Alfred vs Find Any File (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Find Any File grades higher than Alfred: 2.6 against 2.4 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 4, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Alfred grades higher on the free plan. Find Any File grades higher on value for money and ease of use. They get the same grade on features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Alfred
Mac launcher with hotkeys, snippets and custom workflows
Find Any File
Mac file finder that searches by name, date, size and content
Which one is for you
Pick Alfred if
- Fits if you want a keyboard launcher on your Mac with no subscription
- Works for people who repeat the same multi-step task daily and will build a workflow for it
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you're on Windows or Linux, as it's macOS only, on 10.14 or later
- Tight if you're staying free and want clipboard history, snippets or workflows, because all of them need the £34 Powerpack
- Not for you if you want a price in dollars, since the shop only shows pounds sterling
- Watch out: the £34 license covers Alfred 5 only; the next major version is a paid upgrade unless you pay £59 up front
- Watch out: Alfred Remote for iOS is a separate App Store purchase
Pick Find Any File if
- Fits if Spotlight misses files you know are on your Mac
- Works for people who search by size, date or a pattern in the name
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you use Windows or Linux, as there is no version for either
- Skip it if you want a clear trial, as no time limit is stated
- Too light for searching email and cloud services, since it searches volumes
- Watch out: the vendor says to try the download from its own site, not the App Store, first
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAAlfredFair | 2.6GPAFind Any FileGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BThe Powerpack is £34 once, with no subscription, and Mega Supporter at £59 adds free lifetime upgrades. Pay-once utilities here sit nearer $15, so Alfred asks more than most of them, but a single payment still beats a couple of years of any subscription. Pounds only, so no dollar price to quote. | A$6 once as shareware by PayPal or card, far below a year of this category's middle subscription. The Mac App Store price is not stated. |
| Free plan and trial | BThe core is free forever, at home, at school or at work: launching apps, finding files and searching the web, with no usage cap. A lot of people could stop there. But clipboard history, snippets, workflows and file actions all wait behind the Powerpack. | CShareware you can try before paying, but the page states no time limit and no free plan, only a request to pay if you keep it. |
| Features | BThis is the full launcher job, not a slice of it: app, file and web search, clipboard history kept up to 3 months, snippets that expand as you type, file actions, custom hotkeys, system commands and no-code workflows you can import by the thousand. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in the core work. | BSearches by file properties and contents, scriptable rules, regular expressions, saved searches and network and backup volumes. The listing names no gap in the core job. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating is on record. Typing into the search bar is nothing to learn, but the half you pay for is the half you build: workflows are triggers wired to actions, and hotkeys, snippets and search keywords are all yours to set up. | BNo store rating is on record, but you install it and type a search with nothing to set up. |
| Platforms and integrations | DMac only, on macOS 10.14 or later, so one operating system. Alfred Remote for iOS is a separate purchase on the App Store. It works with 1Password and Music.app, and the Powerpack runs Terminal commands and scripts. | DMac only. There is no Windows or Linux version. |
| Best for | a Mac launcher you pay for once | finding Mac files that Spotlight skips |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Alfred and Find Any File. How we grade
Where they differ
- Alfred also covers workflow automation, launcher, clipboard manager and text expansion.
- Find Any File also covers file management.
At a glance
| Alfred | Find Any File | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | £34 one-time purchase (Powerpack Single License) | $6 one-time |
| Free plan | The core of Alfred is free to use forever, covering app, file and web search. Powerpack features such as workflows, clipboard history and snippets are not included. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | Shareware: the download from the developer's site can be tried before paying; no time limit is stated. |
| macOS | ||
| Made by | Running with Crayons Ltd | Thomas Tempelmann |
| Price read from | alfredapp.com | findanyfile.app |
| Checked | Oct 4, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Alfred
- macOS only (10.14 or later). Alfred Remote for iOS is a separate purchase on the App Store.
- Clipboard history, snippets, workflows and file actions all require the paid Powerpack.
- Prices are shown in pounds sterling only; the vendor's site gives no US dollar price.
- The Single License is tied to Alfred 5; moving to a later major version is a discounted paid upgrade unless you hold Mega Supporter.
Find Any File
- Mac only; there is no Windows or Linux version.
- The vendor's site says the download from its own site, not the App Store, is the one to try first.
- The page does not state a time limit for the trial or the Mac App Store price.
Key features
Alfred
- App, file and web search
- Launch apps, find files on your Mac and search websites with default or custom search keywords, all from one search bar.
- Workflows
- A Powerpack feature that connects triggers and actions like building blocks to automate tasks without code. Thousands of community workflows can be imported.
- Clipboard History
- With the Powerpack, Alfred keeps the text, images and file links you copy for 24 hours, 7 days, 1 month or 3 months, so an earlier item can be found and pasted again.
- Snippets and text expansion
- With the Powerpack, saved snippets expand automatically when you type a short keyword.
- File actions and Terminal commands
- The Powerpack adds actions on files, such as emailing, moving, copying and revealing in Finder, and runs Terminal commands and scripts from Alfred.
- System commands and hotkeys
- Sleep the Mac, empty the Trash or start the screensaver with a keyword. The Powerpack adds custom hotkeys and keywords for apps and sites.
Find Any File
- Search by file properties
- Match on name, dates, size, kind, tags and more, including folders that Spotlight usually excludes such as System and Library.
- Content search
- Looks for text inside files, including inside zip archives, and in .docx and .xlsx documents.
- Scriptable rules
- Version 2.4 added scriptable rules for complex searches, and version 2.6 made the app AppleScriptable.
- Regular expressions
- Searches can use regular expressions, per the version 2.0 notes.
- Saved searches and results
- Searches can be saved for re-use, and result lists can be saved and reopened.
- Network and backup volumes
- Can search modern Time Machine backups, and runs faster on Synology and QNAP shares and Windows shares with Everything.
Plans
Alfred
Alfred (free)£0
The core launcher for searching your Mac and the web. Free to use in a personal, educational or business setting.
Powerpack Single License£34
one-time purchase, license for Alfred 5
Unlocks the Powerpack for one user on Alfred 5: workflows, clipboard history, snippets, file actions, themes and settings sync.
Powerpack Mega Supporter£59
one-time purchase, free lifetime upgrades
The same Powerpack features for one user, with free upgrades to future versions of Alfred.
Find Any File
Shareware license$6
one-time, bought by PayPal or card on the developer's site
Keeps using the direct download after the trial; the page says users are expected to pay if they keep it.
Mac App StoreNot shown
Also sold through the Mac App Store; the vendor's pages do not state that price.
Ways to pay less
Alfred
- Lifetime license
Mega Supporter license with free lifetime upgrades
The £59 Mega Supporter license includes free upgrades to future versions of Alfred. The £34 Single License covers Alfred 5.
- Other savings
Upgrade discount for older licenses
Holders of a Single User or Family license for an earlier version of Alfred can upgrade to the current Powerpack at a discount.
Find Any File
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Alfred or Find Any File?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Alfred starts at £34 one-time purchase (Powerpack Single License), and Find Any File starts at $6 one-time.
Which has a free plan, Alfred or Find Any File?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Alfred has a free plan. Find Any File does not, though it has a free trial.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.