Which Mac launcher fits a keyboard-first workflow?
6 apps · 11 factors
Scored for the goal: A keyboard-first launcher for my Mac: fast app and file search, clipboard history and snippets, custom scripts and actions, and my data stays on my Mac.
Quick answer
From the sourced cells below · nobody pays for a position
Buy once, no subscription
Monarch
$30 one-time
Free to use
Quicksilver
Free
Compare
One judgement per cell. Click a row to read every app’s answer; click a cell to open that answer’s sources.
100%fit |  100%fit |  96%fit | 100%2 unknown | 100%Local data unknown | 100%1 unknown | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Features | ||||||
| Local dataYes★ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – | ✓ |
| Keyboard operationYes★ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – | ✓ |
| Custom scriptsYes★ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| File search scope | Free — defaults to… | Searches files in configured… | Filename-abbreviation search uses LaunchBar’s… | Searches filenames and file… | Searches files and folders;… | Search configured Catalog locations,… |
| Launcher | ||||||
| App searchYes★ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Clipboard historyYes★ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| SnippetsYes★ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – | ✓ |
| Adaptive rankingYes★ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – | ✓ | ✓ |
| Text expansionYes | ✓ | ✓ | No | – | – | – |
| Purchase | ||||||
| Current price | $96/yr +5 | £34 once +1 | $29 once +1 | $30 once +3 | Free | Free |
| Product | ||||||
| What it does | Keyboard-first launcher + productivity… | MacOS launcher + automation… | Keyboard-driven launcher + file/action… | MacOS productivity launcher | Open-source macOS launcher +… | Open-source macOS launcher +… |
Head to head
Two apps side by side, full answers, nothing truncated. Swap either side.
Yes — official docs say Raycast is local-first; file index stays local and is never synced/uploaded, clipboard history stays encrypted locally, while Teams sharing, Cloud Sync, Pro and AI features can send or store data in Raycast/cloud/provider systems.
Yes — official privacy policy says Alfred preferences, usage and settings are stored locally on the Mac and not sent to Alfred or third parties; Powerpack sync is optional via Dropbox or similar, and can be reset to local preferences.
Yes — open Raycast with a customizable global shortcut; type app/file names or invoke Search Files, Clipboard History or Search Snippets through search, aliases or hotkeys. Use ↑/↓ to navigate, Return to open/paste, and ⌘K to search/select actions with the keyboard. Clipboard supports ⌘P type filtering; snippets search name, keyword and content and support paste/copy actions. All four basic workflows are Free; clipboard retention beyond 3 months and AI actions require Pro. Available actions vary
Yes — invoke Alfred with Option-Space; type an app name or use Space/open, find or in for files; navigate with ↑/↓ and execute with Return or Command-1–9. File navigation/actions also have keyboard shortcuts. Clipboard History opens with Option-Command-C or a configurable keyword/hotkey; type to filter, then Return to paste or Command-C to copy. Snippets open through snip + name/keyword, a configured viewer hotkey, or All Snippets in Clipboard History; filter and select by keyboard. App/file/内容前
Yes — Free: create Script Commands or import a script directory; add metadata to invoke user-written scripts from launcher search or global hotkeys. macOS supports AppleScript (.applescript/.scpt), Bash, Zsh, Python, Node.js, Ruby, PHP, Swift and other shebang-selected interpreters. Requires schemaVersion, title and mode metadata plus the relevant interpreter/macOS permissions. Up to 3 inputs (text, password, dropdown); output modes: fullOutput, compact, silent, inline. Inline refresh: minimum
Yes — Powerpack workflows connect custom keywords to user-written Run Script actions; Script Filters generate custom launcher results. Supports inline interpreter scripts, external executable files, any language via its runtime/shebang, and AppleScript through osascript or NSAppleScript. Pass arguments via argv (recommended) or escaped {query}; run sequentially or concurrently. Required runtimes must be available; external files need execute permission. NSAppleScript can block Alfred and is only
Free — defaults to Home and /Applications, limited by granted folder permissions. Add/remove scopes; optionally index network/removable drives and virtual filesystems, retain disconnected-volume results, and include hidden files. Filename search uses Raycast’s local index; optional content search requires healthy Spotlight coverage and stays disabled without it. Controls include global glob exclusions, .gitignore/.ignore/Git excludes/.rayignore, per-folder rules and Exclude from Index. Hidden, .
Searches files in configured folders: usual app/file locations by default, with additional paths added in Default Results. For Dropbox/OneDrive under ~/Library/CloudStorage, documentation recommends resetting scope to Applications and Home. Space/open and find locate files by name; in searches contents only where macOS indexes them. Results depend on the macOS/Spotlight metadata index, enabled file categories and Spotlight Privacy; missing/corrupt metadata or ongoing reindexing can omit results.
Yes — Root Search finds installed apps as you type and launches or brings them forward; app actions include new window, recent files, reveal/copy path, quit/restart/hide, hotkeys, aliases, and search scopes.
Yes — applications are always included in default results; matching can use capital-letter matching or full fuzzy matching.
Yes - searchable clipboard history for text, images, files, links, emails, and colors; Free/Teams Free retain 3 months, Pro/Teams Pro/Enterprise unlimited.
Yes — searchable Clipboard History for text, images and file links; disabled by default, requires Accessibility permission, retention options 24h/7d/1mo/3mo (Powerpack).
Yes - reusable text snippets searchable by name, keyword, or content; can copy or paste into the active app; core feature included in Free and paid tiers.
Yes — stores text/rich-text snippets in collections, can save from Clipboard History, browse/filter in Snippets Viewer, and auto-expand by keyword (Powerpack).
Yes — Root Search learns from how often and recently you choose results for a query; frecency affects ranking after alias/title/subtitle matches, and learned ranking can be reset per command.
Yes — Alfred learns usage, keeps a 4-week rolling knowledge fingerprint, latches typed queries to selected results, and can use macOS Last Used/Last Modified metadata when it has no internal knowledge.
Yes — Free snippets auto-expand from assigned keywords in Mac apps, immediately or after a delimiter (kept or discarded). Supports expansion within words and per-app exclusions; 65K characters per snippet. Keywords exclude whitespace, quotes, backticks, and other delimiter characters.
Yes — typing a snippet keyword replaces it with the saved text in the current app, without opening Alfred (Powerpack). Enable automatic keyword expansion, grant Accessibility permission and enable expansion for each snippet. Disabled by default; secure/password fields do not expand. Supports plain/rich text, dynamic and cursor placeholders, collection prefixes/suffixes, app exclusions and mid-string controls.
Website: Free; Pro $10/month or $96/year; Plus $20/month or $192/year; Max $50/month or $480/year; Teams Free $0/user; Teams Pro $15/user/month or $144/user/year; Teams Plus $25/user/month or $240/user/year; Teams Max $65/user/month or $624/user/year; Enterprise custom annual pricing.
Website: Alfred core free; Powerpack Single License £34 once, single user, 2 Macs, current major version; Powerpack Mega Supporter £59 once, single user, own Macs, lifetime updates; Corporate License by email/checkout for 5+ device seats, 10%-40% discount from the Single User price, no monthly/annual recurring fees. Legendary+ upgrade exists for existing Alfred 5 Mega/Legendary supporters, but public price is not shown before license-code lookup. Mac App Store (US): Free Alfred 1.2; officialdocs
Keyboard-first launcher + productivity layer
macOS launcher + automation utility
Cost over time
Plays from month 1 to year 10 when you scroll here. Each bar is split by year; a one-time purchase stays one block.
Every subscription now costs more than LaunchBar, the cheapest one-time purchase.
Releases
Each dot is a release. The hatched bar runs from the last release to today; its color says whether that gap is normal for the app.
4 of 6 apps with a dated changelog are behind their usual pace. Furthest behind: Quicksilver, 195 days since its last release (usually ~1).
Score
A reference score weighted by the priorities set for this research. Nobody pays for placement.
Reference score
Priority-weighted · 88% evidence · 3 must-have · 4 important
Sources
Where every claim comes from, when it was checked, and how to report an error.
How this report was made
Every cell links to the page it came from. Nobody pays to change a score.
- Report ID
- TMA-1NC9NVX
- Sources
- 93
- Verified cells
- 59/66 (89%)
- Last checked
- Oct 15, 2026
- Reading saved
- ≈ 6 h
Scoring
Must-have factors weigh 5 and important ones 3; only these are scored, or the first five factors if none are marked. An app earns a factor's weight only when a cited source confirms it, and unknown cells count for no one. A pick is named only when the lead is larger than everything still unresolved could swing. Reading time assumes about 4 minutes per source. Full methodology
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