Copernic Desktop Search vs X1 Search (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Copernic Desktop Search and X1 Search share a 2.0 GPA, neither has a free plan, and Copernic Desktop Search starts cheaper, at $2.42 a month when paid by the year against $6.58 a month when paid by the year.
Checked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Copernic Desktop Search grades higher on value for money. X1 Search grades higher on features. They get the same grade on the free plan, ease of use 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
X1 Search
Windows search across local files, email, chats and cloud storage
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 X1 Search if
- Fits if your work is spread across Outlook, Teams, Slack and cloud drives
- Works for people on Windows who want one place to look for old messages
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you use a Mac or an Arm Windows PC, as neither is supported
- Pricey if you want one year only: it is $79 a year with no one-time purchase
- Skip it if you want to know trial terms first, as the pages read give no length
- Watch out: 50 or more licenses go through sales, and the eDiscovery platform is by quote
How we grade them
| 2.0GPACopernic Desktop SearchFair | 2.0GPAX1 SearchFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | C$79 a year, or $189 for 3 years. That is above the dearer quarter of this category's subscriptions, though not in the dearest tenth. |
| Free plan and trial | CA 30-day trial and no free plan. The listing does not say whether the trial needs a card. | CA free trial is offered, but the pages read do not state its length or whether it needs a card. |
| 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. | BOne search across mail, chat, files and cloud sources, in-place indexing and a Claude connector in version 12. The listing names no gap in the core job. |
| 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. | CNo store rating is on record. Each mail, chat and cloud source has to be connected before it is searchable. |
| Platforms and integrations | DWindows only: Windows 10 and 11. Nothing for Mac or phones. | DWindows 10 and 11 only. Macs and Snapdragon Arm PCs are not supported. |
| Best for | an index to search files, email and cloud drives on Windows | one search across email, files and chat 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 X1 Search. 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. X1 Search starts at $6.58 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.0.
X1 Search scores higher, and starts $4.16 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other desktop utilities on the chart, 57 score higher than Copernic Desktop Search for less, and 39 score higher than X1 Search 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 | X1 Search | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $28.99 per year, billed annually | $79 per year |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 30-day trial. | A free trial is offered; its length is not stated on the pages read. |
| Windows | ||
| Made by | Copernic, a division of N. Harris Computer Corporation | X1 Discovery |
| Price read from | copernic.com | x1.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 13, 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.
X1 Search
- Windows 10 and 11 only; Macs and Snapdragon ARM Windows PCs are not supported.
- Sold by the term, not as a one-time purchase: 1 year or 3 years.
- Purchases of 50 or more licenses go through sales.
- A separate X1 Enterprise platform for eDiscovery is sold on a quote basis.
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.
X1 Search
- One search across sources
- Covers email, local files, Microsoft 365 (Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive, Exchange, Outlook), Google Drive, Box, Dropbox and Slack.
- Mail connectors
- Gmail, Outlook mail and Yahoo are supported; the Gmail connector is API-based.
- In-place indexing
- Indexes data where it sits instead of moving it.
- Claude MCP connector
- Version 12 and later purchases include an MCP connector so Claude can search the X1 index.
- Chat search
- Searches Teams chats and channels and Slack conversations alongside email and documents.
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.
X1 Search
1 Year Term$79
per license, for 1 year of support and updates
Bought online by credit card; the license is for one person.
3 Year Term$189
per license, for 3 years of support and updates
Listed as normally $237; the page shows the $189 price with no end date.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Copernic Desktop Search or X1 Search?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Copernic Desktop Search is cheaper to start with: $2.42 a month when paid by the year, against $6.58 a month when paid by the year for X1 Search. Copernic Desktop Search starts at $28.99 per year, billed annually, and X1 Search starts at $79 per year.
Which has a free plan, Copernic Desktop Search or X1 Search?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Copernic Desktop Search nor X1 Search has a free plan. Both have 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.