Compare software

ack vs hgrep: catalog facts
ack	hgrep
Best for: Programmers searching large source trees from the terminal	Best for: Searching code in the terminal with readable context around each match
Free Free and open source.	Free Free to use; the source is published on GitHub.
Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line	Command line
Built for searching source code rather than general text Full Perl regular expressions All 3 strengths for ack Built for searching source code rather than general text Full Perl regular expressions Boolean --and, --or and --not options	Shows surrounding code for each match Syntax highlighting in search results All 3 strengths for hgrep Shows surrounding code for each match Syntax highlighting in search results Easier to scan than plain grep output
Needs a Perl interpreter Newer tools such as ripgrep are typically faster on very large trees	Output is longer than plain grep, less suited to piping Command line only
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: Artistic-2.0	License not stated
No account needed	No account needed
Offline features available	Offline features available
Official website Full listing and sources Sources for ack beyondgrep.com Catalog checked September 23, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Sources for hgrep github.com/rhysd/hgrep Catalog checked October 2, 2026

“Not stated” means we have not confirmed it. Features can vary by device and plan.