5 Sherlock Alternatives for Username Search

Sherlock is an open-source, free command-line tool that hunts a single username across hundreds of sites, showing you where an account with that name exists. Run against your own usernames, it's a practical demonstration of how far a name you reuse everywhere can be traced back to you.

The other tools below do a similar job with different trade-offs: some check a fixed list of sites for matching accounts, others also check whether a username is still available to register, and coverage and output format (CLI dossier, web app, API) differ between them.

What to weigh when choosing: is it open-source and self-run, free versus freemium, and does the tool build a dossier of matches versus simply reporting availability. All of these are dual-use — the same lookup that shows you your own footprint can be pointed at anyone whose username you know.

Looking at the original? See Sherlock in the directory.

Alternatives

WhatsMyNameOpen source · dual-useEnumerates a username's presence across sites.Also open-source, enumerating a username's presence across sites — a close like-for-like to Sherlock's own approach.

MaigretOpen source · dual-useBuilds a dossier from a username, checking thousands of sites for matching accounts.Open-source and free, building a fuller dossier from a username by checking thousands of sites for matching accounts.

BlackbirdOpen source · dual-useFast username and email search across 600+ platforms.Open-source and free, a fast username and email search across 600+ platforms if you want email coverage alongside usernames.

Social AnalyzerOpen source · dual-useAPI, CLI and web app that finds a person's profiles across 1000+ social sites.Open-source and free, available as an API, CLI or web app, and checks 1000+ social sites if you want more coverage or a non-CLI interface than Sherlock's.

NamechkFreemium · dual-useChecks whether a username or domain is available or already taken across many sites.Freemium, and checks whether a username or domain is available or already taken — useful if what you actually need is availability rather than a list of existing accounts.

Browse the full tools directory →

Common questions

Is there a free alternative to Sherlock?

WhatsMyName, Maigret, Blackbird and Social Analyzer are all open-source and free. Namechk is freemium.

Do these tools require an account?

No — Sherlock, WhatsMyName, Maigret, Blackbird and Social Analyzer are open-source tools you run yourself without signing up. Namechk's freemium tiers may require an account for extended use; check its own site for current terms.

What's the difference between a dossier tool and an availability checker?

Sherlock, WhatsMyName, Maigret, Blackbird and Social Analyzer report where an existing account with a given username was found. Namechk instead checks whether a username or domain is still available to register.

Is it okay to run these on someone else's username?

Reusing one username lets tools like these link accounts together, which is exactly why running one on your own usernames is useful — it shows your own exposure. Running the same lookup on someone else's username without their knowledge is a different matter; see /learn/ethics-and-law.