HoudahSpot needs criteria set and Return pressed before it searches. Locseek is faster: results as you type.
There are two ways to look for a file. Either you remember its name, or you only remember what was written inside.
HoudahSpot is good at the second: text content, kind and date can all be criteria. You set them, press Return and wait for the results.
But if you do remember the name, those steps are extra. Locseek saves you them: type two letters and the file is there.
Illustration: the same search for a file with “contract” in its name. File names are examples.
You type in the search bar, add criteria if needed, then press Return to start the search. That suits complex lookups.
SourceThe HoudahSpot website describes it: type in the search bar and press Return to search, combine several criteria, or save them as a template to reuse.
Type the first letter and results appear. Type another and the list gets shorter. You are always looking at results, never waiting for them.
SourceLocseek records file names in its own index ahead of time, and a search is a lookup in that index: query p95 5.5 ms, and a changed file is searchable about 1 second later (internal test of version 1.6.0 on an Intel MacBook Pro 2018: 30 minutes, 1,800 create, rename and delete operations; how it was measured).
Click on the left to filter by date, kind or size. If you prefer typing, add one more word, such as ext:pdf.
SourceLocseek's four sidebar filter groups and its search operators all take effect as you type, with no separate confirmation.
"5.5 ms" and "about 1 second" come from an internal test of version 1.6.0 on an Intel MacBook Pro 2018: 30 minutes, 1,800 create, rename and delete operations. The first is the time of the query itself, the second the time from a file change to it being searchable. Both vary with hardware and file count. How each number was measured →
| Locseek | HoudahSpot | |
|---|---|---|
| What it searches | File and folder names only; never file contents | Names, text content and detailed metadata |
| Where results come from | Its own name index, updated as files change | The Spotlight index; Spotlight must be on |
| External drives, USB sticks, NAS | ✓ Add once and search; names stay searchable after unplugging (Pro) | Whatever Spotlight covers; on a NAS it varies |
| Internet connection | No internet connection; no account | Update check goes online, per its privacy policy |
| Price | Free tier; Pro yearly or one-time | Paid licence, with a trial |
Written by the developer of Locseek. Facts about HoudahSpot come from the HoudahSpot website, its download and requirements page, its developer's answer about NAS, its privacy policy, checked 10 November 2026. We have not timed the two side by side, so this page makes no speed ranking. HoudahSpot is a product of Houdah Software; Locseek is not affiliated with it.
HoudahSpot is a front end to the Spotlight index and can search text content and detailed metadata. Locseek keeps its own index of file names, shows results as you type and never reads file contents.
HoudahSpot finds what Spotlight has indexed; on a NAS, its developer says it depends on the system, protocol and server. Locseek Pro builds its own name index for each location you add, and names stay searchable after unplugging.
Yes. Locseek when you remember the name, HoudahSpot when the clue is in the text or the metadata.
Faster · More precise · Covers more · Easier · Safer
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