.
Anytxt Desktop Search
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Proprietary
File Search Utility
Windows
56 Anytxt Desktop Search alternatives
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.
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Anytxt Desktop Search Features
1. Full-Text SearchAnytxt Desktop Search lets you search for specific words or phrases from inside a document or database.
2. LightweightAnytxt Desktop Search consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
3. Dark ModeAnytxt Desktop Search supports dark mode for comfortable usage in low light conditions.
Indexed search
Real-Time Search
Outlook search
Fluent Search
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Proprietary
Application Launcher
File Search Utility
Web Search Engine
Windows
86 Fluent Search alternatives
Fluent Search (beta) is a fast and easy-to-use search application that lets you search for running applications, browser tabs, bookmarks, files, and more. Unlike Windows Start Menu, Fluent Search focuses on continuing existing work, it let you jump easily between running...
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Fluent Search Features
1. Dark ModeFluent Search supports dark mode for comfortable usage in low light conditions.
2. Ad-freeFluent Search doesn't contain any form of external advertising.
3. LightweightFluent Search consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
4. Extensible by Plugins/ExtensionsFluent Search can be extended with add-ons, plugins and extensions.
Custom search
Custom commands
Indexed search
Consistent UI
LaunchyQt
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Application Launcher
File Search Utility
Windows
17 LaunchyQt alternatives
:rocket: Launchy project reactivated. Get the familiar feeling now! - samsonwang/LaunchyQt
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LaunchyQt Features
1. Extensible by Plugins/ExtensionsLaunchyQt can be extended with add-ons, plugins and extensions.
Launcher
Customizable
Indexed search
Add a screenshot
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 Spotlight.
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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
Copernic Desktop Search
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Freemium • Proprietary
File Search Utility
Windows
67 Copernic Desktop Search alternatives
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.
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Copernic Desktop Search Features
1. OCRExtract the text from a screen capture or file and paste it into another document for edits.
Outlook search
PDF OCR
Indexed search