DEVONthink vs EagleFiler
We give DEVONthink a 2.8 GPA and EagleFiler a 2.6, out of 4.0. DEVONthink grades higher on features and platforms. EagleFiler grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
DEVONthink
Document and information manager for Mac, iPhone and iPad
EagleFiler
Document organizer and mail archiver for Mac
How we grade them
| 2.8GPADEVONthinkGood | 2.6GPAEagleFilerGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BStandard is $99 once for 2 Macs, which is a bit more than a year of a typical notes subscription here. It keeps working for good, but updates stop after 1 year unless you pay $49 for another. And Standard leaves out the iPhone app, which is $19 a year by itself. | A$69.99, once, for one person or one computer. That's about a year of a typical notes subscription here, and maintenance releases and minor feature updates are free after that. A family in one household can share the 2-user licence at $111.98. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan. The trial is generous: 30 days or 150 hours of use, whichever is longer, with every Server edition feature switched on. The listing doesn't say whether it asks for a card, so this is the grade a trial gets when we can't tell. | CNo free plan. There's a fully functional 30-day trial, with reminders popping up now and then. The listing doesn't say it asks for a card. A month is enough to find out if it suits your filing. |
| Features | ADatabases for PDFs, notes, web pages and email, smart groups, smart rules, AppleScript, encrypted sync and a built-in AI that suggests where to file things. Pro adds OCR, email archiving and chat models. For keeping and finding documents, it's the whole job. | BA capture key for any app, email archiving from Apple Mail and Outlook, web pages saved as archives or PDF, search with Boolean operators, nested tags, smart folders and encrypted libraries. Solid. But it still leans on Rosetta 2 on Apple silicon, and nothing of its own syncs to a phone. |
| Ease of use | BIt's an app you download and start filing things into. There's a lot of depth to grow into, with rules and scripting waiting further in. No App Store rating is on record to go by, so a B is as high as we go. | BPress the capture key and the thing you're looking at is filed. Libraries are plain Finder folders, so there's no new system to learn. No App Store rating is on record to go by, so a B is as high as we go. |
| Platforms and integrations | CMac, iPhone and iPad, with a browser clipper and hooks into OmniFocus, Things, Alfred and Bookends. All Apple, though: the vendor develops solely for macOS and iOS. The one web interface belongs to the $499 Server edition. | DMac only. On an iPhone or iPad you can read a library kept in cloud storage with apps such as Files, but there's no EagleFiler app. On the Mac it works with Apple Mail, Outlook, Alfred, LaunchBar and ScanSnap scanners. |
| Best for | a big document archive kept on your own Mac | filing documents and old email on a Mac |
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: DEVONthink and EagleFiler. How we grade
Where they differ
- DEVONthink starts at $99 one-time license, with 2 Mac seats and 1 year of updates. EagleFiler starts at $69.99 one-time purchase.
- Only DEVONthink lists a web app.
- Only DEVONthink lists an iOS app.
- Only DEVONthink lists a browser extension.
- DEVONthink also covers linked notes.
- EagleFiler also covers bookmarks.
At a glance
| DEVONthink | EagleFiler | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $99 one-time license, with 2 Mac seats and 1 year of updates | $69.99 one-time purchase |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | Free trial for 30 days or 150 hours of use, whichever is longer, with all Server edition features | Fully functional 30-day free trial, with periodic reminders |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| iOS | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | DEVONtechnologies, LLC | C-Command Software, LLC |
| Price read from | devontechnologies.com | c-command.com |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Oct 6, 2026 |
Who each one suits
DEVONthink
- Researchers, lawyers and writers with large document archives on a Mac
- People who want their documents stored locally rather than on a vendor's servers
- Buyers who prefer a one-time license to a subscription
EagleFiler
- Mac users running a paperless office or a long-term document archive
- Moving large amounts of old email out of a mail program
- People who want their files kept in standard formats in the Finder
Worth knowing
DEVONthink
- The desktop app is Mac only and requires macOS Ventura or later; the vendor develops solely for macOS and iOS.
- A license includes 1 year of updates. The app keeps working afterwards, but more updates cost $49 to $149 a year depending on the edition.
- The web interface is part of the $499 Server edition only, and generative AI, OCR and email archiving start at Pro.
- Standard does not include DEVONthink To Go, which needs a $2.99 monthly or $19 yearly subscription for full use.
EagleFiler
- It is a Mac app only; on iPhone and iPad a library kept in cloud storage can be read with apps such as Files, but there is no EagleFiler app.
- The app currently relies on Rosetta 2 on Apple silicon Macs; the vendor says a native rewrite will be finished before macOS 28.
- Mac App Store purchases are single-user only and do not qualify for family packs, volume or educational discounts, or upgrade pricing.
- Major version upgrades are free only within six months of buying the previous version; after that they are offered at a discount.
Key features
DEVONthink
- Document databases
- Stores texts, PDFs, web pages, images, emails and spreadsheets in databases on your Mac, organized with groups, tags and smart groups.
- Notes, annotations and links
- Write notes as Markdown, plain text or rich text and attach annotations to documents. Cross-references and item links connect items into a personal wiki.
- Built-in and generative AI
- Built-in AI suggests related documents and filing locations. Pro and Server connect online or local chat models for summaries, tagging and chat.
- Automation
- Smart rules run actions on documents when their conditions are met, and AppleScript or JavaScript for Automation scripts can extend them.
- Encrypted sync
- Databases sync between Macs, iPhones and iPads over the local network or a cloud service of your choice, with the synced data encrypted.
- Scanning, OCR and email archiving
- Pro and Server make scanned documents searchable, archive email independently of the mail app and imprint PDFs with stamps or Bates numbers.
EagleFiler
- Capture from any app
- Press a capture key to import the web page, mail messages or file you are viewing, or a quick-entry key to make a note without leaving the current app.
- Email archiving
- Archives mail from Apple Mail, Outlook and other clients with attachments and flags intact, stored in the standard mbox format or as individual .eml files.
- Web page archiving
- Saves pages as web archives, PDF, rich text or plain bookmarks along with the source URL, and imports bookmark lists from Safari, Pinboard and others.
- Libraries in Finder format
- Each library is made of regular files and folders in standard formats that other apps can open, with checksums to verify that nothing is lost or damaged.
- Search, tags and smart folders
- Its own index searches file contents and email attachments with Boolean operators and wildcards. Nested tags sync with Finder tags, and smart folders can run actions.
- Encrypted libraries
- A library can be encrypted with AES-128 or AES-256, including its metadata and indexes, and stays searchable once the passphrase has been entered.
Plans
DEVONthink
Standard$99
one-time license with 2 Mac seats and 1 year of updates
Importing, indexing, sync, encrypted databases, versioning, tagging, annotations, smart groups and rules, and scripting. Extra seats cost $49.
Pro$199
one-time license with 2 Mac seats and 1 year of updates
Adds generative AI integration, OCR, email archiving, custom metadata and DEVONthink To Go with 5 mobile seats. Extra seats cost $99.
Server$499
one-time license with 2 Mac seats and 1 year of updates
Adds a web interface and granular access management for teams, plus 25 mobile seats for DEVONthink To Go. Extra seats cost $99.
DEVONthink To Go$2.99
per month, or $19 per year, as an App Store subscription
The iPhone and iPad app. It works with restrictions without a license and is included with Pro and Server licenses that still receive updates.
EagleFiler
EagleFiler$69.99
one-time purchase, for one person or one computer
A single license with free maintenance releases and minor feature updates. The Mac App Store lists the same $69.99 price.
Family or 2 Users$111.98
one-time purchase, 2-user license
A 2-user license that a family living in the same household can share on any number of Macs.
Ways to pay less
DEVONthink
- Education
20% off for students and educators
Full-time students and teachers get 20% off new licenses, extra seats and update extensions once their status is approved in their customer account.
- Nonprofit
20% off for volunteer-run charities
Charities working in children's aid, human aid, ecology, wildlife protection or renewable energy get 20% off. Educational institutes and religious organizations are excluded.
- Other savings
Lower price for extending updates early
Extending before the update year ends costs $44, $89 or $134 for one more year instead of $49, $99 or $149, with two- and three-year options.
EagleFiler
- Other savings
Family license and volume discounts
The 2-user license costs $111.98, 20% less than two single licenses, and a family in one household can share it. Site licenses for more seats are priced at checkout.
- Education
Educational discount on direct purchases
The manual says educational discounts are available when buying direct from C-Command rather than from the Mac App Store. It does not state the amount.
