Alfred vs Raycast

Updated October 2026 · AppBreakup editorial

Alfred

A long-running Mac launcher and productivity app, extended by the paid Powerpack with workflows and clipboard history.

Free plan + paid

Raycast

A keyboard launcher for Mac and Windows with built-in clipboard history, snippets, window tiling and an extension store.

Free plan + paid

Visit Raycast Raycast profile

The short answer

Raycast and Alfred are keyboard launchers that replace Spotlight. Raycast includes clipboard history, snippets and window management free, has a large extension store and adds AI and sync by subscription; it runs on Mac and Windows. Alfred is a Mac-only launcher with a one-off Powerpack licence, a visual workflow editor and data kept local. Subscription-averse Mac users often stay with Alfred; others usually find Raycast's free tier hard to beat.

Alfred or Raycast: our take

Raycast's free tier, available for personal and work use, covers app launching plus clipboard history, text snippets, quicklinks, a natural-language calculator, window management and calendar shortcuts. Its extension store adds commands for tools such as Linear, Notion, Slack and GitHub, and extensions are written in TypeScript and React, which appeals to developers. Pro, from $8/month, adds Raycast AI, cloud sync and custom themes, and Teams Pro is $12 per user/month for shared snippets and private extensions. It runs on macOS, Windows, iOS and iPadOS, and students get 50% off Pro. Some users find the AI upsell pushy, and the Windows version has fewer extensions.

Alfred has been a fixture for Mac power users for over a decade. The free version launches apps, finds files, runs custom web searches and does calculations. The Powerpack, £34 for a single licence or £59 for a lifetime licence with free lifetime upgrades, unlocks clipboard history, snippets, file actions and Workflows: a visual editor for chaining hotkeys, keywords, scripts and actions without coding, with thousands of community workflows available. It is made by the small UK company Running with Crayons Ltd, runs only on macOS, has no built-in AI or team features, and keeps everything on the Mac.

The trade-off is cost model and direction. Raycast gives more for free and moves quickly, but its premium features are a recurring subscription and sync needs an account. Alfred asks for a one-time payment for the features most people want, and is fast, stable and private. Choose Raycast for the broadest free feature set, team sharing, Windows support or built-in AI. Choose Alfred for a mature Mac-only tool with powerful no-code workflows, local data and no subscription.

Choose Alfred if…

Mac users who want a powerful, local launcher with workflows and no subscription
One-off Powerpack licence instead of a subscription
Visual workflow editor with thousands of community workflows

Choose Raycast if…

Mac or Windows users who want one launcher for apps, clipboard, snippets and windows
You need Windows and iOS, which Alfred doesn't list
Free tier includes clipboard history, snippets and window management
Large extension store for popular work tools

What is Alfred?

Alfred is a keyboard launcher for macOS that has been a staple of Mac power users for over a decade. The free version launches apps, finds files, runs web searches with custom keywords, does quick calculations and dictionary lookups, and runs system commands. The paid Powerpack unlocks the parts most people buy it for: clipboard history, text snippets with auto-expansion, file actions, contacts, music controls, themes and, above all, Workflows, a visual editor for chaining hotkeys, keywords, scripts and actions without needing to code. Thousands of community workflows exist for popular apps and services. The Powerpack is a one-off licence per major version, with a Mega Supporter option that includes free lifetime upgrades, which appeals to people tired of subscriptions. It is made by a small independent UK company and runs only on macOS. Compared with newer launchers it has no built-in AI or team features, and its interface looks more traditional, but it is fast, stable and keeps data local.

What is Raycast?

Raycast replaces Spotlight with a command bar that does far more than open apps. Out of the box it includes clipboard history, text snippets, quicklinks, a natural-language calculator, window management, emoji search and calendar shortcuts, and a store of community extensions adds commands for tools like Linear, Notion, Slack and GitHub. Extensions are written in TypeScript and React, which has made it popular with developers. The core launcher and the full extension store are free for personal and work use. A Pro subscription adds Raycast AI (chat, quick AI prompts and AI extensions using several model providers), cloud sync and custom themes, and team plans add shared snippets, quicklinks and private extensions. It started on macOS and now also runs on Windows, with an iOS companion app. People who dislike subscriptions or AI upsells sometimes find the paid tier pushy, but the free tier alone covers what most launcher users need.

Side by side

Attribute	Alfred	Raycast
Pricing	Free plan + paid	Free plan + paid
Open source	No	No
Self-hostable	No	No
Platforms	macOS	macOS, Windows, iOS
Best for	Mac users who want a powerful, local launcher with workflows and no subscription	Mac or Windows users who want one launcher for apps, clipboard, snippets and windows
Status	Active	Active