Developer Tools
Best Raycast Alternatives in 2026: 6 Launchers Compared
Six Raycast alternatives compared: Alfred, Spotlight, LaunchBar, Sol, Quicksilver and PowerToys Run, with prices, licenses and platforms.
Raycast is a launcher that replaces Spotlight on the Mac. Its free plan already includes clipboard history (kept for 3 months), quicklinks, snippets, window management and thousands of extensions, while Pro is $10/month or $96/year and adds AI, cloud sync and unlimited clipboard history. The Mac app requires macOS Tahoe and Apple Silicon.
People look elsewhere when they do not want a subscription, need an Intel or older Mac, want open source, or are on Windows or Linux.
If you want to pay once instead of monthly, pick Alfred. If you want free and open source on the Mac, pick Sol or Quicksilver. If you want zero installs, Spotlight now covers more than it used to. On Windows, pick PowerToys Run. Facts checked November 2026 on each product's own site.
| Tool | Best for | Price | Platform |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alfred | One-time purchase, workflows | Powerpack from £34 | Mac |
| Spotlight | No install, built in | Included with macOS | Mac |
| LaunchBar | Long-running, script actions | 30-day trial, then paid | Mac |
| Sol | Open-source Raycast-like app | Free (MIT) | macOS 14+ |
| Quicksilver | Free, open source classic | Free (Apache-2.0) | Mac |
| PowerToys Run | Windows users | Free, open source | Windows |
1. Alfred: pay once for the Powerpack
Good for: people who want a one-time price and a launcher they can extend with their own workflows.
Not for: anyone who wants everything free. Alfred's buy page sells the Powerpack as a Single License at £34 (a v5 license with a free upgrade to Alfred 6) or a Mega Supporter license at £59 with free lifetime upgrades. We could not confirm from that page what the Powerpack unlocks or whether Alfred is usable without it, so check the Alfred site.
Official site: Alfred.
2. Spotlight: built in, and more capable than it was
Good for: people who want no extra app. Per Apple's Mac User Guide, Spotlight opens with Command-Space and handles calculations, unit conversion (including currency), word definitions, Quick Actions and clipboard history.
Not for: custom extensions. Apple's page does not describe a third-party extension system, and which features exist depends on your macOS version. The guide we read is the macOS 27 version, so older systems may lack some of them.
Official docs: Spotlight on Mac.
3. LaunchBar: the long-time alternative
Good for: users who like to extend a launcher with scripts. LaunchBar lists a clipboard history and snippet manager, and actions can be written in AppleScript, JavaScript, Ruby, Python or PHP.
Not for: people who dislike nag screens. It has a 30-day trial and, per its product page, can be used free indefinitely but occasionally suggests taking a short break. We did not find a price on the product page.
Official site: LaunchBar.
4. Sol: an open-source launcher for macOS
Good for: developers who want a free, MIT-licensed launcher with a clipboard manager, window manager, emoji picker, bookmark import and a script runner.
Not for: older Macs. Sol states a macOS 14.0 minimum and lists macOS only. Install it with brew install --cask sol or from the repository releases.
Official site: Sol.
5. Quicksilver: free, open source and long established
Good for: anyone who wants a free, Apache-2.0 Mac launcher with no paid tier. Its repository describes it as a fast and free macOS productivity application that learns your habits.
Not for: people comparing it with Raycast's extension store. We did not confirm a minimum macOS version or an extension catalog from its page.
Official site: Quicksilver.
6. PowerToys Run: the Windows answer
Good for: Windows users. Microsoft describes it as a free, open-source quick launcher; press Alt+Space to open it. It searches apps, files and running processes, calculates, converts units, generates GUIDs and hashes, and supports plugins.
Not for: Mac users, and it needs PowerToys running in the background. Microsoft's page notes that Run is evolving into the Command Palette.
Official docs: PowerToys Run.
Cross-platform note
Raycast's own homepage mentions that extensions can be built once for both macOS and Windows, so a team split across both is a case where staying on Raycast may beat a Mac-only launcher. We could not confirm the Windows app's current status from the pages we fetched.
Small utilities that overlap with a launcher
Launchers swallow small tools. If you drop one, check you are not losing a feature, and see what you can replace separately: Ray.so for code screenshots, LocalSend for file transfer and Deskflow for sharing a keyboard across machines. The wider set is in the Mac apps catalog and in our best Mac apps for developers.
How to choose
- Want one payment, not a subscription: Alfred.
- Want free and open source on Mac: Sol (macOS 14+) or Quicksilver.
- Want nothing to install: Spotlight.
- Prefer scripts and a long-lived tool: LaunchBar.
- On Windows: PowerToys Run.
- Need AI, cloud sync or unlimited clipboard history in the same app: this is Raycast Pro at $10/month, so compare it with just buying Alfred.
FAQ
Is there a free alternative to Raycast?
Yes. Sol (MIT) and Quicksilver (Apache-2.0) are free and open source on macOS, Spotlight is built in, and PowerToys Run is free on Windows. Raycast itself also has a free plan.
Does Raycast cost money?
The free plan covers core features; Pro is $10/month or $96/year and adds AI, cloud sync and unlimited clipboard history. Students get 50% off Pro.
Raycast vs Alfred?
Raycast is a subscription with a free tier; Alfred is a one-time Powerpack purchase from £34. Pick by how you prefer to pay.
For other utilities, browse the Developer Tools directory, or see best Finder alternatives for Mac.