Best Cathy Alternatives in 2026
Updated
20 apps from desktop search software ranked against Cathy on the same published basis.
- 1Cathy vs Recoll
- 2Cathy vs Buddi
- 3Cathy vs DocFetcher
- 4Cathy vs Open Semantic Desktop Search
- 5Cathy vs DocFinder
- 6Cathy vs Precision File Search
- 7Cathy vs Agent Ransack
- 8Cathy vs EasyFind
- 9Cathy vs Listary
- 10Cathy vs Fluent Search
- 11Cathy vs Searchmonkey III
- 12Cathy vs FileLocator Pro
- 13Cathy vs GlintIndex
- 14Cathy vs Microsoft Quick Assist
- 15Cathy vs monkeSearch
- 16Cathy vs FileVault
- 17Cathy vs Inpaint Anything
- 18Cathy vs Panoptikon
- 19Cathy vs WhatInStartup
- 21Cathy vs Mousepad
Cathy alternatives compared
| # | App | Score | Free plan | From | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Recoll | 6.7 | Free plan | Free | Android, API, Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| 2 | Buddi | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 3 | DocFetcher | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 4 | Open Semantic Desktop Search | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| 5 | DocFinder | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 6 | Precision File Search | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 7 | Agent Ransack | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | Windows |
| 8 | EasyFind | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | Mac |
| 9 | Listary | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | Windows |
| 10 | Fluent Search | 6.3 | Free plan | Free | Windows |
| 11 | Searchmonkey III | 5.6 | No | — | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 12 | FileLocator Pro | 5.5 | No | — | API, Windows |
| 13 | GlintIndex | 5.5 | No | — | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 14 | Microsoft Quick Assist | 5.5 | No | — | Mac, Web, Windows |
| 15 | monkeSearch | 5.5 | No | — | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 16 | FileVault | 5.4 | No | — | Mac |
| 17 | Inpaint Anything | 5.4 | No | — | self-hosted, Web, Windows |
| 18 | Panoptikon | 5.4 | No | — | Linux, Mac, Web, Windows |
| 19 | WhatInStartup | 5.4 | No | — | Windows |
| 21 | Mousepad | 5.3 | No | — | Linux |
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Questions about Cathy alternatives
What is the best alternative to Cathy?
Recoll, number 1 in desktop search software with a score of 6.7 out of 10. The others here: Buddi, DocFetcher, Open Semantic Desktop Search and 16 more.
What is the best free alternative to Cathy?
Recoll is the best-ranked alternative with a free plan. 10 of the 20 alternatives here publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
How are these alternatives ranked?
Ranked free-and-open first: a usable free tier and open-source code, then the platforms it runs on and its documentation.