Hunchly vs DeepState: capturing evidence vs building the case
What Hunchly and DeepState each capture, how each proves a capture hasn't changed, what they cost, and when you'd use one, the other, or both.
Short answer: both now keep a hashed, timestamped record of the pages behind an investigation. Hunchly ($169 per year) records the pages you visit in your own Chrome-based browser, and stops there: it doesn't research, connect findings or write anything up. DeepState ($29–$49 per month) records every page its research assistant visits, plus every screenshot, download and Wayback Machine save, in a tamper-evident hash chain you can verify and export, and it's also where the investigation happens: linked people, companies, documents and posts, a timeline, and a PDF dossier with an evidence appendix. If you do a lot of browsing yourself and want that session recorded too, run Hunchly alongside DeepState.
We make DeepState. Hunchly facts come from its own site, checked October 16, 2026.
What each one captures
Hunchly is a desktop app and a browser extension. While a case is open, it saves each page you visit in your browser in the background, with the URL, a timestamp and a hash, into a searchable, taggable record. It's a recording tool for your browsing; finding, reading, connecting and writing are still up to you.
DeepState keeps an evidence log on every board. Each time its research assistant opens or navigates to a page, the page is saved as a single MHTML file (HTML, images and styles together) with its SHA-256; screenshots, downloaded files and Wayback Machine saves are logged the same way. Entries form a hash chain, so changing, removing or reordering any capture afterwards is detected when the log is verified, and the log can be exported as a zip with a SHA256SUMS file that anyone can check without DeepState.
The practical difference is who browses. If the assistant does the searching and reading, DeepState captures it. Pages you open yourself in Chrome, Edge or Firefox are not captured by DeepState; that's Hunchly's territory.
Side by side
| DeepState | Hunchly | |
|---|---|---|
| Main job | Research, analysis, evidence and the report | Automatic capture of the pages you browse |
| What's captured | Every page the research assistant visits (MHTML), screenshots, downloads, Wayback saves | Every page you visit in your browser |
| Integrity | SHA-256 per file; hash-chained log; verify in one click; export with SHA256SUMS | Hash per capture; audit trail |
| Research | AI assistant with 70+ tools: web, court records, SEC filings, sanctions lists, archives, social platforms, username search, US person search (Professional), crypto wallets | None; you browse |
| Analysis | Linked entities, timeline, narratives, lookups on domains, IPs, emails and phone numbers | Tags and search across captures |
| Report | Dossier PDF with sources and evidence-log appendices; slide decks | Export of captures and case data |
| Browsers | Built-in browser for the assistant | Chromium-based browsers only (no Firefox) |
| Account | None required | Maltego ID required to download |
| Price (Oct 2026) | $348–$588 per user per year | $169 per user per year (Classic) |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows, macOS, Linux |
Hunchly sources: pricing, installers, browser support, Maltego acquisition, downloads.
What DeepState adds
- The research. The assistant searches registries, court records, filings, sanctions lists, news and social platforms, and adds the people, companies and events it finds, each citing its source, with the pages it read captured in the evidence log as it goes.
- Evidence a reviewer can check. Open Evidence on a board to see every capture and verify that nothing has changed; each node shows the captures of its own source pages; and the export lets counsel or a client check the files with standard tools.
- The connections. Findings become linked nodes on a canvas with a timeline, rather than a list of captured pages.
- The deliverable. A dossier PDF with a sources appendix and an evidence-log appendix listing each cited capture's time and SHA-256, with the log's head hash quoted so the whole record is pinned.
When to run Hunchly as well
If much of your work is browsing you do yourself, for instance scrolling through a social profile or working a site by hand, Hunchly records that session automatically, including pages you didn't think mattered at the time. DeepState only captures what its assistant browses. Investigators who split the work both ways run Hunchly while they browse and keep the case, the assistant's research and the report in DeepState.
Frequently asked questions
Is DeepState a Hunchly alternative?
For pages its research assistant visits, yes: DeepState saves each page as MHTML with its SHA-256 in a tamper-evident, exportable evidence log, alongside screenshots, downloads and Wayback saves. It does not record pages you browse yourself in an external browser, which is what Hunchly does. DeepState also covers the research, analysis and report, which Hunchly does not.
How does DeepState prove a capture wasn't changed?
Each captured file's SHA-256 is recorded when it's taken, and each log entry's hash covers the previous entry's hash, forming a chain. Verification recomputes every file hash and every link in the chain; any edited file, or any changed, removed or reordered entry, is reported. The export includes the files, a SHA256SUMS list checkable with sha256sum -c, and a worked example of how an entry is hashed.
How much does Hunchly cost?
As of October 2026, Hunchly Classic costs $169 USD (€149) per user per year, with a free trial. It's also included in Maltego's Entry, Professional and Enterprise plans. Older reviews quoting $129.99 are out of date.
Who owns Hunchly?
Maltego Technologies acquired Hunchly in May 2025, and downloads now require a Maltego ID.
Does Hunchly work with Firefox?
No. Hunchly supports Chrome and other Chromium-based browsers such as Edge, Brave and Vivaldi.
What's the best way to preserve web evidence for an investigation?
Capture the page with a timestamp and a hash, keep the hashes in a record that shows if anything is later changed, save important pages to a public archive such as the Wayback Machine so others can verify them independently, and cite the URL, capture time and hash in your report. DeepState does all four for the pages its assistant visits; Hunchly does the first two for pages you browse yourself.