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Windows Search Alternative Tools: 13 Best in 2024

11 min. read

Updated onMay 14, 2024

updated onMay 14, 2024

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If you tend to install many programs or create many files on your computer, finding a particular file can be a challenging task. If you don’t use dedicated folders for various file types, chances are you’ll never going to find the file you’re looking for.

When users are looking for a particular file, their first instinct is to useWindows’ search box. However, sometimes the nativeWindows 10 search boxis not capable of delivering the best results.

In that case, you can also resort to a series of Windows 10 desktop search alternative tools that will do the detective work in your place and find the files you’re looking for.

Windows 10 desktop search alternatives

Windows 10 desktop search alternatives

Copernic Desktop Searchis a brilliant alternative to Windows Search. This software allows you to centralize your document, file & email searches in one unique interface.You can search any documents on your computer, external and network drives with the full version.

This search solution is available in two editions: Free and Full. The Free edition fits for standard Windows users.The Full edition is suited for professionals inside businesses and their teams.

Here are some of Copernic’s strongest points:

⇒Get Copernic Desktop Search now

Listary

This search tool is very fast and it suitable for both regular and professional Windows users. For power users,Listaryintegrates tools such as Total Commander, Directory Opus, XYplorer, Xplorer2, WinRAR, FileZilla and more. This tool will help you to find the long lost files, apps and games in a split of a second.

Listary is regularly updated for a better user experience and the latest version of the tool brings enhanced support for Windows 10, as well as many bug fixes.

Other features include:

You candownload Listaryfrom the tool’s official website for free. Theprofessional versionof the tool cost $19.95.

Everything

Everythinglocates your files and folders by name instantly. Installing and using this tool is very simple: you download it, install it, launch it, and then wait for a couple of minutes for the tool to index yourfiles and folders.

Once these stages are completed, you can simply type the name of the file you’re looking for and Everything will quickly show its location.

Everything doesn’t search file contents, it searhses only file and folder names, and monitors file system changes. For more information about this tool, you can check out theFAQ sectionof the tool’s official webpage.

Other features include:

You candownload Everythingfor free from VoidTools.

Lookeen

Lookeenis a reliable and accurate desktop search software forWindows 10that will save you from clicking through individual folders. This tool was developed for search purposes only, and is one of the best Windows search alternatives.

Lookeen is available as a stand-alone Windows tool, capable of integrating itself seamlessly into Outlook. Using this tool is very intuitive as its interface is similar to the interface of Windows andOutlook.

Also, Lookeen uses a series of search filters that aren’t available in Windows search.

Other features include:

You candownload Lookeenfrom the tool’s official webpage. Lookeen offers you a 14-day free trail period, and you canbuy the toolfor $50.22.

DocFetcher

DocFetcheris an open-source desktop search tool for Windows 10 that supports an impressive number of file formats. According to the tool’s developer, DocFetcher is theGoogleof your files.

All matches in the files are highlighted in yellow, and you can also filter the results by file size, file type and location.

Other features include:

You candownload DocFetcherfor free from SourceForge.

FileSeek

FileSeekis a lightning fast, small and easy to use desktop search tool. For easy access, you can also integrate it into Windows Explorer’s right-click menu.

This tool doesn’t rely on background indexing, which means that your computer’s performance won’t be reduced when FileSeek is not running.

Other features include:

You candownload the free versionof File Seeker, and you can also buy one of thePro versionsavailable for a price tag ranging from $9 to $599.

FileSearchy

FileSearchyis a powerful and easy to use tool you can use to search files on yourWindows 10 computer. This tool also supports instant file search, and searching by content string, date and size.

FileSearchy highlights the matching results in order for you to find information easier. If you need to make several searches and then compare the results, you can open several search tabs. File content search is supported as well with search through contents of plain text, office, PDF and more. For more accurate results, you can  skip binary files such as programs, music, or videos.

Other features include:

You candownload FileSearchyfor free from the tool’s webpage.

Search My Files

Search My Filesis another reliable alternative for Windows’ native desktop search module. This tool allows you to use a series of search filters to find the files you’re looking for as soon as possible. You can search by last modified, created, last accessed time, by file attributes, file content and file size.

To launch SearchMyFiles, you can simply run the executable file. Then the Search Options dialog-box will be displayed, where you can select the folders or drives that you want to search, as well as the search options. Click on the OK button to launch the search, or on Stop to stop it.

Other features include:

You candownload Search My Filesfor free from NirSoft.

HDDBstands forHard Disk Databaseand the first thing you’ll notice about this tool is its resemblance to Everything. Once you have installed the tool, it will notify you that your database is empty. HDDB doesn’t update its database automatically, which speeds up the loading process on start up.

When the database has been filled, you can launch the search. If you want HDDB to search the information in the entire database, don’t use any path information criteria.

You candownload HDDBfor free from SnapFiles.

AstroGrep

AstroGrepis a powerful and compact desktop search tool for Windows 10. The tool is very easy to use as there’s no setup required and no indexing module, and the interface is very well designed.

AstroGrep is very small, about 800 KB and the search process takes quite some time because there is no indexing. Of course, you can help the tool to search faster by narrowing down the search path. Other than this, this tool offers a series of impressive features:

You candownload AstroGrepfor free from SourceForge.

UltraSearch

UltraSearchis one of the fastest desktop search tools for Windows 10. It works directly on the Master File Table of the NTFS partitions which allows it to deliver the search results in a split of a second.

The first search results appear while you are still typing – yes, UltraSearch is that fast.

UltraSearch supports regular expressions and searches file content as well. Another advantage is the presence of the Explorer context menu inside the tool.

Other features include:

You candownload UltraSearchfor free from Jam Software.

Launchy

As its name suggests,Launchycan quickly find and open the files and folders what you need. This free tool can successfully replace quite a few Windows 10 features, including theStart Menu, your desktop icons and your File Manager.

But how does Launchy do that? Once you’ve downloaded and installed it on your computer, it immediately scans and indexes all your programs and documents.

You can then open your files, folders and bookmarks just by typing a few letters.

Download Launchy

MasterSeeker

MasterSeekeris one of the fastest file search engines for Windows 10. You can use it to search files, folders, documents and directories by file name or file size. You can then sort your files and directories if you need to filter information.

The tool supports NTFS, FAT, FAT32 and exFAT file systems and well as real-time NTFS drive updates. You can also use keyboard shortcuts and save or export the search results into a specific file.

Keep in mind that while MasterSeeker does not officially support Windows 10, but you can run it on your Win10 computer without any problems.

Download MasterSeeker

Have you already tried out some of these Windows 10 desktop search tools? Tell us more about your experience in the comment section below.

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More about the topics:software,windows 10

Madalina Dinita

Networking & Security Specialist

Madalina has been a Windows fan ever since she got her hands on her first Windows XP computer.

She is interested in all things technology, especially emerging technologies – AI and DNA computing in particular.

Prior to joining the WindowsReport team, she worked in the corporate world for a number of years.

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Madalina Dinita

Networking & Security Specialist

Madalina is a Windows fan since forever, especially interested in AI, emerging technologies, privacy, and security.