# Alternatives to Albert

Plugin-based Linux launcher.

Albert ranks #4 of 8 in App launchers, with an Alt Score of 64. It is free from Free and available on macOS and Linux. 9 of 10 checklist rows are verified against a public source.

Source: https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/albert/
Category: App launchers

## Where Albert stands out

- **Clipboard history** — 4 of 8 apps with a verified answer have this
- **Snippets** — 4 of 8 apps with a verified answer have this

## Overview

- **Who it's for**: Linux (and macOS) power users and developers who want to launch apps and run commands entirely from the keyboard rather than a mouse-driven menu or dock.
- **What you get**: Albert is a fast, plugin-based keyboard launcher that indexes applications, files, and system actions for near-instant search. Its plugin architecture lets you extend it with things like web search, calculator functions, window switching, and custom scripts. It's open source, lightweight, and configurable through a simple settings UI and Python/C++ plugin APIs.
- **How it works**: You trigger Albert with a global hotkey, type a query, and it shows matching apps, files, or plugin-provided actions ranked by relevance; pressing Enter runs the selected action.

## Profile

- **License**: ?
- **Pricing model**: Free (verified 2026-07-09)
- **Starts at**: Free (verified 2026-07-09)
- **Platforms**: macOS, Linux
- **Status**: active (verified 2026-07-09)

## Ranked alternatives

| # | App | Alt Score | Licence | Platforms |
|---|-----|-----------|---------|-----------|
| 1 | [LaunchBar](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/launchbar.md) | 73 | ? | macOS |
| 2 | [Raycast](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/raycast.md) | 73 | ? | macOS, Windows, iOS, Browser extension |
| 3 | [Alfred](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/alfred.md) | 68 | Proprietary | macOS |
| 4 | [Flow Launcher](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/flow-launcher.md) | 64 | MIT | Windows |
| 5 | [ueli](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/ueli.md) | 60 | MIT | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| 6 | [PowerToys Run](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/powertoys-run.md) | 55 | MIT | Windows |
| 7 | [Ulauncher](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/ulauncher.md) | 55 | GPL-3.0 | Linux |

Alt Score = Verified coverage (90%) + Visibility (10%). See https://altcatalog.com/how-alt-score-works/

## Feature comparison

Legend: Yes / No / Partial / ? (not verified).

| App launchers checklist | Albert | LaunchBar | Raycast | Alfred | Flow Launcher | ueli |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Free | One-time | Freemium | One-time | Free | Free |
| Starts at | Free | ? | $8/mo | £34 | Free | Free |
| License | ? | ? | ? | Proprietary | MIT | MIT |
| Platforms | macOS, Linux | macOS | macOS, Windows, iOS, Browser extension | macOS | Windows | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Extensions / plugins | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Clipboard history | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | No |
| Snippets | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | No |
| Calculator & conversions | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes |
| File search | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Window management | ? | ? | Yes | ? | ? | No |
| Themes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial |
| Open source | No | ? | ? | No | Yes | Yes |
| One-time purchase option | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | No |
| Cross-platform | No | No | No | No | No | Yes |

## Sources

Sources for Albert. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.

- **Pricing model**: Free — <https://albertlauncher.github.io/donation/> (verified 2026-07-09)
  - Quote: “One of the main goals is to make Albert available to everyone, that's why it's free.”
- **Starts at**: Free — <https://albertlauncher.github.io/donation/> (verified 2026-07-09)
  - Quote: “One of the main goals is to make Albert available to everyone, that's why it's free.”
- **Platforms**: macOS, Linux — <https://albertlauncher.github.io/installation/> (verified 2026-07-09)
  - Quote: “Prebuilt packages are available for Linux and macOS. Windows is not supported yet.”
- **Status**: active — <https://github.com/albertlauncher/albert/releases> (verified 2026-07-09)
  - Quote: “v34.0.10”
- **Extensions / plugins**: Yes — <https://raw.githubusercontent.com/albertlauncher/albert/main/README.md> (verified 2026-07-09)
  - Quote: “Albert is a plugin-based, desktop-agnostic C++/Qt keyboard launcher.”
- **Clipboard history**: Yes — <https://raw.githubusercontent.com/albertlauncher/albert-plugin-clipboard/main/metadata.json> (verified 2026-07-09)
  - Note: description": "Clipboard history""
- **Snippets**: Yes — <https://raw.githubusercontent.com/albertlauncher/albert-plugin-snippets/main/metadata.json> (verified 2026-07-09)
  - Note: description": "Copy text snippets to the clipboard""
- **Calculator & conversions**: Yes — <https://raw.githubusercontent.com/albertlauncher/albert-plugin-calculator-qalculate/main/metadata.json> (verified 2026-07-09)
  - Note: description": "Evaluate math expressions""
- **File search**: Yes — <https://raw.githubusercontent.com/albertlauncher/albert-plugin-files/main/metadata.json> (verified 2026-07-09)
  - Note: description": "File search""
- **Themes**: Yes — <https://raw.githubusercontent.com/albertlauncher/albert-plugin-widgetsboxmodel/main/README.md> (verified 2026-07-09)
  - Quote: “A theme is an INI-style plain-text file containing grouped key–value pairs.”
- **Open source**: No — <https://raw.githubusercontent.com/albertlauncher/albert/main/LICENSE.md> (verified 2026-07-09)
  - Note: Custom 'Albert license v1.1' — not OSI-approved (GitHub reports spdx_id NOASSERTION). It permits personal use and unmodified redistribution only.
  - Quote: “Redistributions in binary form must not target Microsoft or Apple platforms”
- **One-time purchase option**: No — <https://albertlauncher.github.io/donation/> (verified 2026-07-09)
  - Quote: “One of the main goals is to make Albert available to everyone, that's why it's free.”
- **Cross-platform**: No — <https://albertlauncher.github.io/installation/> (verified 2026-07-09)
  - Quote: “Prebuilt packages are available for Linux and macOS. Windows is not supported yet.”

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Ranked by verified data, never by who paid. https://altcatalog.com/trust/