Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

DocFetcher VS Recoll

Compare DocFetcher VS Recoll and see what are their differences

DocFetcher logo DocFetcher

DocFetcher is a portable German/English open source desktop search application.

Recoll logo Recoll

Recoll is a desktop full-text search tool. Recoll finds keywords inside documents as well as file names.
  • DocFetcher Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-09-24
  • Recoll Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-21

DocFetcher features and specs

  • Open Source
    DocFetcher is free and open-source software, which means you can use it without any licensing costs and contribute to its development.
  • Wide File Format Support
    The tool supports a wide range of file formats including PDFs, Microsoft Office documents, OpenOffice.org documents, RTF, HTML, and plain text files.
  • Cross-Platform Compatibility
    DocFetcher is available for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux, making it accessible on various operating systems.
  • Fast Indexing and Searching
    DocFetcher offers fast indexing and searching capabilities, making it easier to find specific files or text within documents.
  • Portable Version
    It offers a portable version that can be run from a USB drive, allowing for flexibility and ease of use on different computers.

Possible disadvantages of DocFetcher

  • User Interface
    The user interface may feel outdated and less intuitive compared to more modern software solutions.
  • Initial Setup Complexity
    Setting up the software initially can be somewhat complex, especially for users who are not familiar with indexing tools.
  • Limited Advanced Features
    It lacks some of the advanced features and customization options found in other, more sophisticated document management systems.
  • Performance on Large Data Sets
    Performance may degrade when handling extremely large data sets, leading to slower indexing and searching times.
  • No Cloud Integration
    DocFetcher does not offer direct cloud integration, limiting its usefulness for users who rely heavily on cloud storage solutions like Google Drive or Dropbox.

Recoll features and specs

  • Comprehensive Indexing
    Recoll can index a wide variety of file types and contents, including emails, documents, and multimedia files. This makes it highly versatile for different data indexing needs.
  • Highly Customizable
    Users can tweak Recoll to meet their specific needs, from defining indexing rules to configuring the GUI settings. This level of customization allows for personalized usage.
  • Powerful Search Capabilities
    It provides advanced search features such as Boolean searches, phrase searches, and filtering by file type or date, which help users find exactly what they are looking for quickly.
  • Cross-Platform Availability
    Recoll is available on multiple operating systems including Linux, Windows, and macOS, making it accessible to a wide range of users.
  • Open Source
    Being open-source, it allows users to view the source code and contribute to its development. It also means there are no licensing fees associated with its use.
  • Support for Multiple Languages
    Recoll supports multiple languages, which makes it a suitable choice for international users.

Possible disadvantages of Recoll

  • Resource Intensive
    The indexing process can be resource-intensive, consuming significant CPU and memory, particularly when handling large datasets.
  • Complex Setup
    Initial setup and configuration can be complex and may require a good understanding of its settings and features, which may not be user-friendly for beginners.
  • User Interface
    While functional, the user interface is considered less modern and may not be as intuitive or visually appealing as some commercial alternatives.
  • Limited Customer Support
    As an open-source project, customer support is primarily community-driven, which may not be as reliable or fast as professional support services.
  • Frequent Updates
    While frequent updates can be beneficial, they may also require users to frequently update their installations and adapt to changes, which can be inconvenient.
  • Limited Mobile Support
    Recoll has limited support for mobile platforms, which may be an important consideration for users who need cross-platform, mobile-friendly access.

DocFetcher videos

How to use a "FREE" utility called DocFetcher

More videos:

  • Review - Docfetcher File Management Desktop Search

Recoll videos

DEF CON 25 Recon Village - Dakota Nelson -Total Recoll

More videos:

  • Review - Tutorial RECOLL
  • Review - Ubuntu Total "Recoll" - HDD Volltextsuche

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to DocFetcher and Recoll)
File Manager
65 65%
35% 35
Clipboard Manager
67 67%
33% 33
Note Taking
63 63%
37% 37
Bookmarks
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare DocFetcher and Recoll

DocFetcher Reviews

  1. Mark Wood
    · self ·
    Pros, Cons

    I love DocFetcher! I discovered this gem of a program when Windows stopped supporting string searches in word processors other than Word.

    🏁 Competitors: the generic string search available in Windows, Agent Ransack, Locate32, Everything by Voidtools
    👍 Pros:    Beautiful intuitive interface. easy to use, once you set up the index.
    👎 Cons:    If you have a large collection of files to index, you will eventually be unable to search all your documents at the same time. you have to set up separate indexes and search each one separately. available in a variety of versions, up to 64 bit.|The help files are good. however, learning how to set up an index can be frustrating.

Recoll Reviews

We have no reviews of Recoll yet.
Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, DocFetcher seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 12 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

DocFetcher mentions (12)

  • Tool to parse, index, and search local documents? - Windows
    I use https://docfetcher.sourceforge.net/en/index.html to index and search large repos of docs. I use Papermerge for my digital file cabinet though. DocFetcher is good for searching an existing repository of files. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Docfetcher is a cross-platform free and open source desktop search application
    As they state, it is crap-free, free forever, cross-platform, portable, private (local only), and indexes only what you need. You can also set minimum and maximum file sizes to index. See https://docfetcher.sourceforge.net/en/index.html. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Career Advice for a fresh graduate who wants to enter Structural Engineering field
    What I'd recommend is setting up a digital and/or physical technical library. Download any useful documents, books, standards etc. and store them in a clear, concise folder structure. Then create an index of the library with a tool like DocFetcher. (Think of it as Google for your technical library) This should make it fast and easy to find the relevant information when you need it. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Looking for software to search inside zip files
    DocFetcher? https://docfetcher.sourceforge.net/en/index.html. Source: about 2 years ago
  • How do you organize yourself?
    I use Outlook for e-mail and calendars. I use Evernote to store my notes. I also have a folder in Dropbox called "docs" where I store TXT (and others like DOCX and PDF etc) files for tasks/projects like the cisco firmware update example. I use DocFetcher (https://docfetcher.sourceforge.net/en/index.html) to perform search on the stored notes in TXT / DOCX / PDF / etc. Source: about 2 years ago
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Recoll mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Recoll yet. Tracking of Recoll recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing DocFetcher and Recoll, you can also consider the following products

Everything by Voidtools - Everything. Locate files and folders by name instantly. Everything. Small installation file. Clean and simple user interface.

Agent Ransack - Agent Ransack is a tool for finding files and information on your hard drive fast and efficiently.

X1 Search - X1's Lightning-Fast Search Software. Premium Alternative to Windows Desktop and Outlook Search.

dtsearch - dtSearch - The Smart Choice for Text Retrieval since 1991.

SearchMyFiles - Alternative to the standard Search For Files And Folders module of Windows. Duplicates search is also supported.

Advanced Recent Access - Advanced Recent Access is designed to see more properties of your recent used resources (files and directories). Key features: can see more properties of the recent resources, such as path, size, type, date modified and date created. And more.