Best Raycast alternatives for Mac

People look for a Raycast alternative for different reasons: a price they do not want to pay, a feature they never use, or one job they want done better. A launcher bundles several jobs into one window: opening apps, switching windows, arranging windows and running small commands. The apps in the Mac Directory catalog mostly do one of those jobs each, and do it without the rest.

This guide maps each job to the catalog apps that cover it. What each app does is taken from the maker's own site. Price and macOS details come from each app's catalog page. It does not compare features against Raycast itself, because Raycast is not in the catalog and this guide only states facts it can point to.

Which app opens apps, folders and websites from the keyboard?

CMDKit is the closest match to the launching part of a launcher. Its maker says CMDKit Ultra will "open apps, folders and websites, and send windows anywhere you draw them, all from your keyboard." You give any app a shortcut, press it from anywhere, and the app opens or comes to the front. Folders open in Finder and websites in your browser the same way, with no limit on how many.

There are two editions. CMDKit Ultra, sold on the maker's site, costs $9.99 as a one-time purchase after a 14-day free trial and needs macOS 14 or later on Apple silicon or Intel. CMDKit on the Mac App Store is free for five app shortcuts, with a one-time $4.99 Pro upgrade. The maker says the store version is sandboxed and "never asks to control your Mac", so it keeps the shortcuts but not window snapping.

CMDKit Ultra lives in the menu bar. If you liked a launcher mainly for "press a key, get the app", this covers it without a search window.

Which app switches between windows?

AltTab replaces the Mac's app switcher with a window switcher. Its site describes it as "Windows-style Alt-Tab for Mac" and says it shows "every window, not just every app", including minimized and hidden windows and windows on another Space, each with a badge saying where it is. The selected window previews full size before you switch.

AltTab is free to download. Some features, including search by window title or app name and the choice of thumbnails, icons or a list, belong to AltTab Pro. The site reports 9.4 million downloads and 16,000 GitHub stars.

If most of your launcher use was jumping to an open window, AltTab does that from the shortcut you already press.

Which app arranges windows for you?

Amethyst is a tiling window manager. Its site calls it a "tiling window manager for macOS along the lines of xmonad." Rather than snapping windows one at a time, it arranges them in a layout as they open. It is available from its releases page or with Homebrew, needs macOS 10.15 or later, and must be given Accessibility permission. The site also suggests turning off the Mission Control setting that rearranges Spaces by most recent use.

Amethyst suits people who want every window placed without thinking about it. If you prefer to place windows by hand, CMDKit Ultra's grid snapping is the lighter option: you draw a region, such as a left half or a corner, and send the front window there.

Which app runs small commands and system tweaks?

Almighty collects "over 100 Mac tweaks and utilities in one native app, from hidden settings to notch actions." It includes an assistant called Zeus: you type or speak what you want, such as turning dark mode on, and it finds and runs the tweak. Its site says you can choose Apple Intelligence, Claude Code, Codex or any OpenAI-compatible API for that assistant.

Almighty is free to download with ready-to-use tweaks and a trial of the Pro features. The site says it has no analytics or data collection, and that the Mac App Store version is cheaper but has fewer tweaks than the standalone one. For people who used a launcher's command list to flip settings, this is the nearest fit in the catalog.

Which apps launch from a dock or the menu bar?

Not everyone wants a keyboard-first tool. ActiveDock is a customizable dock and application launcher. Its maker lists a taskbar with window previews, groups and folders, dock themes, custom icons and a start menu. FolderX is a free menu bar launchpad on the Mac App Store that needs macOS 12.0.

These suit people who reach for the mouse anyway and want launching to sit where their eyes already are.

How should I choose?

Write down the three things you did most often in your launcher this week, then match each one:

1. Opening apps, folders or sites. CMDKit.
2. Jumping to an open window. AltTab.
3. Placing windows. Amethyst for automatic tiling, CMDKit Ultra for snapping by hand.
4. Flipping settings or running small actions. Almighty.
5. Launching with the mouse. ActiveDock or FolderX.

Two of these together usually cover what a single launcher did. AltTab plus CMDKit Ultra covers switching, launching and snapping. Before you install a window tool, check its permission needs: tools that move other apps' windows need Accessibility access, and a sandboxed store edition may not offer that feature at all.

For more menu bar tools, see the best menu bar apps for Mac. For tools aimed at people who write code, see the best Mac apps for developers.