Copernic Desktop Search vs Everything (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Everything grades higher than Copernic Desktop Search: 2.8 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Everything grades higher on value for money, the free plan and ease of use. They get the same grade on features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Copernic Desktop Search
Windows desktop search that indexes files, email and cloud drives
Which one is for you
Pick Copernic Desktop Search if
- Fits if you keep years of files and email on a Windows PC and want one search box
- Works for people who need results offline
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you use a Mac, since it runs only on Windows 10 and 11
- Skip it if you need Outlook search on the cheapest tier, which sits on Advanced
- Pricey if you want Teams, SharePoint, Gmail and OCR: Elite is $95.99 a year
- Watch out: the pricing page showed a note that live prices were unavailable and figures were illustrative
Pick Everything if
- Fits if you know roughly what a file is called but not where you put it
- Works for drives holding hundreds of thousands of files, or millions
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you're on a Mac or Linux, as it only runs on Windows
- Not for you if you mostly search for words inside documents, because contents aren't indexed and that search is slow
- Tight if you pick the Lite build, which drops the servers and stops the command-line tool and SDK working
- Watch out: NTFS indexing needs the Everything service or admin rights, and FAT drives and network shares are added by hand
How we grade them
| 2.0GPACopernic Desktop SearchFair | 2.8GPAEverythingGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BBasic is $28.99 a year, about $2.42 a month, the bottom of this category's cheaper quarter. Advanced is $44.99 and Elite $95.99. | AFreeware, a plain download, with no paid edition anywhere. The developer asks you to think about donating, and that's the whole sales pitch. |
| Free plan and trial | CA 30-day trial and no free plan. The listing does not say whether the trial needs a card. | AAll of it is free: the installer, the portable ZIP and the Lite build, in 32-bit, 64-bit and ARM. Nothing is held back for a paid version. |
| Features | CIndex search, many file types, cloud drives, AI search and offline use. The gap in the listing: Outlook and Thunderbird sit on Advanced, and Teams, SharePoint, Gmail and OCR on Elite. | CFinding files by name is one job and Everything covers it: 250,000 files indexed in about 5 seconds, results that update as files change, wildcards, filters and regex, a command line and an SDK. But it indexes names, not contents, so searching inside files is slow. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating is on record. Search starts only after an index is built, and you pick which extensions to turn on. | BNo store rating is on record, but there's nothing to set up: install it and start typing. Two fiddly bits sit in the listing, mind. NTFS indexing wants the Everything service or administrator rights, and network shares have to be added by hand. |
| Platforms and integrations | DWindows only: Windows 10 and 11. Nothing for Mac or phones. | DWindows only, a single operating system, from XP through Windows 11. Its HTTP server does let you search your files from a browser on a phone or another computer on the same network. No Mac or Linux version. |
| Best for | an index to search files, email and cloud drives on Windows | finding any file by name on Windows |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Copernic Desktop Search and Everything. How we grade
Price against what you get
Copernic Desktop Search starts at $2.42 a month when paid by the year and scores 1.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Everything has no paid plan and scores 2.0.
Everything scores higher and starts $2.42 a month lower. Of the other desktop utilities on the chart, 57 score higher than Copernic Desktop Search for less, and none scores higher than Everything for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
At a glance
| Copernic Desktop Search | Everything | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free |
| Starts at | $28.99 per year, billed annually | Free |
| Free plan | None | Everything is freeware with no paid edition. The developer asks users to consider donating. |
| Free trial | 30-day trial. | None listed |
| Windows | ||
| Made by | Copernic, a division of N. Harris Computer Corporation | voidtools PTY LTD |
| Price read from | copernic.com | voidtools.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 5, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Copernic Desktop Search
- Windows only; the vendor names Windows 10 and 11.
- The pricing page showed a note that the live checkout price was unavailable and that the displayed figures were illustrative, so confirm at checkout.
- Which extensions come with each edition determines what is searchable; Outlook and Teams support sit above Basic.
- Prices are per user per year; the plan selector offers 1, 2 and 3 year terms.
Everything
- Windows only; the FAQ lists Windows XP through Windows 11.
- It indexes file and folder names, not contents. Searching inside files is possible but slow.
- NTFS indexing needs the Everything service or administrator rights, and FAT volumes and network shares must be added as folder indexes by hand.
- The Lite build removes the HTTP and ETP/FTP servers and IPC, so the command-line tool and SDK do not work with it.
Key features
Copernic Desktop Search
- Index-based search
- Builds a keyword index of the PC so results appear quickly after the first indexing pass.
- Many file types
- The vendor says it covers hundreds of file extensions and 11 languages, including PDF, Office files, PST and e-books.
- Cloud drives
- Indexes Google Drive, Dropbox and OneDrive content.
- AI search
- Semantic search, summaries and translation powered by Google Gemini or OpenAI are listed as an AI feature.
- Offline use
- Searches desktop files and emails without an internet connection.
- Business server edition
- A server and client pair for company-wide search with permissions.
Everything
- Instant filename search
- Starts by listing every file and folder on the PC and narrows the list as you type. Only names are indexed: about 250,000 files on a fresh Windows 11 install take about 5 seconds.
- Real-time index updates
- Results update as files change. NTFS indexes are kept current through the USN Journal, so changes made while Everything was closed are picked up when it restarts.
- Search syntax
- Supports boolean operators, wildcards, file-type and location filters and optional regular expressions. A content: function searches inside files, but contents are not indexed, so it is slow.
- Low resource use
- The vendor quotes about 35 MB of RAM and under 14 MB of disk space for roughly 250,000 files, and about 100 MB of RAM for 1,000,000 files.
- HTTP and ETP/FTP servers
- Search and open your files from a web browser on another computer, phone or tablet on the local network. Version 1.4 includes the servers; for version 1.5 they are separate plugins.
- Command line and SDK
- The ES command-line tool queries a running copy of Everything, and the SDK gives other programs a DLL and Lib interface to it over IPC.
Plans
Copernic Desktop Search
Basic$2.42
per month, billed annually ($28.99 per year, 1 user)
Desktop and cloud search; extensions listed for this plan include Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive and Microsoft Office.
Advanced$3.75
per month, billed annually ($44.99 per year, 1 user)
Adds extensions such as Outlook, Thunderbird and an AI Connector.
Elite$8.00
per month, billed annually ($95.99 per year, 1 user)
Adds Teams, SharePoint, Gmail and OCR extensions.
Business Server Search$999
per year for 1 to 3 users
Server product with multi-tier permissions; 4 to 9 users is $1,699 a year, and 1,000 or more users is quoted on request.
Everything
Everything$0
Freeware in installer, portable ZIP and Lite builds, with 32-bit, 64-bit and ARM downloads. Donations are optional.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Copernic Desktop Search or Everything?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Everything is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $2.42 a month when paid by the year for Copernic Desktop Search. Copernic Desktop Search starts at $28.99 per year, billed annually, and Everything is free.
Which has a free plan, Copernic Desktop Search or Everything?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Everything has a free plan. Copernic Desktop Search does not, though it has a free trial.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.