compare / maigret in the browser
Maigret username search online alternative for OSINT teams
A Maigret username search online gives you the sweep Maigret is known for without Python, Docker or a local web server. Type a handle and see which of 300+ public sites have a profile with it, which hits are probably the same person, and a dated record you can export as a PDF for the case file.
Type a username below. Your first lookup is a one-time demo.
Maigret is the deepest free username scanner, and it lives in a terminal
Maigret started as a fork of Sherlock and grew into the most thorough open source username tool around. It keeps a database of several thousand sites, checks the 500 most popular by default, parses profile pages for names, links and IDs, and then searches again for anything new it finds. It writes HTML, PDF, CSV, JSON and graph reports. If you are an analyst who likes a command line, it is excellent.
The trouble is that it is a program you run, not a service you sign in to. Someone has to install Python or Docker, keep the package current as sites change their pages, decide what to do with blocked or captcha answers, and turn a folder of report files into something the rest of the team can find next month. The built in web interface helps, but you still host it, and there is no login on it by default.
That is why people search for Maigret online. They want the same kind of search, in a browser, with an account, a history and results a manager or a lawyer can open.
- Found profiles URL, time checked, HTTP status, page title
- Same person score shared avatar, display name, bio links
- Unknown sites listed with the reason and timestamp
- Case notes what the analyst concluded and why
Example layout. Your lookups run live.
Where Maigret wins and where a hosted search wins
You do not have to pick one forever. Plenty of teams keep Maigret for deep one off dives and use a hosted tool for the searches that have to be shared, repeated and defended.
Pick Maigret when
- You need the widest possible net, including small regional forums and niche sites outside our catalog.
- You want recursive search that follows new usernames and IDs found on profile pages.
- You work alone, you are happy in a terminal and the result only has to make sense to you.
- You need Tor or I2P sites, or a graph export for your own link analysis tool.
- Budget is zero and analyst time is not the constraint.
Pick UsernameLookup when
- Several people run searches and need one place where every past run is saved.
- You need to know which of 30 hits are likely the same person, with the reasons written out.
- Results go into a dispute, an HR file or a report to counsel and must show what was public on the day.
- You paste lists of usernames from a ticket export and want one sortable matrix back.
- Nobody on the team should be maintaining a Python install or a self hosted web app.
Maigret vs UsernameLookup for professional username searches
Facts on Maigret come from its public README in October 2026. Open source projects move fast, so check the repository before you decide.
| What you need | Maigret | UsernameLookup |
|---|---|---|
| Where it runs | Your machine or server: pip, Docker, Windows exe, or a self hosted web UI | Any browser, nothing to install or host |
| Sites covered | Several thousand in the database, top 500 by default | 300+ calibrated public sites |
| Recursive search on new IDs | Yes, a core feature | No, one handle at a time or a bulk list |
| Blocked or unclear answers | Detected and reported in the run output | Shown as unknown with a timestamp, never counted as a hit |
| Which hits are the same person | Extracted profile data you compare yourself | Likely same person score with the reasons listed |
| Several usernames in one run | Yes, from the command line | Bulk lists of up to 100 (Investigator and up) |
| History of past runs | Report files in a folder | Every run saved per workspace, with a diff on recheck |
| Report formats | HTML, PDF, CSV, JSON, TXT, XMind, graph | CSV, PDF report with evidence snapshots |
| Team access | Whoever can reach the files or your server | 3 seats on Investigator, 10 on Brand Monitoring |
| API | Run the CLI from scripts, or buy the author's API | REST API, 10,000 calls a month on Investigator |
| Price | Free, MIT license | From $24 a month billed yearly |
How to run a Maigret style search in the browser
-
step 1
Enter the handle
Type one username in the box at the top, or paste up to 100 on Investigator. A leading @ is stripped for you.
-
step 2
Choose the scope
Run every site, or narrow to social, video, developer, gaming, forum or marketplace sites, much like Maigret tags.
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step 3
Read the scored hits
Profiles that share an avatar, a display name or a bio link with others float to the top with the reasons beside them.
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step 4
Export and watch
Download CSV or a PDF case report, then add the handle to monitoring if new profiles matter later.
Who moves from Maigret to a hosted username search
Teams that run username searches every week and answer to someone for the result. If you search for yourself now and then, the free tool is the better fit.
Fraud and chargeback analysts
Check the handles behind a ring of suspicious orders or refund requests in one bulk run and attach the scored matrix to the dispute file.
Trust and safety teams
Look up a reported account across networks, see whether it belongs to a wider pattern of throwaway profiles and keep a dated record.
Corporate and legal investigators
Give counsel a PDF with URLs, timestamps, status codes and page titles instead of a folder of HTML files from someone's laptop.
Brand protection staff
Find impersonation handles of a brand or an executive and move them straight into hourly lookalike monitoring.
Public profiles only, with an opt out
We read public profile pages, the same pages Maigret requests. We do not log in to platforms, we do not collect private messages and we never claim to name the person behind an account. Anyone can add a handle to our username opt out list and it is suppressed before every lookup. Stalking, harassment and doxxing break the acceptable use policy and close the account.
Site detection data includes the open WhatsMyName dataset (CC BY-SA 4.0). Every site in the catalog is tested against names we know are taken and names we know are free before it counts toward the 300+ figure, which is why our number is smaller than Maigret's and why a found result means found.
What a hosted Maigret alternative costs
Maigret is free, and so is the hour an analyst spends getting a fresh install to run, the time spent reading raw output for false positives and the afternoon spent rebuilding results into a report. Investigator is $149 a month, or $74 a month billed yearly, for 2,000 lookups, bulk lists of 100, three seats, confidence scores, case notes, evidence snapshots, PDF reports and 10,000 API calls. Pro at $24 a month billed yearly suits a single investigator who wants saved runs and CSV export.
Coming from the other popular CLI? See our Sherlock username search online comparison. For casework in more depth read OSINT username search, and to work back from one handle to every public profile use reverse username lookup. Teams leaving Blackbird should read our Blackbird OSINT alternative for fraud teams. Every plan is on the username lookup pricing page.
Questions about running a Maigret username search online
Is there a Maigret online version?
Not an official hosted one. Maigret ships a web interface, but you start it yourself with maigret --web or the Docker web image, and it runs on your own machine or server. Community wrappers exist, such as a Telegram bot and paid scraper actors, but they are not run by the project. For a maintained browser tool with accounts and saved runs, use a hosted username search like UsernameLookup.
Is Maigret free?
Yes. Maigret is open source under the MIT license, and its README says the open source version is free for commercial use too. The author also sells a private, daily updated site database and a username check API by direct contact. The real cost of the free version is the time to install, update, tune and explain it.
How many sites does Maigret check?
Maigret keeps a database of several thousand sites and, by default, checks the 500 most popular of them. The -a flag runs the whole database and --tags narrows it by category or country. UsernameLookup checks a smaller, calibrated set of 300+ public sites, where each one is tested against known taken and known free names before it counts.
Is Maigret better than Sherlock?
For depth, usually yes. Maigret was built from Sherlock and adds a much larger site database, profile parsing, recursive search on new usernames and IDs it finds, and HTML, PDF and graph reports. Sherlock is simpler and lighter. Both are command line tools, so neither gives a team shared history, scored matches or a managed browser workspace.
Is it legal to use Maigret?
Searching public profile pages is generally lawful in the US, but what you do with the result is regulated. Screening a job applicant or tenant can fall under the FCRA, and harassment or stalking is illegal everywhere. Check public pages only, keep a clear purpose for each search and follow your company policy, whichever tool you use.
How much does a hosted Maigret alternative cost?
UsernameLookup Pro is $24 a month billed yearly or $49 month to month for 300 lookups and 1,000 API calls. Investigator is $149 a month, or $74 a month billed yearly, for 2,000 lookups, bulk lists of 100, three seats, same person scores, case notes, evidence snapshots, PDF reports and 10,000 API calls.
Related username tools
Run the sweep in a browser and keep the record
300+ public sites in one lookup, scored, saved and ready to export as a PDF for the case file.