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.
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Spotlight Alternatives for Mac
There are many alternatives to Spotlight for Mac if you are looking for a replacement. The best Mac alternative is Alfred, which is free. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to Spotlight and loads of them are available for Mac so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Mac alternatives to Spotlight are Raycast, DocFetcher, ueli and Cling Fuzzy Finder.
filter to find the best alternatives
Spotlight alternatives are mainly File Search Utilities, but if you're looking for Application Launchers or Clipboard Managers you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Linux, Windows, Mac and Linux + File Search. You can also filter by region, for example EU-based alternatives if you prefer software developed in the European Union. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to Spotlight.
Alternatives list
- 133 Alfred alternatives
74 Raycast alternativesRaycast 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.
Cost / License
- Freemium
- Proprietary (MIT)
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- Mac
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- Google Chrome
- Safari
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Comments about Raycast as an Alternative to Spotlight
- Raycast is Freemium and Proprietary
- Raycast is Customizable, Lightweight and Privacy focused
129 DocFetcher alternativesDocFetcher is an Open Source desktop search application: It allows you to search the contents of files on your computer. — You can think of it as Google for your local files. The application runs on Windows, Linux and macOS, and is made available under the Eclipse Public License.
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Comments about DocFetcher as an Alternative to Spotlight
TemakIt is not an alternative to Spotlight or to KRunner.
Some users think DocFetcher is a great Spotlight alternative, some don't.
- DocFetcher is Free and Open Source
- DocFetcher is Privacy focused
84 ueli alternativesDeveloped 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...
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Comments about ueli as an Alternative to Spotlight
lonkeAs the words "Electron framework" would imply, it's a surprisingly large download at 100-150MB (install size may be larger still) and since it's essentially a web browser running in the background; it may not be a good choice for those short on disk space or trying to squeeze all the performance out of their system.
- ueli is Free and Open Source
57 Cling Fuzzy Finder alternativesQuickly fuzzy search system, hidden, or dotfiles using keyboard navigation, then preview, copy paths, batch rename, or run custom scripts. Supports exclusion rules, minimal UI, Quick Filters, and power user features for efficient macOS file management.
64 Cerebro alternativesCerebro 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...
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64 Albert alternativesAlbert is a C++/Qt based desktop agnostic keyboard launcher that helps you to accomplish your workflows in a breeze. Its goals are usability and beauty, performance and extensibility.
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51 RustCast alternativesOpen-source launcher offering blazing speed, customisable interface, app launching, web search, built-in calculator, clipboard history, no native AI, and native macOS support, with Linux and Windows compatibility planned for future releases.
Quicksilver is a fast and free macOS productivity application that gives you the power to control your Mac quickly and elegantly.
Comments about Quicksilver as an Alternative to Spotlight
saves your recent/commonly used apps for quicker searches
- Quicksilver is Free and Open Source
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.
51 DeepPeek alternativesSeek, peek, and preview to find your work instantly — even if it's buried in folders, or you've lost track of it over the months.
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If you ever liked tools like Raycast and Alfred, but wanted to own them and tweak them yourself, then SOL is the tool for you. All the affordances of complex tools now made open source.
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It’s much more predictable, powerful, fast, and beautiful than Spotlight. Raycast has a big focus on extensions and new ones are coming every day. If you have a little bit of programming experience, you can even develop your own extension very easily. Their documentation, tooling, and code examples are some of the best I’ve ever seen.