Alfred Alternatives for Mac

There are many alternatives to Alfred for Mac if you are looking for a replacement. The best Mac alternative is Cerebro, which is both free and Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to Alfred and loads of them are available for Mac so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Mac alternatives to Alfred are Raycast, ueli, Quicksilver and Leader Key.

filter to find the best alternatives

Alfred alternatives are mainly Application Launchers, but if you're looking for File Search Utilities or Clipboard Managers you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Windows + Open Source. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to Alfred.
Alfred iconAlfred
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Alfred is a productivity application for macOS, which boosts your efficiency with hotkeys, keywords and text expansion. Search your Mac and the web, and control your Mac using custom actions with the Powerpack.

More about Alfred
More about Alfred
Alfred alternatives page was last updated Jan 23, 2025
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  1. Cerebro icon

    Cerebro

     57 likes
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    Cerebro is an open source and free electron-based productivity software alternative to Alfred and Spotlight. It is focused on speed and good UI and UX. In most cases you don't even need to open another application, because you can see results right in Cerebro, like google...

    57 Cerebro alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Cerebro screenshot 1

    Cerebro Features

    1.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    2.  Theme changing
    3.  Launcher
    4.  Electron based
    5.  Calculus solving
    6.  Multiplatform Export

    Cerebro VS Alfred

     
    Comments about Cerebro as an Alternative to Alfred
    jtflynnz
    Positive Apr 25, 2018
    0

    Customizable, nice collection of plugins, and cross platform. Some rough edges, but has advanced nicely onward.

    Alfred Icon
    Cerebro icon

    • Almost everyone thinks Cerebro is a great Alfred alternative.

    • Cerebro is the most popular Mac & Linux alternative to Alfred.

    • Cerebro is Free and Open SourceAlfred is Freemium and Proprietary
  2. Raycast icon

    Raycast

     50 likes
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    Raycast revolutionizes Mac productivity with AI-driven task automation, command shortcuts, and customizable workflows. Create snippets, manage clipboard history, translate text, and maintain sync across devices. Discover day planning, distraction-free focus, and versatile virtual assistance.

    65 Raycast alternatives

    License model

    • Freemium • Proprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Google Chrome
    • Safari
    • iPhone
    • iPad
    Raycast screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Privacy focused
    3.  Customizable

    Features

    1.  Application Launchers
    2.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    3.  Keyboard Shortcuts
    4.  File Search
    5.  Support for scripting
    6.  Works Offline
    7.  Built-in viewer
    8.  Ad-free
    9.  Dark Mode
    10.  No registration required
    11.  No Tracking
    12.  AI-Powered

    Raycast VS Alfred

     
    Comments about Raycast as an Alternative to Alfred
    Mauricio B. Holguin
    Positive Dec 5, 2024
    0

    Raycast’s biggest advantage over Alfred has to be its super extensive and powerful marketplace of third-party plugins that integrate directly into the launcher, letting you do things like manage your Notion notebooks. Plus, its AI features are really well done. In my opinion, it’s not just the best alternative to Alfred—it actually beats it in many ways.

    Alfred Icon
    Raycast icon

    • Almost everyone thinks Raycast is a great Alfred alternative.

    • Raycast is the most popular iPhone & iPad alternative to Alfred.

    • Raycast is Freemium and ProprietaryAlfred is also Freemium and Proprietary
    • Raycast is Lightweight and Privacy focusedAlfred is not according to our users
  4. ueli icon

    ueli

     65 likes
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    Developed with the Electron framework, ueli is the type of tool that adopts simplicity, leaving out any unnecessary options and configuration settings. It creates an icon in the system tray at startup, where it sits silently throughout its runtime, without disturbing you with...

    79 ueli alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    ueli screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Support for Themes

    Features

    1.  Application Launchers
    2.  File Search
    3.  Custom commands
    4.  Portable
    5.  Fast file and folder search
    6.  Launcher
    7.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions

    ueli VS Alfred

     
  5. Ad
    Screenshot
    Raycast icon
    Raycast

    Raycast revolutionizes Mac productivity with AI-driven task automation, command shortcuts, and customizable workflows. Create snippets, manage clipboard history, translate text, and maintain sync across devices. Discover day plan...

    https://raycast.com
    Learn More
  6. Quicksilver icon

    Quicksilver

     125 likes
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    Quicksilver is a fast and free macOS productivity application that gives you the power to control your Mac quickly and elegantly.

    91 Quicksilver alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    Quicksilver screenshot 1

    Quicksilver Features

    1.  Quick search
    2.  Launcher

    Quicksilver VS Alfred

     
    Comments about Quicksilver as an Alternative to Alfred
    Guest
    Positive Nov 29, 2020
    0

    Because it's opensource, therefore more likely to be supported in the future if it's popular

    Alfred Icon
    Quicksilver icon

    • Almost everyone thinks Quicksilver is a great Alfred alternative.

    • Quicksilver is Free and Open SourceAlfred is Freemium and Proprietary
  7. Leader Key icon

    Leader Key

     7 likes
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    This macOS tool leverages fighting game style key combinations to expedite app launches, execute commands, or even activate fun features like confetti, providing a faster alternative to launchers like Spotlight, Alfred, and Raycast. It supports customization and seamless integration with existing tools.

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • DK flagDenmark
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Mac
    Leader Key screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Privacy focused
    3.  Customizable

    Features

    1.  No registration required
    2.  Works Offline
    3.  Ad-free
    4.  Dark Mode
    5.  No Tracking
    6.  Support for Keyboard Shortcuts

    Leader Key VS Alfred

     
  8. Spotlight icon

    Spotlight

     22 likes
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    Spotlight is the system-wide desktop search feature built into Apple's OS X operating system since version 10.4 (Tiger). Backed by an index of all items and files on the system, it's designed to allow the user to quickly locate a wide variety of items on the computer...

    85 Spotlight alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Proprietary

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Mac
    Spotlight screenshot 1

    Spotlight Features

    1.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    2.  Indexed search
    3.  File preview

    Spotlight VS Alfred

     
  10. LaunchBar icon

    LaunchBar

     46 likes
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    LaunchBar is a smart and powerful, keyboard driven productivity utility that lets you access and control every aspect of your digital life. Whatever you want to get done on your Mac – with LaunchBar it’s only a few keystrokes away.

    License model

    • Freemium • Proprietary

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • AT flagAustria
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Mac
    Clipboard History

    LaunchBar Features

    1.  Launcher

    LaunchBar VS Alfred

     
  11. Monarch Launcher icon

    Monarch Launcher

     4 likes
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    Designed for beginners and professionals alike, Monarch is a command center that makes it easier than ever to switch apps, run calculations, search clipboard history, take notes and more with only a single hotkey. No complicated setup or configuration required.

    License model

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    Monarch Launcher screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  No Tracking
    2.  Dark Mode
    3.  No registration required
    4.  Ad-free
    5.  Command palette

    Monarch Launcher VS Alfred

     

    • Monarch Launcher is the most popular commercial alternative to Alfred.

    • Monarch Launcher is Paid and ProprietaryAlfred is Freemium and Proprietary
    • Monarch Launcher is LightweightAlfred is not according to our users
  12. TextSeek icon

    TextSeek

     8 likes
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    TextSeek is a professional full-text desktop search tool for Windows and MacOS. It supports PDF, Word, Excel, Powerpoint, RTF and other formats.

    102 TextSeek alternatives

    License model

    • Freemium • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    TextSeek screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused
    2.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Full-Text Search
    2.  Portable
    3.  No Tracking
    4.  Works Offline
    5.  Ad-free
    6.  No registration required
    7.  In-document search

    TextSeek VS Alfred

     
  13. Script Kit icon

    Script Kit

     3 likes
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    Shortcut to Everything. An open-source kit to optimize your developer workflow.

    11 Script Kit alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Mac
    Script Kit screenshot 1

    Script Kit Features

    1.  Support for scripting
    2.  Launcher

    Script Kit VS Alfred

     
10 of 74 Alfred alternatives