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Productivity

How to Switch from Raycast to Alfred

You stop paying
Custom pricing
Realistic effort
a weekend
including a 2-week pilot
Alternatives verified
3
link-checked weekly

The migration, step by step

  1. 1
    Prepare

    Audit how you actually use it

    List the Raycast features your team touches weekly. Most teams use 20% of features for 80% of the work — those are the only ones the free alternative must cover.

  2. 2
    Prepare

    Export your data first

    Before anything else, export everything from Raycast. Keep the export in its original format plus any open standard offered (CSV, JSON, SVG, Markdown). Do not cancel yet.

  3. 3
    Pilot

    Set up the free alternative

    Install or open Alfred and recreate one small, real project from scratch — not a toy file. This surfaces gaps while switching is still cheap.

  4. 4
    Pilot

    Run a two-week pilot in parallel

    Do live work in Alfred while keeping Raycast read-only. Note every friction point; most disappear after the first week as muscle memory adjusts.

  5. 5
    Migrate

    Migrate your assets

    Move your exported files into Alfred. Where direct import is unsupported, use the open-standard export (CSV/SVG/Markdown) or a one-time conversion — then keep the originals archived.

  6. 6
    Cut the cost

    Cut the subscription

    Cancel Raycast at the end of the billing cycle (avoid losing access mid-cycle). Check the cancellation date against your renewal to dodge the next price increase.

Export tip: Export your projects/data from the paid tool before you cancel — most tools offer CSV, JSON or standard-format export in settings.

Your destination: Alfred

Alfred

Powerful macOS launcher with free core features

Open Alfred
CapabilityAlfred
Free / open source
Powerful macOS launcher with free core features
Real-time collaboration
Not mentioned in the verified description — check the project docs.
AI-assisted features
Not mentioned in the verified description — check the project docs.
Works offline / desktop app
Powerful macOS launcher with free core features
Self-hosted option
Not mentioned in the verified description — check the project docs.
Plugin / extension ecosystem
Not mentioned in the verified description — check the project docs.
No watermarks or limits
Not mentioned in the verified description — check the project docs.
Team permissions & admin
Not mentioned in the verified description — check the project docs.

Feature rows are derived from the verified project description — treat ✓ as confirmed and check the project docs before you commit.