Head-to-head · Username OSINT
Sherlock vs Maigret
Sherlock is the simple, widely forked username checker. Maigret started from it and added more sites, tag filters, and HTML and PDF reports.
Both tools take a username and check hundreds of sites for an account with that name. Sherlock is the original with the largest community and the simplest output. Maigret is a fork that expanded the site list into the thousands, parses profile pages for extra data, filters by tags, and produces reports. Maigret finds more and reports better; Sherlock is quicker to run and easier to trust at a glance.
Pick Sherlock for a fast, simple check with a huge community behind it. Pick Maigret when you want more sites, extracted profile details, and a report you can hand over.
What each is best for
Sherlock vs Maigret, side by side
Structural differences and access models. No invented list prices for either tool.
| Sherlock | Maigret | |
|---|---|---|
| Site list | Hundreds of sites, community maintained. | Thousands of sites, with tags and country filters. |
| Output | Terminal list of found URLs; optional CSV and text files. | Terminal plus HTML, PDF, and JSON reports with parsed profile data. |
| False positives | Depends on site definitions; manual review expected. | Detection logic and tags reduce noise, but review is still needed. |
| Extras | Tor and proxy support, timeouts, simple flags. | Profile parsing, recursion on discovered identifiers, report generation. |
| Cost | Free and open source. | Free and open source. |
Where OSINTverse fits
- Keep both. SearchIn is the paid chapter: OSINT Industries and Predicta Search resolve a username to live accounts with profile data, and LeakRadar, DeHashed, Snusbase, and LeakOSINTbot show where that username appears in breaches.
- Results land in a Case with notes and exports, so a username check becomes a reopenable file instead of terminal output.
- otinstaller installs Sherlock and Maigret on Linux by name if you want them on a fresh box.
More head-to-head comparisons
FAQ
Sherlock vs Maigret, answered
Is Maigret better than Sherlock?
It finds more sites and produces reports, so for depth, yes. Sherlock is simpler, faster to run, and more widely documented. Many investigators run both.
Do either of them search breach data?
No. They check whether a profile page exists. Breach and credential data for a username comes from paid sources, which SearchIn runs per lookup.
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