Window Managers & Launchers

Contents

1. 01WelcomeWhat these tools do, how many we grade and what to know before choosing
2. 02Our top threeThe three we'd look at first, and who each one suits
3. 03What they costWhat paid plans start at, the best buy at each budget and the free plans
4. 04The gradesThe highest graded, and how the whole category does on each subject
5. 05Keep or make?Which are worth paying for, and which you could make yourself
6. 06Every toolAll of them, best graded first, with what each costs
7. 07Quick answersThe questions people ask when choosing, each answered in a line or two
8. 08About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it

ToolGPA put this guide together from each tool’s own pages, their app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on the Window Managers & Launchers page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Nov 12, 2026.

Keyboard launchers that open anything in a keystroke, and window managers that put every window where you want it. Mostly small, mostly one-time purchases, and the kind of tool people keep for years.

Before you choose, here are 7 things to know about window managers and launchers, worked out from every one we grade.

1. 1

   We grade 29 window managers and launchers

   20 of them are free or have a free plan, and 8 more let you try before paying. Everything in this guide comes from their own pages and our grades.

2. 2

   Paid plans start at $8 a month in the middle

   From $0.83 (Fences) to $10 (Komorebi), going by what each one's paid plans start at.

3. 3

   Best value: Raycast and Flow Launcher

   Nothing on our chart scores higher than these without costing more.

4. 4

   0 of 29 have iPhone and Android apps

   0 run in a web browser and 10 have a Windows app. Check the one you need before you fall for anything.

5. 5

   The middle GPA is 2.6

   1 score 3.0 or higher. The highest is Flow Launcher, at 3.0.

6. 6

   Best free option: Flow Launcher

   Flow Launcher has the highest GPA of the free ones, 3.0. Free, open-source app launcher and file search for Windows.

7. 7

   28 worth keeping, 0 you could make

   By our keep-or-make rules, 28 do something you couldn't reasonably build yourself, 0 are simple enough to make with an AI app builder, and 1 are a close call.

Part 02 · Top three

Our top three

The three we'd look at first, and who each one suits

The three window managers and launchers we'd look at first. First place suits the most people; second and third are the best picks for the people it leaves out. Each has an Insider's Guide of its own.

1. 1st

   

   2.8GPA

   Raycast

   Free plan · from $96/yr

   For: Most people, on a Mac or a Windows PC

   Raycast is a keyboard launcher for Mac and Windows that also does the work of several small utilities. Its free plan includes clipboard history kept for 3 months, snippets, quicklinks, a calculator, window management, 5 Raycast Notes and a store of thousands of extensions. Pro is $96 a year, or $10 a month, and adds Raycast AI, cloud sync and unlimited notes. Commenters describe giving apps and windows their own hotkeys and using its extensions. Know the limits: AI is not part of the free plan, the Windows app does not yet have every Mac feature, no Linux version is listed, and version 2 draws objections over higher memory use and bugs.

   The Raycast Insider’s Guide

2. 2nd

   

   2.8GPA

   Microsoft PowerToys

   Free

   For: Windows users who want everything free and open source

   PowerToys is a free, open-source collection of more than 30 utilities for Windows 10 and 11, with no paid edition. FancyZones snaps windows into custom zone layouts, Command Palette is a keyboard launcher with an extension gallery, Keyboard Manager remaps keys and shortcuts, and other tools rename files in bulk and copy text off the screen. It is second because it runs on Windows only, where Raycast covers the Mac as well. Key remaps apply only while PowerToys is running and do not work on the log-in screen, FancyZones cannot snap some apps, and pasting with AI needs a model provider that may charge for usage.

   The Microsoft PowerToys Insider’s Guide

3. 3rd

   

   2.4GPA

   Alfred

   Free plan · from £34 one-time

   For: Mac users who would rather buy once than subscribe

   Alfred is a Mac launcher whose core is free to use forever: it opens apps, finds files and searches the web from one search bar. The Powerpack is a one-time £34 for Alfred 5, or £59 with free upgrades to future versions, and adds clipboard history, snippets, file actions and workflows that chain steps together without code. It is third because all of those need the Powerpack, where Raycast's free plan includes clipboard history and snippets and everything in PowerToys is free, and because it runs on the Mac only. Prices are shown in pounds sterling only, and the £34 license is tied to Alfred 5, so a later major version is a discounted paid upgrade.

   The Alfred Insider’s Guide

Going by our grades, Raycast and Flow Launcher give the most for the money among window managers and launchers: no tool on this chart scores higher without costing more.

Paid plans start at a middle price of $8 a month across the 3 that charge, from $0.83 (Fences) to $10 (Komorebi). 12 more cost nothing at all.

9 of the 15 score above the category's average while starting at or below its middle price. 1 cost more than the middle price and score below the average.

Every tool gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. Here are the 12 highest graded window managers and launchers, then how the whole category does on each subject.

Tool	Value	Free	Features	Ease	Platforms	GPA
Flow Launcher	A	A	B	B	D	3.0
DockDoor	A	A	C	B	D	2.8
Loop	A	A	C	B	D	2.8
Microsoft PowerToys	A	A	B	C	D	2.8
Quicksilver	A	A	B	C	D	2.8
Raycast	C	B	A	C	B	2.8
Rectangle	A	A	C	B	D	2.8
Ueli	A	A	C	C	C	2.8
Albert	A	A	C	D	C	2.6
AltTab	A	B	C	B	D	2.6
Amethyst	A	A	C	C	D	2.6
Hyperkey	A	A	D	B	D	2.6

Some software does something you couldn’t reasonably build yourself. Some is simple enough that an AI app builder could make the core of it in an afternoon. Here’s where window managers and launchers land, by the same rules for every tool.

• 28

  Keep it

  It does something you could not reasonably make for yourself, or it costs nothing.

• 1

  Your call

  You could make the core of it, and you would give something up.

• 0

  You could make this

  What it does is the kind of thing an AI app builder makes well, and it charges every month.

Every window managers and launcher we grade, with its GPA and what it costs. Each one has a page of its own on toolgpa.com, with its Insider’s Guide.

1. 1Flow LauncherFree3.0
2. 2DockDoorFree2.8
3. 3LoopFree2.8
4. 4Microsoft PowerToysFree2.8
5. 5QuicksilverFree2.8
6. 6RaycastFree plan · from $96/yr2.8
7. 7RectangleFree2.8
8. 8UeliFree2.8
9. 9AlbertFree2.6
10. 10AltTabFree plan · from $9.99 one-time2.6
11. 11AmethystFree2.6
12. 12HyperkeyFree2.6
13. 13LaunchBarFree plan · from €35 one-time2.6
14. 14ListaryFree plan · from $19.95 one-time2.6
15. 15UlauncherFree2.6
16. 16AeroSpaceFree2.4
17. 17AlfredFree plan · from £34 one-time2.4
18. 18AquaSnapFree plan · from $292.4
19. 19DisplayFusionFree plan · from $34 one-time2.4
20. 20FencesFree trial · from $9.99/yr2.4
21. 21SizeUpFree trial · from $12.992.4
22. 22SwishFree trial · from $16 one-time2.4
23. 23DivvyFree trial · from $13.992.2
24. 24MoomFree trial · from $15 one-time2.2
25. 25MosaicFree trial · from £14.99 one-time2.2
26. 26ContextsFree trial · from $9.992.0
27. 27KomorebiFree plan · from $10/mo2.0
28. 28MagnetFrom $4.99 one-time2.0
29. 29Mission Control PlusFree trial · from $10.072.0

ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.

Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.

• 5,038

  tools graded

• 95

  categories

• 739

  price changes on record

• 579

  apps priced in 12 countries