HyperArc vs DEVONthink: which should you use to search your files?
01Who should use which
- Use DEVONthink if your work is mostly documents: papers, PDFs, email, web clips, notes. Organizing, annotating and cross-referencing them is what it was built for, and it has been refined over many years. HyperArc does none of that.
- Use HyperArc if your problem is media. Interviews, screen recordings, lectures, B-roll, photo folders, voice notes. You want to type “guy pointing at a whiteboard” or “where she explains the budget” and land on the right two minutes.
- Use both if you have both. Keep the media in regular folders and let each app read them.
02Side by side
| Feature | HyperArc | DEVONthink 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Searches inside video/audio | Yes. Video and audio files are split into time segments (2 minutes by default) and you search them by describing what you want | Pro and Server editions can transcribe speech in audio and video files to text, which then becomes searchable. Search works on the words, not on what is shown on screen |
| Images | Yes, by describing what is in the picture | Text and handwriting in images become searchable through OCR |
| PDFs | Yes, page by page. Also plain text files (.txt, .md, .csv, .json, .html) | Yes, full text, with OCR for scans. Much deeper document handling than HyperArc: tags, groups, smart rules, annotations |
| Works offline | Partly. Indexing and new search queries call Gemini, so they need a connection. Repeat queries are cached locally | Yes for the core app. Optional AI features and some transcription engines use cloud services |
| Where processing happens | Each chunk (video clip, PDF page, image) goes to Google's Gemini embedding API with your own key. The index and search live in a local SQLite database on your Mac | On your Mac, unless you choose a cloud AI or transcription provider. Local models through Ollama or LM Studio are supported |
| Price | $29 one-time launch price (regular $129), up to 3 Macs. Gemini usage is billed by Google (free tier works to try) | $99 Standard, $199 Pro, $499 Server. License for two Macs with a year of updates. Transcription needs Pro or Server |
| Platform | macOS 14 or later, Apple Silicon and Intel | macOS 13 or later. DEVONthink To Go for iPhone and iPad is included with Pro and Server |
| Best at | Finding a moment, page or photo across folders of mixed media when you only remember what it looked or sounded like | Collecting, organizing and researching large sets of documents, email, web clips and notes |
03Transcripts vs searching by meaning
This is the real difference for audio and video, so it's worth a minute.
DEVONthink turns speech into text. Once a recording is transcribed, you search it like any other document, and with timestamps turned on and the annotation option, you can click through to the spot in the audio. That is great when you remember the exact words someone used. It doesn't help with anything visual. A transcript of a product demo won't tell you where the settings screen was on screen.
HyperArc doesn't make transcripts. It splits each file into segments (2 minutes by default, down to 30 seconds if you want), has Gemini compute an embedding for each segment, and matches your description against those. So “the part where we argued about pricing” or “close-up of hands on a keyboard” can match even if nobody said those words. The trade-off: you land on a segment, not a highlighted sentence, and if you need the exact quote a transcript is the better tool.
04Where DEVONthink is better
- Document management. Tags, groups, smart rules, annotations, replicants, OCR for scans. HyperArc has a search box and a folder list.
- Exact-word search in recordings, once they are transcribed.
- Works without a network for its core features. HyperArc needs one to index and to run new searches.
- iPhone and iPad through DEVONthink To Go. HyperArc is Mac only.
- Choice of AI provider, including local models through Ollama or LM Studio. HyperArc uses Google Gemini only.
05Where HyperArc is better
- Searching what is shown in videos and photos, not just what is said.
- Mixed folders: one query across video, audio, images and PDFs, with results pointing at a time range or page.
- Less setup. Add a folder, paste a Gemini key, wait for indexing. There is no database to design.
- Lower price if search is all you need.
Not sure your case is about media at all? The HyperArc vs Spotlight comparison covers what the free built-in search already handles, and the roundup of Mac apps that search inside videos covers the video editors' options.
FAQQuestions people ask
Can DEVONthink search inside video and audio files?
It can search the words spoken in them once they are transcribed. DEVONthink 4 Pro and Server can transcribe audio and video using Apple's speech engines or OpenAI, and save the transcript as searchable text or as a linked annotation. It does not search what is shown on screen. HyperArc searches both by description, but it doesn't produce a transcript.
Is HyperArc a DEVONthink alternative?
Only for one narrow job: finding things inside media. HyperArc has no tagging, no annotations, no document organization and no iPhone or iPad app. If you rely on DEVONthink to manage your research, keep it, and add HyperArc only if you also have a pile of video, audio or photos to search.
Can I use DEVONthink and HyperArc on the same files?
Yes, if the files live in normal Finder folders. DEVONthink can index folders in place instead of importing them, and HyperArc indexes the folders you point it at. Both apps can then read the same files.
Which one is cheaper?
HyperArc is a $29 one-time launch price (regular $129) for up to 3 Macs, plus your own Google Gemini usage, which has a free tier. DEVONthink Standard is $99 and Pro, which you need for transcription, is $199, each for two Macs with a year of updates. They are different tools though, so price shouldn't be the deciding factor.
Which one is more private?
DEVONthink keeps everything on your Mac unless you choose a cloud AI or transcription provider. HyperArc sends each chunk of a file (a video clip, a PDF page, an image) to Google's Gemini embedding API with your own key to compute embeddings. The index and search stay in a local SQLite database, and HyperArc's own servers never receive your files.
MORERelated pages
- HyperArc vs Spotlight. What the built-in Mac search can and can't find in your media.
- Mac apps that search inside videos, compared. Final Cut Pro, Premiere Pro, Jumper, Photos and HyperArc.
- How to search inside your videos on a Mac. Free options first, then the paid ones.
- How to find something said in a recording on a Mac. Voice memos, podcasts and meeting recordings.
- HyperArc home page. Natural-language search for your videos, audio, photos and PDFs on Mac.
Keep DEVONthink. Add search for your media.
If your documents are already sorted in DEVONthink and your footage and recordings are not, HyperArc covers that gap. One-time price, and a 30-day money-back guarantee if it doesn't fit.
One-time purchase. Up to 3 Macs. 30-day money-back guarantee. macOS 14 or later.