Quicksilver

Contents

1. 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
2. 02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
3. 03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
4. 04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
5. 05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
6. 06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
7. 07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it

ToolGPA put this guide together from Quicksilver’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Quicksilver’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 9, 2026.

1. 1

   Best for a free Mac launcher with no paid tier

   Quicksilver is a free, open-source Mac launcher: press a shortcut, type a few letters to pick a file or app, then choose what to do with it.

2. 2

   It is free

   Quicksilver has no paid plan at all. The whole app and its plugins are free, with no paid version, subscription or locked features. The source is under the Apache License 2.0, and the project takes PayPal donations for hosting and development.

3. 3

   It runs on macOS

   macOS.

4. 4

   Object, action, argument commands

   Commands are built in two or three panes: an object such as a file, an action such as E-mail To, and an argument when the action needs one.

5. 5

   Abbreviation matching that learns

   An item matches when the typed letters appear in its name in order, and items you pick often rise in the results, so short abbreviations come to select them.

6. 6

   Its own catalog

   Quicksilver builds a catalog of apps, files, bookmarks, contacts and more without depending on Spotlight, and rescans it in the background every 10 minutes by default.

7. 7

   A 2.8 GPA, above 57 of 94

   That is against the other desktop utilities we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.

8. 8

   Keep it

   Quicksilver is free, so making your own would save you nothing.

• Quicksilver

  $0

  The complete launcher with every feature and plugin, as a disk image download or a Homebrew cask. Donations are optional.

Read from qsapp.com on Oct 9, 2026.

Object, action, argument commands

Commands are built in two or three panes: an object such as a file, an action such as E-mail To, and an argument when the action needs one.

Abbreviation matching that learns

An item matches when the typed letters appear in its name in order, and items you pick often rise in the results, so short abbreviations come to select them.

Its own catalog

Quicksilver builds a catalog of apps, files, bookmarks, contacts and more without depending on Spotlight, and rescans it in the background every 10 minutes by default.

Triggers

A command can be bound to a keyboard shortcut, a mouse action, a gesture or an event so that it runs without opening the command window.

Plugins

Optional plugins add objects and actions for apps such as Mail, Gmail, Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Calendar and Reminders. They are found, installed and updated from the Preferences.

Clipboard history and Shelf

The Clipboard and Shelf plugin keeps a history of what you copy and a Shelf for storing items you want within quick reach.

Quicksilver is made by Quicksilver Project, and has been around since 2003.

Quicksilver's GPA of 2.8 is higher than 57 of the 94 other desktop utilities we grade, and level with 26.

It stands best on free plan and trial (A, above 49 of 94) and worst on platforms and integrations (D, above 0).

Quicksilver has no paid plan.

On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.0 out of 4. Nothing scores higher for less, though at least one tool matches that score at a lower price.

Part 05 · Alternatives

The alternatives

The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side

Alfred, Raycast, LaunchBar and Ueli

The 4 tools Quicksilver is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.

• 

  2.4GPA

  Alfred

  Free plan · from £34 one-time

  Mac launcher with hotkeys, snippets and custom workflows.

  • Quicksilver is open source, according to its own site.
  • Alfred can be bought with a one-time purchase.
  • Alfred also covers workflow automation and text expansion.

  Quicksilver and Alfred compared in full
• 

  2.8GPA

  Raycast

  Free plan · from $96/yr

  Keyboard launcher with extensions, clipboard history and AI.

  • Only Raycast lists Windows and iOS apps.
  • Only Raycast lists a browser extension.
  • Quicksilver is open source, according to its own site.

  Quicksilver and Raycast compared in full
• 

  2.6GPA

  LaunchBar

  Free plan · from €35 one-time

  Keyboard launcher for Mac with clipboard history and actions.

  • Quicksilver is open source, according to its own site.
  • LaunchBar can be bought with a one-time purchase.
  • LaunchBar also covers file management and calculator.

  Quicksilver and LaunchBar compared in full
• 

  2.8GPA

  Ueli

  Free

  Cross-platform keystroke launcher for Windows, macOS and Linux.

  • Only Ueli lists Windows and Linux apps.
  • Quicksilver also covers clipboard manager.
  • Ueli also covers calculator.

  Quicksilver and Ueli compared in full

The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.

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.

• 3,189

  tools graded

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• 426

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• 579

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