Side by side
Comby vs Semantic Designs Source Code Search Engine
Both stand on code search tools. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.
Free plan APILinuxMac+2
Choose Comby for structural code search and refactoring where lightweight syntactic matching is sufficient. Look elsewhere for indentation-sensitive matching or formatting work such as inserting line breaks at a set width.
Visit Comby Free plan APILinuxSelf-hosted+1
The engine offers language-aware search, navigation, and metrics for indexed codebases. Its evaluation has a 10,000-line limit and expires 90 days after download.
Visit Semantic Designs Source Code Search EngineThe facts
| Comby | Semantic Designs Source Code Search Engine | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Not published | No |
| Runs on | API, Linux, Mac, Self-hosted, Windows | API, Linux, Self-hosted, Windows |
| Lowest paid plan | Not published | Free or on request |
| Plans published | None | 2 |
| Maker | Not published | Not published |
| Website | comby.dev | semanticdesigns.com |
| On code search tools | #7 of 42 | #11 of 42 |
Comby: what it does well
- Matches balanced delimiters while accounting for comments and strings.
- Basic parsers cover a range of programming languages.
- Interactive review helps inspect proposed changes.
- Usable through the CLI, Python bindings, or local HTTP server.
- Free and open source under Apache-2.0.
What to know first
- Indentation is not significant, limiting matches for indentation-sensitive structures.
- Not well-suited to styling or formatting changes such as line wrapping.
- API rewrite ranges report line and column as -1.
- Repeated rewrite hole identifiers currently return only the first range.
Semantic Designs Source Code Search Engine: what it does well
- Searches can ignore whitespace, line breaks, and comments.
- Results include context and highlighted matches.
- Calculates Cyclomatic and Halstead complexity metrics.
- Supports XML output for other graphical interfaces.
- Free evaluation covers 10,000 lines of code.
What to know first
- Evaluation license ends 90 days after download.
- Evaluation requires completing a registration form.
- Production license price is available only on request.
- Listed Windows support is limited to older versions.
Alternatives to Comby Alternatives to Semantic Designs Source Code Search Engine The whole list