Lookeen vs X1 Search (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, X1 Search grades higher than Lookeen: 2.0 against 1.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
X1 Search grades higher on features. They get the same grade on value for money, 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.
Lookeen
Windows desktop search for email, attachments and files
X1 Search
Windows search across local files, email, chats and cloud storage
Which one is for you
Pick Lookeen if
- Fits if your work lives in Outlook and you want faster search through it
- Works for people who want to ask questions about their own email
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you use a Mac, as the desktop product is Windows only
- Pricey if you are one person: $9 a month with only annual billing
- Tight if you want tags or OCR, since both need Business at $12
- Watch out: the mobile app, MCP, RAG and Vault are marked coming soon
- Watch out: the pricing page defaults to euros with a dollar switch
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
| 1.8GPALookeenWeak | 2.0GPAX1 SearchFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CBasic is $9 per user a month billed annually, above the dearer quarter of this category's subscriptions. Business is $12 and Premium $25, and prices include VAT. | 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 14-day free trial and no free plan. The listing does not say whether it needs a card. | CA free trial is offered, but the pages read do not state its length or whether it needs a card. |
| Features | CEmail and file search, AI answers and an Outlook add-in. The gaps in the listing: group policy, tags and OCR need Business, and the mobile app, MCP, RAG and Vault are coming soon. | 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. It is an add-in that has to be pointed at your mailboxes and folders and indexed first. | 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 for the desktop product, with no Mac or phone version yet. | DWindows 10 and 11 only. Macs and Snapdragon Arm PCs are not supported. |
| Best for | searching Outlook email and files 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: Lookeen and X1 Search. How we grade
Price against what you get
Lookeen starts at $9 a month for each person 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 $2.42 a month lower. Of the other desktop utilities on the chart, 77 score higher than Lookeen 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
| Lookeen | X1 Search | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $9 per user / month, billed annually | $79 per year |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial. | A free trial is offered; its length is not stated on the pages read. |
| Windows | ||
| Made by | Lookeen GmbH | X1 Discovery |
| Price read from | lookeen.com | x1.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Lookeen
- Only annual plans are available for the desktop editions.
- The pricing page lists amounts in euros by default with a US dollar switch, and states that prices include VAT.
- The mobile app, MCP, RAG and Vault products are marked coming soon.
- Windows only for the desktop product.
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
Lookeen
- Email and file search
- Indexes Outlook email, attachments and documents, with full-text search over Office, PDF, email and CAD files.
- AI answers
- Ask questions about your emails and documents and get answers drawn from your own data.
- Outlook add-in
- A separate add-in brings Lookeen's search inside Outlook.
- Group policy and tags
- Business adds GPO-based deployment settings and tagging.
- OCR
- Business and Premium can read text from scanned images and documents.
- Shared index
- Premium lets a team search a shared index.
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
Lookeen
Basic$9
per user / month, billed annually
Windows app with AI support and a Discovery Panel, for individual users.
Business$12
per user / month, billed annually
Adds Group Policy Objects (GPOs), tags and OCR, for professional users and small teams.
Premium$25
per user / month, billed annually
Adds a shared index, a personal account manager and customized onboarding support.
ServerCustom
Central indexing on Windows Server, individually negotiated.
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, Lookeen or X1 Search?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Lookeen starts at $9 per user / month, billed annually, and X1 Search starts at $79 per year. One is priced for each person and the other is not, so which costs less depends on how many of you use it.
Which has a free plan, Lookeen or X1 Search?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Lookeen 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.