Everything vs Fluent Search

Everything is a Windows search engine for finding files and folders by filename. It indexes names rather than file contents and generally builds its database in a few seconds, then updates results in real time as file systems change. Search syntax includes Boolean operators, wildcards, file types, and location filters. The index can cover local, removable, and network locations. A content: function can search inside files, but content is not indexed, so those searches are slow. The maker says the name cache stays local and is not sent remotely; its support page describes the client as offline, without user data collection or telemetry. It reports that a fresh Windows 11 installation with about 250,000 files uses about 35 MB of RAM and less than 14 MB of disk space. An HTTP Server plug-in allows browser searches and file access, while ETP/FTP supports access from Everything or an FTP client. The HTTP server uses Basic authentication without TLS, and the maker advises against exposing it directly to the internet. NTFS indexing requires the Everything service or running as administrator. The freeware plan costs nothing; business and enterprise use requires a site license.

Fluent Search is a free, keyboard-driven search and productivity tool for Windows 10 or 11. It searches installed apps, files, browser history and bookmarks, commands, web results, open windows, settings, calculations, and on-screen interface elements. Screen Search puts character labels over clickable items so users can navigate and interact with them from the keyboard. A built-in file indexer is designed to scan quickly while keeping CPU usage low. Its index stores file metadata by default, not file contents, unless content indexing is enabled for selected paths. Optional semantic search and summarization run locally and can be switched off in Settings. Community plugins can add search sources, previews, actions, and YAML-based task workflows. Configurable web search includes engines such as Google, Bing, and DuckDuckGo, inline previews, and sending prompts to ChatGPT. The maker says searches, indexes, browser data, and most interactions are handled locally; depending on settings, diagnostics, suggestions, sync, and plugins may involve external communication. Windows x64 and ARM64 installers, APPX, portable builds, and Microsoft Store installation are listed. The maker describes ARM64 as newer and not yet battle-tested.