Raycast Alternatives in 2026: Swap the Launcher, the AI or Both

Raycast is really three products behind one hotkey: a launcher, a drawer of small utilities, and a paid AI assistant. Decide which of those you're replacing before you compare anything, because no single alternative here covers all three. Alfred is the closest match for the launcher, and its homepage doesn't mention AI. Merlin goes deep on AI, and it isn't a launcher at all.

What Raycast does well

Raycast is a free launcher with a very wide reach. The Free plan already includes clipboard history going back three months, Quicklinks, a calculator, snippets, window management, Raycast Notes and access to thousands of extensions, and you can write your own.

The paid side is broad too. Raycast AI offers Quick AI on a hotkey, chat across models from several providers, AI Extensions for Linear, Slack, Notion, GitHub and Calendar, scheduled agents, and local models through Ollama. Raycast also runs on Windows and has an iPhone and iPad app that needs iOS 18, a reach none of the launchers below match. Teams get shared commands and snippets; our Raycast for Teams guide covers those plans.

If you're on a recent Mac, use the extensions and don't mind the price of AI, staying put is a sensible answer.

Why leave Raycast? The reasons since version 2.0

Most reasons trace back to Raycast 2.0, which left beta on August 25, 2026, or to an older wish for something simpler and more private. These come up in comparison articles and forum threads; the details below are from Raycast's own pages.

• Older Macs. Raycast's download page says version 2 requires macOS Tahoe and Apple silicon, and that it replaces version 1 on installation. An Intel iMac can't run it. The last version 1 changelog entry is dated December 16, 2025, and that page doesn't say how long version 1 stays available.
• AI that used to be free to try. AI Chat and Dictation were free during the beta and moved to Raycast Pro at release. The Free plan includes no AI, and bringing your own key also requires Pro.
• Credits. Raycast moved its plans to usage-based billing on September 11, 2026, keeping subscription prices the same. Pro includes 500 AI credits, Plus 3,000 and Max 7,500.
• Memory. In May 2026, during the beta, Raycast's engineering post put version 2 at about 350 to 450 MB in a scenario where version 1 used 200 to 300 MB, and said those numbers weren't final. The post explains why: a web interface inside a native shell, plus a Node backend.
• Windows gaps. Raycast's Windows page says macOS features are still being brought over, lists Cloud Sync as upcoming, and warns that extensions with native code may not work until they're ported. Some comparison articles still call Windows a beta; Raycast's Windows changelog says version 2.0 is out of beta.
• Data handling. The privacy policy says much of Raycast runs on your device, while account, Pro and AI features may send data to Raycast's cloud or AI providers. It also says Raycast doesn't sell data. The undated FAQ says the Mac app doesn't require a web account, though signing in is how you start the 7-day Pro trial.

Apple Spotlight: the free answer already on your Mac

Apple Spotlight is where to start if you mostly launch apps and search files, since it costs nothing and needs no install. Between Spotlight and two other macOS features, you can rebuild the Raycast basics without adding an app:

1. Launching: press Command-Space to open Spotlight, then press Tab on a result for its Quick Actions.
2. Clipboard: press Command-4 inside Spotlight to search what you've copied. Apple's guide for this covers macOS Tahoe and macOS 27, and it warns that sensitive information may appear there.
3. Commands: press Command-3 to filter to actions, and assign short quick keys, such as "ft" for a FaceTime call.
4. Windows: press Fn-Control with an arrow key to tile the active window to a half of the screen. This is macOS, separate from Spotlight.
5. Snippets: add them under System Settings > Keyboard > [Text Replacements](https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/replace-text-punctuation-documents-mac-mh35735/mac).

These steps follow Apple's current guides, so shortcuts and menus can differ on a Mac that can't run macOS Tahoe. What you give up is the extension store: Apple's guides describe no equivalent, and the actions in their examples are mostly Apple's own. Some actions also need Apple Intelligence, which has language and region limits.

Alfred: for paying once and keeping an older Mac

Alfred is the long-running Mac launcher, and the pick if a subscription is the thing you object to. The core app costs nothing to download or keep using, and it runs on macOS 10.14 or later on Intel and Apple silicon, which covers plenty of Macs Raycast 2.0 can't.

Workflows, clipboard history, snippets and sync sit in the paid Powerpack. Alfred sells it in British pounds: £34 for a Single License or £59 for Mega Supporter, which includes free lifetime upgrades. A Single License covers one person on two of their own Macs for the current major version, and later versions are a discounted upgrade. Anyone buying now gets a free upgrade to Alfred 6, which Alfred says is due this fall and is in beta with a small group.

Alfred also makes a clear privacy statement: it doesn't track your searches, and network use is limited to license activation and update checks, which you can turn off. The trade-offs are Mac only, personal-use licenses (businesses buy corporate licensing), and no AI features mentioned on its homepage.

Sol: open source, with less to configure

Sol is an MIT-licensed macOS launcher built for speed and minimal configuration, and it fits people who found Raycast to be more app than they wanted. You install it with Homebrew (brew install --cask sol) or a download from its releases, and its minimum is macOS 14.

Sol's feature list overlaps Raycast's everyday tools: app search, custom shortcuts, a clipboard manager, a window manager, an emoji picker, a calendar and a script runner. Its developer said in the Hacker News launch thread that Sol has no registration step and no analytics. Settings live in a local file. Its README lists no extension store and no AI, so treat Sol as the launcher part of Raycast and nothing more.

PowerToys Command Palette: the Windows choice

PowerToys Command Palette is Microsoft's keyboard launcher and the natural Raycast alternative on Windows. The PowerToys suite costs nothing and its code is public, and the palette opens with Win+Alt+Space to launch apps, search files, run commands, do math, browse clipboard history, switch windows and reach Windows settings. A built-in Extension Gallery handles community extensions.

Window layouts come from a separate PowerToys tool, FancyZones, so you install one suite and get both. Command Palette is Windows only, and its documentation doesn't list text snippets. If you work across a Mac and a PC and want the same tool on both, Raycast itself is still the one that does that.

Merlin: an AI companion, not a launcher

Merlin is our app, and it replaces Raycast's AI side rather than its launcher. Press ⌥Space over any app and a panel called Companion opens that already knows which app you're in, the text you highlighted, the Finder folder you're looking at or the browser tab you're reading. Ask for a rewrite and ⌘⏎ pastes the answer back into the field you came from. Those details go along with each question. Your screen is different: sharing it is off by default, and Merlin asks with a card before it looks.

Where Merlin differs from Raycast AI is what it can reach. The same panel is the full app, so it can draft from your Gmail, check Google Calendar, run errands on websites in its own browser, or work in connected apps like Slack and Notion. When you ask for a send or a change there, you get a card to approve first. Routines, Merlin's repeating tasks, are the exception: they run unattended, so posts they're allowed to make go out without a card. Our guide to delegating work to an AI assistant covers where to draw that line.

The limits are worth reading before you switch:

• No launcher tools. Merlin's Companion isn't built to open apps, search files, keep clipboard history or move windows, so you'd keep Spotlight or Alfred for that. Its snippets are saved prompts, not text expansion.
• Mac only, Google first. Installers cover Apple silicon and Intel, but there's no Windows or iPhone app, and setup requires Gmail and Google Calendar.
• Not local. Your questions and the context attached to them go to Merlin to be answered, so this isn't the pick if keeping everything on your device is the reason you're leaving.
• Price. Merlin Pro is $29 a month for 25,000 credits, against $10 for Raycast Pro's 500 AI credits, though a credit buys different amounts in each app. The Free plan includes Companion and 5,000 monthly credits.

Raycast, Spotlight, Alfred, Sol, Command Palette and Merlin compared

Cost and devices often settle this on their own, so they get their own table, with prices copied from the linked pages.

How to choose a Raycast alternative

Start from what made you search, since each reason points somewhere different:

• Your Mac can't run Raycast 2.0: Alfred, which still supports macOS 10.14.
• You won't pay monthly: Spotlight if the basics are enough, Alfred's Powerpack if you want workflows.
• You want code you can read and nothing to sign up for: Sol.
• You're on Windows and want a free tool from Microsoft: PowerToys Command Palette. Stay on Raycast if you also need the same setup on a Mac.
• You mainly used the AI and want it to act on your mail and calendar: Merlin, next to Spotlight or Alfred.
• You love the extensions: stay. No alternative here advertises thousands of extensions, and Raycast's Free plan may already cover you.

Cost over time can settle a tie. Over two years on annual billing, Raycast Pro comes to $192 and Merlin Pro to $556, while an Alfred Single License is £34 once for the version you buy. They don't do the same work, but that gap is worth knowing before you add an AI subscription next to a launcher you already like.

How to move off Raycast

Raycast's export commands let you take a copy with you, so do this before you uninstall:

1. Run Export Settings & Data in Raycast. It writes an encrypted .rayconfig file protected by a passphrase of at least 8 characters, which you can import back into Raycast later.
2. Run Export Snippets and Export Quicklinks. These save unencrypted JSON files, the readable copies to work from when you re-create them elsewhere.
3. Write down the extensions and hotkeys you use daily, since those are what you'll need to replace by hand.
4. If Raycast holds Command-Space, change that hotkey first so Spotlight gets it back.