Fenn vs DEVONthink 4, what to use in 2025
Sep 22, 2025
Quick note on the comparison
This is not an apples to apples matchup. Fenn is a precision file search engine for macOS that opens the exact moment inside your files, even when you only remember a vague idea. It works across PDFs, Word, Excel, Keynote, images, audio, and video. DEVONthink 4 is a document and knowledge manager built around databases, organization, editing, and automation. Many professionals use both, but they solve different jobs.
TL,DR, who should pick what
Choose Fenn if you often remember only the gist, a fuzzy concept, or a half phrase, and you still need to land on the exact page, slide, frame, or timestamp.
Choose DEVONthink 4 if you want a structured database for collecting and organizing documents, tagging, and editing inside one app.
The job to be done, in your words
“I remember a chart that argues cost of delay, not the filename.”
“It was a paragraph about indemnification exceptions, somewhere late in the PDF.”
“The customer pushed back on timeline risk about twelve minutes into the call.”
“There is a screenshot that mentions NRR, I do not recall where.”
If this sounds like your day, you need search that understands intent, not just keywords, and that opens the exact moment you have in mind.
Why typical Mac tools fall short
Spotlight and Finder lean on filenames and basic metadata. They do not understand vague ideas. They also do not open at page 47, slide 12, frame 3201, or 00:12:14 in a recording. This turns into scrolling, scrubbing, and endless switching between files.
How the tools differ
Fenn, find the moment, not the file
Understands fuzzy intent. Type the idea you remember, semantic search maps it to likely passages, slides, frames, or timestamps.
Exact jump. Open straight to the right PDF page, slide number, text inside an image, audio timestamp, or video frame.
Search modes. Semantic, keyword, or hybrid with contextual snippets so you can preview before you open.
Privacy by default. Runs on your Mac. No external AI required.
No lock in. Works with your files where they already live, no database required.
Built for Apple Silicon. Fast on modern Macs.
DEVONthink 4, document and knowledge management
Database model. You ingest files into DEVONthink databases, then organize with groups, tags, saved searches, and rules.
In app editing. Markdown and PDF tools inside the app.
Generative AI option. New v4 features can connect to cloud AI providers or to a local model if you install one.
Best for structure. A curated repository with deep organization and automation.
Privacy reality with DEVONthink 4 AI features
DEVONthink 4’s generative AI is optional. If you connect a cloud model, your prompts and the excerpts you choose to send will go to that provider, for example OpenAI, Google, or Mistral. To keep everything local you need to install and configure a separate tool, for example Ollama or LM Studio, then point DEVONthink to that model. This preserves privacy, but it adds steps and can feel technical, especially on managed Macs.
With Fenn, search is private by default. Indexing and retrieval run on your device. You get fuzzy idea search and exact jumps without connecting to any external AI.
Where each tool shines
When Fenn is the better fit
You often recall only an idea, a theme, or an approximate phrasing.
Your work spans many formats, long PDFs, decks, spreadsheets, screenshots, audio, and video.
You want to open the right passage or timestamp in the native app you already use.
Your privacy rules call for on device search with zero external calls.
When DEVONthink 4 is the better fit
You prefer to collect documents into a single database with tags and smart rules.
You plan to annotate and edit inside one application.
You are comfortable managing database storage and sync, and you can handle optional local AI setup if needed.
Step by step, how Fenn turns fuzzy ideas into exact results
Select sources to index, for example client folders, project archives, and your meeting recordings directory.
Pick a mode. Semantic for ideas, keyword, hybrid for both or exact for exact terms.
Type the gist. “Cost of delay for Q3 roadmap” or “carve out for indemnification exceptions” or “customer worried about timeline risk.”
Scan contextual snippets. You see the most likely passages with page, slide, or timestamp markers.
Open at the moment. Fenn takes you to the exact page in Preview, the slide in Keynote, or the timestamp in your media player.
Stay private. Everything runs on your Mac.
Result, fuzzy idea in, exact place out, no database migration, no vendor lock in.
Example workflows by role
Lawyers. “Change of control protection” finds the clause near the end of a 500 page agreement, jump to page with definitions in view.
Researchers. “Alpha diversity critique in methods section” opens the paragraph where the author contrasts indices, then the seminar at the minute with the definition.
Accountants. “Variance analysis for prepaid expenses” lands on the right section in the audit PDF, then opens the referenced Excel sheet.
Traders and analysts. “NRR drivers after price rise” pulls a screenshot that mentions NRR, then opens the earnings deck on the retention slide.
Mini case study, time saved
Before Fenn, a partner would scrub a 60 minute call to find a client objection. After Fenn, they search for “timeline risk raised by client” and jump to 00:12:14 where it happens. Five such lookups per day recover more than an hour per week, with all data staying on the device.
Pricing
Fenn Local. 9 USD per month, billed annually. On device indexing. Semantic and keyword search. One Mac. Updates. Founder support.
Fenn Lifetime. 199 USD one time. On device indexing. Semantic and keyword search. One year of updates. One Mac. Founder support.
You can still run Fenn alongside DEVONthink 4. Keep your curated database if you need it, and use Fenn to reach exact moments across everything on disk.
Can you use both
Yes. Many teams keep DEVONthink 4 for notebook style archives, then use Fenn to search across the broader file system. This keeps long PDFs, decks, screenshots, audio, and video instantly reachable, even when they are not inside a DEVONthink database.
The future of Fenn, making Finder smarter
Fenn’s roadmap is deeper macOS integration so the Finder becomes much smarter.
Example concept. Right click in Finder, choose Create smart folder “Quarterly board prep Q3.” Fenn understands the phrase, searches your Mac semantically, and populates the folder with relevant files and moments, for example the final board deck, the CFO notes PDF, the extract of the earnings call recording at 00:23:10 for guidance, and two screenshots that contain NRR. The folder stays dynamic and private because Fenn does the understanding on your device.
This is the direction, turn natural language into file system intent so your files assemble themselves around the work you are about to do.
See also
Final recommendation
If your daily pain is finding the right place in a file when you only remember a vague idea, choose Fenn. Private by default, fast on Apple Silicon, and built to open the exact page, frame, or timestamp across every format you touch. If your primary need is a document database with heavy organization and in app editing, choose DEVONthink 4. Many professionals run both. Start with Fenn to remove the search friction, then decide whether a document database adds value to your workflow.