Raycast Alternatives for Mac: Launchers, Clipboard and Notes

The right Raycast alternative depends on which part of Raycast you use. If you launch apps and run commands from the keyboard, Spotlight (free, built into macOS) or Alfred (free core, one-time Powerpack) replaces it. If you mostly open Raycast for clipboard history, notes or timers, a single-purpose app like Maccy, or an all-in-one window like Gubb, covers that part without a subscription.

The usual trigger is the price model. As of November 2026, Raycast's dictation, unlimited clipboard history, cloud sync and AI features need a paid plan. The free plan's clipboard history only goes back 3 months, and we found no one-time purchase option.

Quick list:

• Spotlight: best for launching apps and quick sums with nothing to install.
• Alfred: best for a keyboard launcher you pay for once instead of monthly.
• Maccy: best if clipboard history is the only Raycast feature you use.
• Gubb: best if you use Raycast as a notes, clipboard and timer hub rather than a launcher.
• Apple Notes and Clock: best for free notes and timers if you don't need clipboard history.

We make Gubb, so weigh our view accordingly. We've tried to be fair to every app here, including saying where Gubb is the wrong pick.

Start with what you use Raycast for

Raycast is several tools behind one search bar. Few people use all of them, so split your needs first:

• You launch apps, search files and run commands from the keyboard. You need another launcher: Spotlight or Alfred. A notes app won't help.
• You open Raycast mainly to find something you copied earlier. You need a clipboard manager: Maccy, Alfred's Powerpack, Gubb, or Spotlight on macOS 26 Tahoe.
• You use Raycast Notes, the calculator and timer extensions as a scratchpad. You need a quick-capture app with those tools: Gubb, or Apple Notes plus the Clock app.
• You pay for Pro mainly for AI or dictation. Our best dictation apps for Mac page covers dictation separately. None of the apps below replaces Raycast's AI chat.

You can also mix: keep Raycast's free plan for launching and add one app for the parts that would otherwise push you to Pro.

Raycast alternatives compared

Spotlight: the free launcher already on your Mac

Spotlight opens with ⌘Space (Command-Space). Type part of an app name and press Return to open it. It also searches files, does arithmetic, and converts units and currency when you type something like "10 ft in m" into the search field.

On macOS 26 Tahoe, Spotlight also has clipboard history. If you don't see clipboard results, open System Settings and search for "Spotlight" to check its options. On macOS 14 Sonoma and 15 Sequoia there is no built-in clipboard history; our guide to clipboard history on Mac covers the options per version.

What it lacks: nothing like Raycast's extension library, and it doesn't hold notes or text snippets.

Pick it if you mostly used Raycast to open apps and do quick maths. Try a week with Spotlight before paying for anything.

Alfred: a launcher you buy once

Alfred is the long-running Mac launcher. The free version handles app launching, web search and calculations. The paid Powerpack adds clipboard history, Snippets and workflows.

As of November 2026, the Powerpack is a one-time purchase from Alfred's official shop:

• Single License, £34: one user, two of their own Macs, current major version only.
• Mega Supporter, £59: one user, their own Macs, free lifetime upgrades.

Licenses are for personal use. A third-party review puts the Single License at about $43. One review also says Alfred's clipboard history keeps plain text, images and file references, with retention you can set from 24 hours to unlimited; we saw that only in the review, not on Alfred's site. Alfred is actively maintained (version 5.8.1 shipped on September 24, 2026).

What it lacks: no notes, to-dos or Kanban features. It's Mac only, and we found no trial for the Powerpack.

Pick it if you want a real keyboard launcher with clipboard history and snippets, and you'd rather pay once than monthly. More options are on our Alfred alternatives page.

Maccy: clipboard history and nothing else

Maccy is a small, open-source (MIT) clipboard manager. It keeps a history of what you copy, lets you search it, and pastes from it. You open it from the menu bar or with a keyboard shortcut (⌘⇧C by default, according to Softpedia's listing), and it supports Shortcuts actions.

Price as of November 2026: $9.99 one-time on the Mac App Store, sold to support development. Because it's open source, you can also build it free from the GitHub repository. The README warns about fake websites posing as Maccy, so download only from maccy.app, GitHub or the App Store.

What it lacks: everything that isn't clipboard history. It's Mac only.

Pick it if clipboard history is the one thing that made Raycast worth opening. For more choices, see our best clipboard managers for Mac and Maccy alternatives.

Gubb: notes, clipboard and timers in one window

Gubb is our app. It isn't a launcher. It's a small scratchpad window with several of the extras people reach for in Raycast built in:

• Notes with Markdown-style typing (# for headings, - for lists, [ ] for checklists), saved automatically to a local database.
• Clipboard History in a side panel: search, filter by Text, Links or Code, pin favorites, edit an item, or paste it into the note.
• Timer with Countdown, Stopwatch and Pomodoro modes.
• Break reminders: a 20-second eye-rest micro break and a 5-minute long break by default, shown full screen in the Gubb window. They're off until you turn on Enable Break Timer in Settings ▸ Break Time.
• Inline maths and conversions: type gubb@math and end a line with = to get the result. Use gubb@currency for lines like 100 USD to EUR and gubb@conversions for lines like 10 ft to m, then press Return.
• To-do lists and Kanban boards inside notes (gubb@todo, gubb@board).
• Voice to text into the note using a downloaded Whisper model that runs on your Mac.

What it lacks, compared with Raycast:

• No launcher and no global hotkeys. You can't summon Gubb from the keyboard in another app. You open it from its menu bar icon (left-click shows or hides the window) or the Dock, and you can pin it on top of other windows.
• Clipboard history is text only. No images, files or rich text. Recording starts the first time you open the Clipboard History panel in a session and runs only while Gubb is running, so hide the window with the menu bar icon rather than quitting. There's no quick-paste popup: you click Copy to clipboard, then paste with ⌘V in the other app.
• No password filtering or app exclusions. Anything copied as text, including from a password manager, is stored in plain text in the local database (up to 1,000 unpinned items; pinned items are kept).
• The calculator is basic. Arithmetic with + - * / ^ and brackets works. Percentages, functions like sqrt(), and constants don't. Currency conversion needs an internet connection.
• Pomodoro mode is a plain countdown (25:00 by default) with no automatic work and break cycles and no completion sound.
• Dictation goes only into Gubb notes. Local mode is English-only and transcribes the first 30 seconds of each recording.
• No sync. Notes stay on the device, with no account.

Price as of November 2026: $59 one-time for a lifetime license from gubb.net, which activates on up to 3 devices. The direct Mac download has a 7-day free trial with no account. Gubb is also on the Mac App Store and the Microsoft Store for Windows.

Pick it if you used Raycast as a place to jot things down, recover copied text, run a focus timer and do quick conversions, and you don't need it to launch apps. If you do need a launcher, keep Raycast's free plan or Spotlight for that and run Gubb next to it. You can download the 7-day trial to check it fits.

Apple Notes and Clock: free built-ins for notes and timers

If you used Raycast Notes for short notes, Apple Notes is free, syncs through iCloud, and has checklists, attachments and locked notes. It also shows answers inline when you type something like 5 * 3 =, according to AppleInsider.

For timers, the Clock app on macOS has timers and a stopwatch. Our guide to setting a timer on Mac shows the built-in options.

What they lack: no clipboard history and no break reminders, and they're separate apps rather than one window.

Pick them if you want free tools, need notes on your iPhone too, and don't miss clipboard history.

What Raycast Pro costs

As of November 2026, Raycast's plans are:

Paid plans add dictation, unlimited clipboard history, cloud sync and AI. We found no lifetime or one-time option in any source.

What the alternatives cost to replace parts of Pro:

• Clipboard history: Maccy ($9.99 once, or free from source), Alfred Powerpack (£34 or £59 once), Gubb ($59 once), or Spotlight on macOS 26 Tahoe (free).
• Launcher: Spotlight (free) or Alfred's free core.
• Notes and timers: Apple Notes and Clock (free) or Gubb ($59 once).

A year of Pro is $120 billed monthly, or $96 billed yearly according to reviews. Maccy and Gubb each cost less than one year of Pro. If what you really use is Raycast's AI, none of these apps replaces it.

Should you switch at all

Raycast does a lot well, and its free plan is generous. It has a large extension library, a calculator rebuilt in version 2.12 (November 12, 2026) that handles dates and time zones, and apps for macOS, Windows and iOS. It's updated often.

Stay with Raycast if:

• you rely on extensions, snippets or window management from one keyboard shortcut;
• you use its AI features or its sync across devices;
• the free plan already covers you, for example if 3 months of clipboard history is enough.

Switch, or add a second app, if:

• you're paying for Pro only for unlimited clipboard history or dictation;
• you prefer to pay once;
• you want notes and timers in a window you can keep open, not a launcher you summon.

For a wider view of Mac tools beyond launchers, see our best productivity apps for Mac.

FAQ

Is Raycast free?

Yes. As of November 2026, the free plan includes the launcher, extensions and 3 months of clipboard history. Dictation, unlimited clipboard history, cloud sync and AI need a paid plan.

Is there a Raycast alternative with a one-time price?

Alfred's Powerpack (£34 or £59), Maccy ($9.99 on the Mac App Store) and Gubb ($59) are all one-time purchases as of November 2026. They replace different parts of Raycast, so match them to what you use.

Can Gubb replace Raycast's launcher?

No. Gubb has no app launcher and no global hotkeys. It replaces the notes, clipboard history, timer and quick-conversion side of Raycast; pair it with Spotlight or Raycast's free plan for launching.