# Alternatives to PowerToys Run
Microsoft's open source launcher and utilities.
PowerToys Run ranks #7 of 8 in App launchers, with an Alt Score of 55. It is licensed under MIT, free from Free and available on Windows. 10 of 10 checklist rows are verified against a public source.
Source: https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/powertoys-run/
Category: App launchers
## Overview
- **Who it's for**: Windows power users who want faster access to apps, files, and system functions than the Start menu offers, without giving up performance.
- **What you get**: A keyboard-driven quick launcher that finds applications, files, folders, and running windows, plus a built-in calculator, unit converter, hash/GUID generator, and system commands (shutdown, lock, etc.). It's plugin-based, so results come from a modular set of providers you can enable, disable, or reorder, and each plugin has its own direct activation prefix (like = for math or > for shell commands). It's part of the free, open-source Microsoft PowerToys suite.
- **How it works**: Press Alt+Space (customizable) to bring up the search box, start typing, and results populate live from whichever plugins are enabled; press Enter to launch the top result or use keyboard shortcuts like Ctrl+Shift+E to open its containing folder.
## Profile
- **License**: MIT (verified 2026-07-09)
- **Pricing model**: Free (verified 2026-07-09)
- **Starts at**: Free (verified 2026-07-09)
- **Platforms**: Windows
- **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 | [Albert](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/albert.md) | 64 | ? | macOS, Linux |
| 5 | [Flow Launcher](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/flow-launcher.md) | 64 | MIT | Windows |
| 6 | [ueli](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/ueli.md) | 60 | MIT | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| 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 | PowerToys Run | LaunchBar | Raycast | Alfred | Albert | Flow Launcher |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Free | One-time | Freemium | One-time | Free | Free |
| Starts at | Free | ? | $8/mo | £34 | Free | Free |
| License | MIT | ? | ? | Proprietary | ? | MIT |
| Platforms | Windows | macOS | macOS, Windows, iOS, Browser extension | macOS | macOS, Linux | Windows |
| Extensions / plugins | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Clipboard history | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial |
| Snippets | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial |
| Calculator & conversions | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes |
| File search | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Window management | No | ? | Yes | ? | ? | ? |
| Themes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Yes | ? | ? | No | No | Yes |
| One-time purchase option | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | No |
| Cross-platform | No | No | No | No | No | No |
## Sources
Sources for PowerToys Run. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.
- **Pricing model**: Free — (verified 2026-07-09)
- Quote: “Microsoft PowerToys is a set of free, open-source utilities designed to help power users and developers get more out of Windows.”
- **Platforms**: Windows — (verified 2026-07-09)
- Quote: “Windows 11 or Windows 10 version 2004 (20H1 / build 19041) or newer”
- **License**: MIT — (verified 2026-07-09)
- Quote: “The MIT License”
- **Starts at**: Free — (verified 2026-07-09)
- Quote: “Microsoft PowerToys is a set of free, open-source utilities designed to help power users and developers get more out of Windows.”
- **Status**: active — (verified 2026-07-09)
- Quote: “Release v0.100.2”
- **Extensions / plugins**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-09)
- Quote: “This free, open-source utility is modular and supports additional plugins to enhance your productivity workflow.”
- **Clipboard history**: No — (verified 2026-07-09)
- Note: Run's documented feature list has no clipboard history; Advanced Paste (a separate module) only reformats clipboard content.
- Quote: “PowerToys Run features include: - Search for applications, folders or files - Search for running processes”
- **Snippets**: No — (verified 2026-07-09)
- Note: No snippet/text-expansion utility appears in Run's feature list or the PowerToys utilities index.
- Quote: “PowerToys Run features include: - Search for applications, folders or files - Search for running processes”
- **Calculator & conversions**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-09)
- Quote: “Do a simple calculation using calculator”
- **File search**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-09)
- Quote: “Search for applications, folders or files”
- **Window management**: No — (verified 2026-07-09)
- Note: Window management is the separate FancyZones module, not PowerToys Run; Run only offers a Window Walker plugin to switch windows.
- Quote: “FancyZones is a powerful window manager utility in PowerToys that helps you arrange and snap windows into custom layouts”
- **Themes**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-09)
- Quote: “Theme | Change the theme used by PowerToys Run.”
- **Open source**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-09)
- Quote: “The MIT License”
- **One-time purchase option**: No — (verified 2026-07-09)
- Quote: “Microsoft PowerToys is a set of free, open-source utilities designed to help power users and developers get more out of Windows.”
- **Cross-platform**: No — (verified 2026-07-09)
- Quote: “Windows 11 or Windows 10 version 2004 (20H1 / build 19041) or newer”
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Ranked by verified data, never by who paid. https://altcatalog.com/trust/