Launcher · alternatives
The best Alfred alternatives for Mac
Alfred: £34 once (Powerpack), Mac. Verified 2026-09-04.
Why people switch
Why people look for a Alfred alternative
Alfred's Powerpack is a one-time purchase, its workflows are unmatched, and its developers have been shipping for well over a decade. The clipboard is where users bump into the edges: history is capped at three months by design, it will never sync, again by policy, there is no pinning, and no OCR. Snippet expansion is off by default and has a documented habit of misbehaving in Google Docs and a few other apps.
What to look for instead
Keep Alfred for launching and workflows; that is what it is for. For the clipboard, run a dedicated app alongside it and disable Alfred's own history so the same item is not captured twice. SnipVault keeps everything rather than three months, adds pinboards and tags instead of turning clips into snippets, reads text off the screen with ⇧⌘2, and expires copied one-time codes automatically. Like Alfred, it can be bought once.
Our pick
1. SnipVault
Clipboard history, screenshot OCR, and snippets in one keyboard-first Mac app.
Next to SnipVault, Alfred has no unlimited history, screenshot ocr, ocr captures kept searchable, pinboards / collections + tags, or paste stack. Full table.
- ✓You want the whole clipboard history kept, not the last three months
- ✓You want screenshot OCR captures saved and searchable
- ✓You want pinboards, tags, and a paste stack for repeat form filling
- ✓You want secrets like OTP codes to expire automatically
Other options
Other launchers worth a look
Still with them?
When Alfred is still the right call
- •You mainly want a launcher and workflows and the clipboard is a bonus
- •Three months of history is plenty
- •You want to pay once in GBP and never think about it again
FAQ
What is the best Alfred alternative?+
Keep Alfred as your launcher and add a dedicated clipboard app. SnipVault keeps the whole history rather than three months, saves OCR captures with their image, and expands snippets, for $29.99 a year or $79 once.
Is there a free Alfred alternative?+
Maccy is free and open source and keeps an unlimited history. It has no OCR or snippets. SnipVault's 7-day trial is free and needs no card.
How do I switch from Alfred to SnipVault?+
Turn off Alfred's clipboard history so both apps do not record the same item, install SnipVault, and recreate your snippets in the Snippets tab. Keep Alfred for launching.
Alfred stays your launcher. SnipVault takes the clipboard, OCR, and snippets.