compare / sherlock in the browser
Sherlock username search online alternative for investigators
A Sherlock username search online works like the command line tool without the install: type a handle and see which of 300+ public sites have a profile with it. UsernameLookup adds what the terminal leaves out, a same person score, saved runs, bulk lists of 100 names and PDF evidence reports.
Type a username below. Your first lookup is a one-time demo.
Sherlock is a great engine and a rough workflow
Sherlock is the tool most investigators meet first. It is open source, it checks a handle against more than 400 networks, and it runs from a single command. If you are comfortable in a terminal and you only need the answer for yourself, it does the job and costs nothing.
The friction starts when the search is part of somebody's job. Sherlock needs Python and a package install on every machine that runs it, and some third party packages for Ubuntu 24.04 and ParrotOS have been reported as broken by the project itself. The output is a text file of URLs, or a CSV if you ask for one. It does not say which hits are probably the same person, it does not remember what you ran last week, and it gives a reviewer nothing they can open without a terminal.
That is why people search for Sherlock online. They want the same sweep across hundreds of sites, but in a browser, with results a colleague can read and a record that will still exist when the case is reviewed in three months.
- GitHub same avatar, same display name Found
- Reddit bio links the GitHub profile Found
- Keybase same display name Found
- Twitch no shared signals Found
- Mastodon no profile at this address Free
Example layout. Your lookups run live.
Sherlock vs UsernameLookup for professional username searches
An honest comparison. Sherlock wins on price, on raw site count and on control for people who like to script everything. UsernameLookup wins when the search has to be shared, repeated, scored or defended later. Open source projects change often, so check the Sherlock repository for its current state.
| What you need | Sherlock | UsernameLookup |
|---|---|---|
| Where it runs | Your machine, Python via pipx, pip or Docker | Any browser, nothing to install |
| Sites covered | More than 400 networks listed by the project | 300+ calibrated public sites |
| Unclear answers | Excluded sites skipped, the rest reported as found or not | Shown as unknown with a timestamp, never counted as a hit |
| Several usernames in one run | Yes, names passed on the command line | Bulk lists of up to 100 (Investigator and up) |
| Which hits are the same person | Not provided | Likely same person score with the reasons |
| History of past runs | Files in a local folder | Every run saved, with a diff when you recheck |
| Evidence for a case file | Text, CSV or XLSX output | Snapshots with URL, time, status code and page title, PDF report |
| Team access | Whoever has the files | 3 seats on Investigator, 10 on Brand Monitoring |
| API | Run the CLI from your own scripts | REST API, 10,000 calls a month on Investigator |
| Price | Free, MIT license | From $24 a month billed yearly |
What a hosted username search adds to the Sherlock approach
The core idea is the same one Sherlock uses: build the public profile address for each site and read the answer. The difference is everything around that request.
A score instead of a raw list
Thirty hits on a common handle mean little until you know which ones connect. Found profiles get a likely same person score built from display names, avatars, bios and cross links, with each reason listed.
Unknown means unknown
When a site rate limits us or answers ambiguously, the result says unknown with the time of the check. A false "found" in a fraud review is worse than a gap you can see.
Bulk lists without a script
Paste up to 100 usernames from a ticket export or a chargeback list and get one matrix you can sort, filter and export.
Evidence that ages well
Each found profile is stored with its URL, the time, the HTTP status code and the page title, so you can show what was public on the day you looked.
Case notes and a PDF
Attach notes to a lookup and export a PDF report your manager, client or counsel can open without installing anything.
The same data by API
Call the lookup from your case management tool or a signup risk check and get JSON with the score and its reasons.
How to move a Sherlock routine into the browser
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step 1
Paste the handles
One username in the box above, or a bulk list of up to 100 on Investigator. A leading @ is fine.
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step 2
Narrow the categories
Run every site, or only social, video, developer, gaming, forum or marketplace sites when the case is specific.
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step 3
Review the scored hits
Start with the profiles that share several signals, open each link and add case notes as you go.
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step 4
Export and keep watching
Download CSV or a PDF report, then add the handle to monitoring if new profiles matter later.
Who uses a Sherlock alternative online
Teams that run username searches every week and answer to someone for the result. Hobby searches are better served by the free command line tool.
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Fraud and chargeback analysts
Check the usernames behind a cluster of suspicious orders in one bulk run and attach the scored result to the dispute file.
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Trust and safety teams
Look up a reported handle across networks, see whether it is part of a wider pattern and keep a dated record of what was public.
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Corporate and legal investigators
Hand counsel a PDF with URLs, timestamps and status codes instead of a terminal screenshot.
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Brand protection staff
Find copycat handles of a brand or an executive and move straight into monitoring for new lookalikes.
Public profiles only, with an opt out
Like Sherlock, we only read public profile pages. We do not log in to platforms, we do not collect private messages and we do not tell you who runs an account. Anyone can add a handle to our username opt out list, and that name 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), the same community project many command line tools rely on. Each site in our catalog is tested against names we know are taken and names we know are free before it counts toward the 300+ figure.
What it costs compared with running Sherlock yourself
Sherlock is free software, and your analysts' time is not. Installing and updating it on several laptops, filtering false positives and rebuilding output into a report adds up to hours per case. 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 covers a single investigator who needs saved runs and CSV export.
Planning a bigger OSINT workflow? Our OSINT username search page covers casework in more depth, and reverse username lookup explains how to work back from a handle to every public profile. Fraud teams scoring signups should read about username verification for KYC. If your team used the WhatsMyName web lookup instead, read our WhatsMyName alternative for investigators. Every plan is on the username lookup pricing page.
Questions about running a Sherlock username search online
Can I run Sherlock username search online?
Sherlock itself has no official web version. It is a Python command line tool you install with pipx, pip or Docker. To get the same kind of search in a browser, use a hosted username search such as UsernameLookup, which checks 300+ public sites, scores the found profiles and saves each run without any install.
Is Sherlock free?
Yes. Sherlock is open source under the MIT license and free to run on your own machine. The cost shows up elsewhere: setup on each analyst laptop, keeping the package updated as sites change, sorting false positives by hand and turning raw text or CSV output into something a manager or a lawyer can read.
How many sites does Sherlock check compared with UsernameLookup?
The Sherlock project lists more than 400 social networks. UsernameLookup checks 300+ public sites, a calibrated catalog where every site is tested against known taken and known free names, and any site that cannot give a clean answer is shown as unknown with a timestamp instead of being counted as a match.
Can I search several usernames at once in the browser?
Yes. The Investigator plan and above take bulk lists of up to 100 usernames in one run. Each handle gets its own row of found, free and unknown sites, and the whole batch exports to CSV, or to a PDF report with timestamps for a case file.
Does a username search show who owns an account?
No. A username search, Sherlock or ours, only shows where a public profile with that handle exists. UsernameLookup adds a likely same person score with the reasons behind it, such as a matching display name or avatar, but it never identifies the private person behind an account and forbids use for stalking or doxxing.
How much does a hosted Sherlock alternative cost?
UsernameLookup Pro is $24 a month billed yearly or $49 month to month for 300 lookups and 1,000 API calls. Investigator, the plan most OSINT and fraud teams pick, is $149 a month with 2,000 lookups, bulk lists of 100, confidence scores, case notes, evidence snapshots, PDF reports and 10,000 API calls.
Related username tools
Run the search Sherlock runs, then keep the record
300+ public sites in one lookup, scored, saved and ready to export as a PDF for the case file.