# LaunchBar

> Keyboard launcher for Mac with clipboard history and actions

LaunchBar is a keyboard-driven launcher for macOS from Objective Development. Typing a short abbreviation opens apps, documents, bookmarks and contacts, and the same window handles file operations, web searches, calculations, calendar events and a clipboard history. It can be used free of charge with occasional prompts to take a break, or licensed with a one-time purchase that the vendor prices in euros.

- **Category:** Desktop Utilities
- **Made by:** Objective Development Software GmbH (since 2004)
- **Website:** https://www.obdev.at/products/launchbar/index.html
- **Runs on:** macOS
- **Facts last checked:** Oct 6, 2026

## Pricing

LaunchBar has a free plan. Paid plans start at 35 € one-time purchase (Single License).

- **Pricing model:** Free plan
- **Free plan:** Beyond the 30-day trial, LaunchBar 6 can be used for free as long and as often as you like. Without registration it occasionally invites you to take a short break.
- **Free trial:** 30-day trial period, after which free use continues without a license.

| Plan | Price | What you get |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Free use | 0 € | LaunchBar 6 without a license. It keeps working after the 30-day trial but occasionally asks you to take a short break. |
| Single License | 35 € one-time purchase, license for LaunchBar 6 | Either one user on multiple computers or multiple users on one computer, but not multiple users on multiple computers. |
| Family License | 59 € one-time purchase, license for LaunchBar 6 | Up to 5 computers at a time that belong to one household. Non-commercial use only. |

Read from https://www.obdev.at/products/launchbar/order.html on Oct 6, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with LaunchBar before buying.

## Ways to pay less

- **Reduced-price upgrades for existing licenses** (Other savings): The order page offers upgrades at a reduced price: owners enter their license key to check which upgrade options are available. Source: https://www.obdev.at/products/launchbar/order.html

## Key features

- **Adaptive abbreviation search:** Finds apps, documents and other items from short acronyms of their names, such as SP for System Preferences. The ranking of results adapts to your usage.
- **Clipboard History and ClipMerge:** Recently copied items stay available, with a paste-as-plain-text option and an ignore list for sensitive data. Pressing Command-C twice merges successive copies into one clip.
- **Send To and Instant Send:** Tab sends the selected item to an app, a folder, an email contact or a search template. Holding Command-Space sends a file or text selection from another app to LaunchBar.
- **File browsing and operations:** Navigate the file system with the arrow keys, including inside packages, and move, rename, compress or tag files and create folders from the keyboard.
- **Calendar, Reminders and Contacts:** Create calendar events and reminders with live feedback on what will be created, and reach contacts to start an email or look up a phone number or address.
- **Scriptable actions:** Custom actions can be written in JavaScript, AppleScript, Ruby, Python, PHP and other languages with the built-in Action Editor, or installed from other users.

## Good for

- Mac users who want to keep their hands on the keyboard
- People who prefer a launcher license bought once over a subscription
- Scripters who extend their launcher with AppleScript or JavaScript actions

## Worth knowing

- macOS only. Version 6.24 runs on macOS Tahoe and is also compatible with Sequoia, Sonoma, Ventura and Monterey.
- Without a license, LaunchBar occasionally interrupts with an invitation to take a short break.
- Prices are shown in euros; the vendor's shop gave no US dollar price when it was read.
- The Family License is limited to one household and non-commercial use, and a Single License does not cover several users on several computers.

## Works with

Safari, Firefox, Google Chrome, Apple Shortcuts, Calendar, Reminders, Keyboard Maestro, Spotify

**Tags:** Launcher, Clipboard manager, Keyboard-first, File management, Calculator, One-time purchase

## Alternatives

- [Alfred](https://toolgpa.com/tools/alfred): Mac launcher with hotkeys, snippets and custom workflows. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/alfred-vs-launchbar)
- [Raycast](https://toolgpa.com/tools/raycast): Keyboard launcher with extensions, clipboard history and AI. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/launchbar-vs-raycast)
- [Quicksilver](https://toolgpa.com/tools/quicksilver): Free, open-source keyboard launcher for macOS. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/launchbar-vs-quicksilver)

## Sources

The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 6, 2026:

- https://www.obdev.at/products/launchbar/index.html
- https://www.obdev.at/products/launchbar/order.html
- https://www.obdev.at/products/launchbar/download.html
- https://www.obdev.at/products/launchbar/features.html
- https://www.obdev.at/products/launchbar/actions.html
- https://www.obdev.at/shop/
- https://www.obdev.at/about.html

Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/launchbar
Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).