Best indie Mac apps for

File Search

File search tools help Mac users locate documents, folders, app data, metadata, and old project files quickly.

Our pick

HoudahSpot

Advanced file search for Mac.

Best for
Advanced file search
Mac support
Mac
Free option
No
One-time purchase
Yes
Made by
Houdah Software

A powerful Finder search replacement with metadata filters, saved searches, and precise file discovery.

Best free option

Find Any File

Find files by name, date, size, and location.

Best for
Deep file search
Mac support
Mac
Free option
No
One-time purchase
Yes
Made by
Thomas Tempelmann

A practical file search utility for finding things Spotlight and Finder miss.

Power pick

EasyFind

Free file search without indexing.

Best for
Free file search
Mac support
Mac
Free option
Yes
One-time purchase
No
Made by
DEVONtechnologies

A free utility for searching files and contents without relying on Spotlight indexing.

Lightweight pick

DEVONsphere Express

Contextual file discovery from the menu bar.

Best for
Related file discovery
Mac support
Mac
Free option
No
One-time purchase
Yes
Made by
DEVONtechnologies

A menu bar tool for finding related documents, messages, and web pages from your local data.

Alternative

Tembo

Simplified file search powered by Spotlight.

Best for
Simple file search
Mac support
Mac
Free option
No
One-time purchase
Yes
Made by
Houdah Software

A friendlier file search app for narrowing results by type, location, date, and context.