Best Free Desktop Search Software
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Compare the Top Free Desktop Search Software as of November 2025
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What is Free Desktop Search Software?
Desktop search software is a tool that indexes the contents of a user’s computer—such as files, documents, emails, images, and archives—to enable rapid and precise searching across various data types. By building an index, these tools allow for lightning-fast queries, often supporting filters by file type, date, and content keywords. They commonly offer features like content preview, search result management (e.g., tagging or bookmarking), and compatibility with multiple formats including PDFs, Office files, archives, and more. Desktop search tools improve productivity by reducing the manual effort needed to locate files, serving professionals, researchers, students, and everyday users alike. They are designed to provide accurate, fast, and organized results, often operating silently in the background while keeping the index updated in real time. Compare and read user reviews of the best Free Desktop Search software currently available using the table below. This list is updated regularly.
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1
Crestadoro
Brynner Industries
Crestadoro is a networkable file indexing and search tool. You can install it on multiple Windows machines, create libraries of documents that reside on each machine, then search and access the files from anywhere on your network. You can install Crestadoro on as many machines as you like, both the indexing engine and the search client are easy to set up. You can optionally use SQL Server to store the data if you don't want to use the internal storage mechanism that comes as standard (though it is pretty wizzy!). The Community Edition is completely free to use, you can have as many libraries as you want, the only limitation is that each library can only hold a maximum of 100 documents. Crestadoro is named in honor of Andrea Crestadoro, a chap who lived a couple of hundred years ago who is generally considered to be the first person to come up with the idea of indexing a book by its content rather than its title. He was also an inventor who came up with some bonkers ideas!Starting Price: £50 -
2
eSearch Pro
ElectronArt Design Ltd
eSearch Pro combines advanced information retrieval with an in integrated AI-Assistant to enhance productivity for professionals who need to quickly find information from a wide range of data sources. Now FREE and open source! Unique features include: AI-Assistant that can use multiple local or remote LLMs. User translatable with free Language File Editor. Switch languages immediately. Scrollable indexed word list. View source code with hit highlighting, syntax highlighting & line numbers. View images that contain geolocation metadata (GPS) on built-in map. MCP Client built in. Other power user features: Search with a 'list of words' for eDiscovery. Multilingual stemming, user-defined & pre-defined synonyms. Numeric pattern matching with regex. Limit indexing by file types. Plugins to connect to external data-sources. TARILIO Pro is a version of eSearch Pro with additional closed source code for commercial usage.Starting Price: $0 -
3
Copernic Desktop Search
Copernic Technologies
There are few desktop search solutions on the market that offer the depth, relevance and context that Copernic’s Desktop Search can provide. It’s one thing to conduct fast searches. It’s a whole other ballgame finding exactly what you’re looking for. No IT experience required! Simply install our application and read our guides! With Copernic’s intuitive interface, you’ll be up-and-searching in no time flat. Thanks to Copernic’s advanced keyword map (index), unlock a wealth of information that is currently buried in your PC. We support over 150 file extensions and 11 languages! Once you have built your index in just a few steps, Copernic will immediately display search results that are the most aligned with your keyword search. Copernic does NOT collect any data. You can rest assured knowing all of your information is secure and cannot be access by any third party.Starting Price: $49.95 one-time payment -
4
Agent Ransack
Mythicsoft
Agent Ransack is a free file search tool for finding files on your PC or network drives. It has a Lite mode, which is free for both personal and commercial use but also a Professional mode that includes optional pay-for features. Found text is shown with highlighted keywords so you don’t need to waste time opening each file looking for the right information. Support for Perl compatible regular expressions. A ‘locked down’ version of Agent Ransack is available for environments where the end-user is not allowed to search their local PC. For corporate environments, we have a more ‘gentle’ branding of Agent Ransack called FileLocator Lite.Starting Price: $59.95 one-time payment -
5
Listary
Listary
With Listary you’ll never have to go through the tedious process of browsing through folders, looking for the right file names and hunting through Windows’ limited menus ever again. Listary puts smart search technology at your fingertips so you can keep working without dealing with cumbersome native Windows navigation. With a lightweight interface that doesn’t bog your system down and strain system resources, Listary puts Windows Explorer on steroids. Copy or move files to any folder from any folder with easy context menu commands. Quickly browse your recent app and file history to continue working where you left off. Create a favorites list of commonly used files and apps for fast access. Instantly find & launch programs with a quick keyboard command.Starting Price: $19.95 one-time payment -
6
Wise Toys
WiseCleaner
As a set of utilities for greater productivity, Wise Toys has built-in a powerful local file search engine and many plugins, covering all aspects of life and learning, providing many conveniences and saving time for Windows users. Easily open the main window of Wise Toys at any time by using the global combinations of keys. The plugin is a collection of practical gadgets, saving your time & efforts, and helps you to increase your productivity within no time. A local file search engine that supports search plugins, installed programs, documents, pictures, videos, music, etc. An advanced tool to bring a revolutionary change in computer usability and turn the complex task into a simple way with less-efforts. Increase the efficiency of using Windows PC & laptop. Search is a local file search engine that supports search plugins, installed programs, documents, pictures, etc.Starting Price: Free -
7
MightyGrep
Sunbound Software LLC
MightyGrep is a file finding and text searching application. File filters allow DOS semantics (wildcard * ?) or regex syntax. Users can view results in either a provided external editor or the built-in file viewer. Search results can be exported to either a file or clipboard. This program does not rely on filesystem indexing to function. This program searches both binary and plaintext.Starting Price: $9.99 -
8
Exselo Desktop
Exselo
A tool that allows users to search, collaborate and share data in real time using encrypted peer-to-peer technology. Effectively search and find the information you want from files and emails on your computer, cloud stores and network. Quickly share your information with friends and colleagues, and securely communicate with them. The Exselo Desktop Free License enables powerful search, result refinement, secure peer-to-peer communication and collaboration functionality for an individual user. The Exselo Desktop Professional License extends the free license with more functionality and features for an individual user and ensures priority on any support request. The Exselo Desktop Enterprise License is for organizations where software is managed and controlled by administrators and Exselo Destop is to be used by multiple users.Starting Price: $1.95/month/user -
9
Duplicate & Same Files Searcher
Download Crew
Duplicate & Same Files Searcher is an advanced tool for locating and dealing with duplicate files. The program locates files with identical content only; unlike some similar tools, you can't compare files just on their names, dates or size. This makes Duplicate & Same Files Searcher relatively slow, as it must read and process every single file in your selected group. Fortunately, there are some ways to improve performance. You can direct the program to scan a particular folder tree only, to examine files of a particular type, to ignore others, to check only files of a defined size. There are some options you won't often see elsewhere. You can have the program check for (or ignore) differences in alternate data streams, to ignore different ID3 tags in MP3s, to skip symbolic links (or not). When the scan is complete, each set of duplicates is listed, along with their file names, paths, size, dates, even their number of fragments (whether they're fragmented or not). -
10
Launchy
Launchy
Launchy is a free cross-platform utility designed to help you forget about your start menu, the icons on your desktop, and even your file manager. Launchy indexes the programs in your start menu and can launch your documents, project files, folders, and bookmarks with just a few keystrokes! Launchy has just been released for Android in Winter 2021. It takes an entirely new spin on finding and starting your apps, so give it a try! A clean and fast interface to find and launch the app you're looking for. Forget grids of icons that are constantly changing. No more slow and clunky keyboard. Find your apps by name with our novel paddle system. Intelligently presents your apps in frequency and recency order. You can then type in a few keys of the program you are searching for and hit enter once it has been found. You can also make Launchy disappear again by hitting escape or alt+space. -
11
Wise JetSearch
WiseCleaner
Quickly search everything like files, videos, images, music on local drives, and removable drives, both FAT and exFAT drive is supported. Simple and easy to use is one of the most obvious features of Wise JetSearch. Select the drives, type the file name, and then click the search button (or press the Enter key). Just need only 3 clicks can find the file that you are searching for. The other obvious feature is its amazing speed. Thanks to the index, Wise JetSearch can search 1,000,000 items in just a few seconds, locate the target files in milliseconds. Far faster than the built-in search feature in Windows. Wise JetSearch enables you to search all of your available hard disks and partitions, such as the secondary disks, removable disks, and other disks. It does not matter whether the drives you are searching are formatted as NTFS, FAT (FAT12, FAT16, FAT32) or exFAT as Wise JetSearch supports all of these formats. -
12
Quick Search
Glarysoft
When you type any file name, subject or keywords into its search box, the results screen will display kinds of related files on that information in less than a second. At the same time, it will list a number of similar files you do not need. Quick Search offers a search filter to limit search range and narrow down the search results for higher working efficiency. On Quick Search's lighting quick interface, you will clearly see two major controls: the search box and the real-time displaying panel. An important aspect of managing computer files is rapidly locating documents and folders. When the built-in search that Windows comes with is not enough, a blazing fast solution is Quick Search.Starting Price: $19.97 one-time payment -
13
neoSearch
Koshy John
You know that Google Desktop and Vista's built-in search can help you but you just hate the way they slow your PC down and bloat it with things you don't need. Try neoSearch - the new way to search. A tiny and light program that puts you in control. Advanced algorithms make indexing a breeze - literally! Searching happens in the blink of an eye - technically, the program can run up to 25 distinct searches in a blink - if you could type that fast! Dynamic results (limited to the first six) that change as you type let you find what you want with as little keystrokes as possible. A quick jab on 'Enter' and you'll have full results in as little as 0.01 seconds! The full results can be re-sorted instantly by name, size, location and last modified time.Starting Price: Free -
14
Curiosity
Curiosity
Curiosity is a powerful search app that gives you one place to find all your files, emails, and apps. It eliminates the need for multiple searches, saving you time and increasing your productivity. With Curiosity, you can quickly find what you need, whether it's in a folder, email, or cloud app like Google Drive or Notion. It even searches inside files, images, and scans – and you can talk to your files, auto-reply to emails, ask questions, summarize meetings, and much more with the AI Assistant. The app also works as a launcher, so you can use a simple shortcut to open programs, join video meetings, search your clipboard history, or call up the AI Assistant. Fast and easy.Starting Price: €3.99/month -
15
Noggle
Noggle
When documents are spread across your hard drive, the cloud, network folders, or even on the computer of a colleague, searching for the files you need can be a real headache. Noggle is a standalone desktop search and knowledge assistant application to provide fast and simple access to the information you need. Even if you thought you would never find a document again; Noggle will. Noggle provides an easy and fast way to quickly locate the exact documents you need, from wherever they’re located. Designed to find the relevant information on your PC and all connected network or cloud storage folders. Full text discovery, including image and photo search. Noggle is the only software providing you instant document recommendations on the fly. See material that is related or similar to the item you’re viewing to get your work done. -
16
CSearcher
HNsoft
Searching computer files and folders is rather common for every PC user daily. Using standard Windows Explorer solution for this has many disadvantages, it's slow, uses lots of RAM and many times it does not find what we are looking for! CSearcher gives users a more advanced file searching tool alternative. CSearcher includes all features of Windows Explorer search and adds many unique features. Integration with Explorer menu for the seamless search of folders. Filter results, after finding all the results you want, you can dynamically filter results for faster finding of different items. Filter possible duplicate file (same name and size), can be confirmed with md5. Results can be Files AND/OR directories! Windows native DLL calls for better performance. Portable tool, can be installed and run from any folder, no installation required. One of the fastest non-indexing free File searchers. -
17
Windows Search
Microsoft
Windows Search is a desktop search platform that has instant search capabilities for most common file types and data types, and third-party developers can extend these capabilities to new file types and data types. Windows Search is a standard component of Windows 7 and Windows Vista, and is enabled by default. Windows Search replaces Windows Desktop Search (WDS). The WSS organizes the extracted features of a collection of documents. The Windows Search Protocol enables a client to communicate with a server that is hosting a WSS, both to issue queries and to enable an administrator to manage the indexing server. When processing files, WSS analyzes a set of documents, extracts useful information, and then organizes the extracted information so that properties of those documents can be efficiently returned in response to queries. -
18
Apple Spotlight
Apple
Spotlight is the default search tool for Mac, iPhone, and iPad. Quick access to content is key to an efficient workflow, and there are several ways you can make it easy for people to locate your app's content. Spotlight is a powerful search technology that makes it easy to locate files and content across the system. Using Spotlight, people can search for things using meaningful attributes like the intended audience for a document or the orientation of an image. Make your app’s content searchable. You can share content with Spotlight by making it indexable and specifying descriptive attributes—known as metadata. Spotlight extracts, stores, and organizes this information to allow for fast, comprehensive searches. For developer guidance, see Core Spotlight. Define metadata for your custom file types. Supply a Spotlight Importer plug-in that describes the types of metadata your file format contains. -
19
SSuite Desktop Search
SSuite Office Software
SSuite Desktop Search and Find is a useful windows desktop search engine that can find files, folders, and file content. This small application is also multi-threaded for instant search results. You can rely on this tool to search for specific files or folders on your computer by typing their name (either full or partial) and specifying the target location. The application features support for quick or full path searches that you can choose between, according to your needs. Alternatively, you can choose a file type from the list, so that the application can display a list of items that match your query. Additionally, it is possible to modify various search-related parameters, such as toggling file attributes, setting file date, size and type a string of text that should match your query. -
20
AnyTXT Searcher
CBEWIN Tech
AnyTXT Searcher is a powerful file full-text search engine, a desktop search application for fast document retrieval. Just like a local disk Google search engine, much faster than Windows Search, it is your ideal free desktop file content full-text search engine. It has a powerful document parsing engine built in, which extracts the text of commonly used file formats without installing any other software, and combines the built-in high-speed indexing system to store the metadata of the text. You can quickly find any text in any file on your disk by AnyTXT in less than 1 second. It works on Windows 11,10, 8, 7, Vista, XP, 2008, 2012, 2016,2022. AnyTXT Searcher supports the following file formats: Plain text (txt, cpp, py, html, etc.) Microsoft OneNote (one) Microsoft Word (doc, docx) Microsoft Excel (xls, xlsx) Microsoft PowerPoint (ppt, pptx) PDF WPS Office (wps, et, dps) EBook (epub, mobi, azw3, fb2 etc.) Mind Map Format (lighten, mmap, mm, xmind etc.) OFD
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