HocusFocusHocusFocus vs Spotlight, Raycast and Alfred
All four open apps from a few keystrokes. They differ in what else they do, where their AI runs and how you pay. Here's an honest side-by-side, so you can pick the one that suits you.
| Feature | HocusFocus | Spotlight | Raycast | Alfred |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $5 once | Free, built into macOS | Free for individuals; paid Pro plan | Free; Powerpack £34 once (£59 with lifetime upgrades) |
| Subscription | Never | No | Pro is a subscription | No |
| AI assistant | Built in, on-device (Apple Intelligence) | Apple Intelligence through Shortcuts actions | Raycast AI, in the paid Pro plan | Through community workflows |
| Where AI requests go | Nowhere: they stay on your Mac | On-device or Private Cloud Compute | Mostly cloud models | Whichever service the workflow calls |
| Plain-English commands | Yes: “turn it down a bit”, “remind me to stretch in 20 minutes” | Via Shortcuts | Via extensions and AI | Via workflows |
| Instant math, units, currency | Yes, as you type | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Clipboard history | Yes, skips password managers | Yes (macOS 26) | Yes | Powerpack |
| Notes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Wallpapers and themes | Wallpaper grid, shuffle, themes from your wallpaper | No | Themes | Themes (Powerpack) |
| System dashboard | CPU, memory, battery, disk gauges | No | Via extensions | Via workflows |
| Extensions | No store; it's built to work out of the box | Shortcuts and App Intents | Large extension store | Large workflow library |
| macOS | macOS 26 Tahoe or later | Every Mac | Recent macOS | Many versions |
Checked September 2026. Other apps change often, so check their websites for current prices and features.
Which should you choose?
Choose HocusFocus if…
You want a private assistant that never leaves your Mac, a one-time $5 price, and clipboard, notes, themes and a system dashboard in one keyboard-first app, on macOS 26 Tahoe.
Choose Spotlight if…
You only need to open apps and files, and free and built in matters most.
Choose Raycast if…
You want a huge extension store, team features and cloud AI models, and don't mind a subscription for the extras.
Choose Alfred if…
You want deep custom workflows you build yourself, or you're on an older version of macOS.
Questions
Is HocusFocus a good Spotlight alternative?
Yes, if you want more than search. It opens apps from a few letters like Spotlight, then adds answers as you type, plain-English commands, an on-device AI assistant, clipboard history, notes, wallpaper themes and a system dashboard. It's $5 once, with a 7-day free trial.
How is HocusFocus different from Raycast?
HocusFocus is a one-time $5 purchase with its AI built in and running entirely on your Mac through Apple Intelligence. Raycast is free for individuals, with AI and other extras in a paid Pro subscription that mostly uses cloud models, and it has a much larger extension store.
How is HocusFocus different from Alfred?
Alfred is a long-standing launcher with a free core and a paid Powerpack for clipboard history, workflows and themes. HocusFocus includes all of its features for $5 and adds an on-device AI assistant, but it has no workflow system and needs macOS 26 Tahoe.
Which Mac launcher has private, on-device AI?
HocusFocus uses the language model built into macOS through Apple's Foundation Models framework, so requests are processed on your Mac and never sent to a server. It needs a Mac with Apple Intelligence turned on.
Try it for 7 days, free.
No account and no card. Then $5 once, for up to 3 Macs.