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Catalog App launchers Flow Launcher

Alternatives to Flow Launcher

Community-driven Windows launcher

Alt Score

Alt Score · 64

How this alternative ranks. How it works →

Verified coverage 90%60
Visibility 10%100

Verified coverage = sourced yes and partial answers in the category checklist. Visibility = relative app-page views on AltCatalog over 30 days, neutral below 500 category views. Payment, votes, and vendor opinions are never score inputs.

Not a real alternative? Flag it
#5 of 8 in App launchers

Flow Launcher ranks #5 of 8 in App launchers, with an Alt Score of 64. It is licensed under MIT, free from Free and available on Windows. 9 of 10 checklist rows are verified against a public source.

Most compared with LaunchBarRaycastAlfred
Official site Suggest an edit Data history Work on Flow Launcher? Claim this page
Who it's for

Windows 10+ users who prefer keyboard-driven workflows and want faster access to apps, files, and system functions than mouse-based search allows.

What you get

A free, open-source launcher that finds and opens installed applications, searches files via Everything or Windows Search integration, runs web searches and shell/PowerShell commands, and accesses browser bookmarks, system commands, and a calculator. Functionality extends through a community plugin ecosystem, and the interface supports custom themes.

How it works

Press a hotkey (Alt+Space by default) to bring up the search window, then type to match an app, file, command, or plugin action and press Enter to run it.

Why people leave Flow Launcher

Dashed reasons are sourced facts; the rest are opinions. Vendors can dispute.

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Ranked alternatives

Ordered by Alt Score. Click any score to see the breakdown.

Sponsored Paid slot. Never affects the ranked order below. Promote here →
01

The original keyboard launcher.

macOS
Alt Score

Alt Score · 73

How this alternative ranks. How it works →

Verified coverage 90%70
Visibility 10%100

Verified coverage = sourced yes and partial answers in the category checklist. Visibility = relative app-page views on AltCatalog over 30 days, neutral below 500 category views. Payment, votes, and vendor opinions are never score inputs.

Not a real alternative? Flag it
02

Extensible launcher with an app store.

macOSWindowsiOSBrowser extension
Alt Score

Alt Score · 73

How this alternative ranks. How it works →

Verified coverage 90%70
Visibility 10%100

Verified coverage = sourced yes and partial answers in the category checklist. Visibility = relative app-page views on AltCatalog over 30 days, neutral below 500 category views. Payment, votes, and vendor opinions are never score inputs.

Not a real alternative? Flag it
03

The Mac launcher veteran with workflows.

Proprietary macOS
Alt Score

Alt Score · 68

How this alternative ranks. How it works →

Verified coverage 90%65
Visibility 10%100

Verified coverage = sourced yes and partial answers in the category checklist. Visibility = relative app-page views on AltCatalog over 30 days, neutral below 500 category views. Payment, votes, and vendor opinions are never score inputs.

Not a real alternative? Flag it
04

Plugin-based Linux launcher.

macOSLinux
Alt Score

Alt Score · 64

How this alternative ranks. How it works →

Verified coverage 90%60
Visibility 10%100

Verified coverage = sourced yes and partial answers in the category checklist. Visibility = relative app-page views on AltCatalog over 30 days, neutral below 500 category views. Payment, votes, and vendor opinions are never score inputs.

Not a real alternative? Flag it
05

Open source cross-platform launcher.

MIT WindowsmacOSLinux
Alt Score

Alt Score · 60

How this alternative ranks. How it works →

Verified coverage 90%55
Visibility 10%100

Verified coverage = sourced yes and partial answers in the category checklist. Visibility = relative app-page views on AltCatalog over 30 days, neutral below 500 category views. Payment, votes, and vendor opinions are never score inputs.

Not a real alternative? Flag it
06

Microsoft's open source launcher and utilities.

MIT Windows
Alt Score

Alt Score · 55

How this alternative ranks. How it works →

Verified coverage 90%50
Visibility 10%100

Verified coverage = sourced yes and partial answers in the category checklist. Visibility = relative app-page views on AltCatalog over 30 days, neutral below 500 category views. Payment, votes, and vendor opinions are never score inputs.

Not a real alternative? Flag it
07

Fast Python-extensible Linux launcher.

GPL-3.0 Linux
Alt Score

Alt Score · 55

How this alternative ranks. How it works →

Verified coverage 90%50
Visibility 10%100

Verified coverage = sourced yes and partial answers in the category checklist. Visibility = relative app-page views on AltCatalog over 30 days, neutral below 500 category views. Payment, votes, and vendor opinions are never score inputs.

Not a real alternative? Flag it

Feature comparison

Rows come from the App launchers checklist (14 rows). Human-verified cells only. ? means the value has not been verified.

Comparing Flow Launcher LaunchBar × Raycast × Alfred × Albert × ueli ×
+ Add app
PowerToys Run Ulauncher
App launchers checklist Flow LauncherLaunchBarRaycastAlfredAlbertueli
Pricing model
Starts at
License
Platforms
Extensions / plugins
Clipboard history
Snippets
Calculator & conversions
File search
Window management
Themes
Open source
One-time purchase option
Cross-platform
verified pending unknown (?) Click any cell to view its source or propose a value
Sources & verification 14

Every fact and feature listed for Flow Launcher is verified against its own pages. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.

FAQ

Yes. Raycast, Albert and ueli have a free tier or are fully free. Free-tier limits in the comparison table are verified and dated.

ueli, PowerToys Run and Ulauncher — every license claim links its source.