All alternatives › Spotlight

Indie alternatives to Spotlight

3 products made by independent developers and small teams that do what Spotlight does, 2 of them with a free plan. Free and open-source options come first.

At a glance

Product	Price	Open source	Self-host	Platforms
Alfred	Free plan	–	–	Mac
Raycast	Free plan	–	–	Mac, Windows
LaunchBar	Paid	–	–	Mac

The alternatives

1. Alfred

Application launcher and productivity tool for macOS

Alfred launches apps, searches files and the web, and runs custom workflows, snippets and clipboard history from a keyboard shortcut.

Free plan · Mac · Website ↗

2. Raycast

Extendable launcher with clipboard history, snippets and AI

A Mac and Windows launcher for opening apps, running commands, managing windows and clipboard history, with an extension store and AI features.

Free plan · Mac, Windows · Website ↗

3. LaunchBar

Keyboard launcher for macOS

A long-standing macOS launcher for opening apps, files and contacts and running actions from the keyboard.

Paid · Mac · Website ↗

Questions

Is there a free alternative to Spotlight?

Yes. 2 of the 3 indie alternatives listed here have a free plan or are free: Alfred and Raycast.

What makes these alternatives to Spotlight “indie”?

They are built by independent developers or small teams rather than large companies. Each one is listed because it does the same core job as Spotlight.

Ask your AI instead

Add Indie Alternatives to ChatGPT, Claude or Cursor and ask “a cheaper Spotlight alternative that works on my Mac” in your own words, with your budget and platform. Set it up

Browse: Mac Utilities · Productivity

Made one? List your product, it's free.