Comparisons

Seven Mac file finders, side by side

Updated 2026-08-05 · 6 min read

Seven tools, four questions. Which index they use, whether they read contents, what they do about external drives, and how old a Mac they run on.

The table

Tool	Index	Contents	Unplugged drives	Oldest macOS	Price
Cling	own	no	Pro	14	€12
Everywhere	own	chosen folders	yes	13	$19
EasyFind	none	yes, slow	no	very old	free
Find Any File	none	limited	no	10.13	~$8
HoudahSpot	Spotlight	yes	no	recent	~$34
Alfred	Spotlight	via Spotlight	no	recent	free/Powerpack
Raycast	Spotlight	via Spotlight	no	recent	free/Pro

The only question that splits the list

Whose index is it?

Alfred, Raycast and HoudahSpot query Spotlight. They are, to varying degrees, better interfaces to the index macOS already builds. If Spotlight knows about your file, these make it easier to find. If it does not, none of them can help, and the failure will look like theirs.

Cling and Everywhere build their own. That is the entire reason to install either: they cover ~/Library, package contents, dotfiles and .noindex folders that Spotlight deliberately excludes.

EasyFind and Find Any File use no index at all and read the disk when you ask. Complete, never stale, and slow in proportion to the disk.

Choosing in one step

• Spotlight finds your stuff, you just want a nicer way to ask → Alfred or Raycast; HoudahSpot for complicated queries.
• Spotlight cannot find files you know exist → Cling or Everywhere.
• You search twice a year and object to background processes → EasyFind or Find Any File.
• **You need contents *and* the places Spotlight ignores** → Everywhere, or Cling plus Spotlight side by side.

Disclosure

We make Everywhere. Every claim about the others here comes from their own documentation, and the table above states our result window (200 rows) and our price ($19, the second highest on the list) rather than quietly omitting them.

Common questions

Which Mac search apps have their own index?

Cling and Everywhere. Alfred, Raycast and HoudahSpot query Spotlight's index; EasyFind and Find Any File use no index and scan on demand.

Which is cheapest?

EasyFind is free. Find Any File is around $8, Cling €12, Everywhere $19, HoudahSpot around $34.

Which searches inside documents?

Spotlight-based tools do, via importers. EasyFind reads contents slowly. Everywhere extracts PDF and Office text in chosen folders. Cling does not.