Slash vs Raycast
Raycast is a great launcher with a huge store. Slash ships the tools themselves, keeps everything on your Mac, and costs less than two months of Raycast Pro, once.
Price
$8.99 once
Raycast Pro from $8/month
AI
On your Mac, included
Raycast Cloud, with Pro
Extensions
22 built in
Raycast Mostly from the store
Feature by feature
Built in means it ships in the app, ready the moment you install it. No store, no setup, no extra account.
24 extensions, in the box
No store to browse and nothing to configure. Every one of these ships with Slash, behind one hotkey.
- BrowserA mini browser that floats over your work
- NotesMarkdown notes with math and cross-references
- CalendarYour month, one keystroke away
- FinderYour current folder, without alt-tabbing
- CameraA webcam booth with live filters
- TasksA to-do list that doesn't let you overthink it
- TimersCountdowns that stay on top
- RemindersWhat's due, at a glance
- SpacesEvery project, one shortcut away
- DropSend files to your other Macs, no cables
- ClipSnippets you paste by typing their name
- PasteYour clipboard history, always at hand
- MediaDrag, drop, play
- ChatAI chat that never leaves your Mac
- PolishLock the keyboard, not your patience
- StayKeep your Mac awake, on your terms
- DevicesEvery connected device, one hub
- BookmarksEvery link you've saved, searchable
- ScreenshotCapture, preview, done
- TerminalA real terminal, one shortcut away
- SystemSleep, restart, lock, empty the trash
- SettingsApp settings, in the same panel
- EmojiEvery emoji, two colons away
- AnnotateMark up an image and keep the edits
Slash for iPhone
Your iPhone becomes part of your Mac
Free with every licence. Pair once with a 6-digit code and it just connects, over Wi-Fi or a cable for less lag.
The Slash family
And a few things nobody asked for
A launcher would have been enough. We kept going.
Honestly?
It's a bit overkill.
Most launchers launch things. Slash also turns your phone into a trackpad, throws files between your devices, runs a socket server and keeps your Mac awake. For less than a month of some subscriptions.
Most of that doesn't come with Raycast, at any price.
Your data
What we keep: nothing of yours
Raycast keeps a lot on your Mac too, but its best features run through its cloud. Slash has no cloud for your content to run through.
Your content stays on your devices
Notes, tasks, clipboard, screenshots and chats live as plain JSON files in a folder you choose. Back it up, sync it, or move it.
AI that never phones home
Chat runs on Apple's on-device model or a local one via MLX. Prompts and replies are made on your Mac.
Device to device, not via us
Drop and Deck talk directly over your local network or a cable. Nothing passes through a server.
No tracking, at all
No analytics, no ads, no tracking cookies. We only hold your GitHub profile, your licence and which Macs it's on.
- Where do notes, clips and history live?
- SlashPlain files in a folder you pick
- RaycastIn Raycast's local database, and its cloud if you turn on sync
- Where does AI run?
- SlashOn your Mac, offline
- RaycastMostly on cloud models, through Raycast's servers
- Account needed?
- SlashOnly to activate your licence
- RaycastFor Pro, AI and sync
- Syncing between Macs
- SlashPoint the data folder at iCloud Drive, Dropbox or anything you trust
- RaycastRaycast Cloud Sync, a Pro feature
Pricing
What you'll pay
Slash
No subscription, ever. Buy Slash once and keep every update on your Mac.
$8.99one-time
- Pay once, keep it forever
- Every extension unlocked from day one
- Lifetime updates included
- iPhone app, Socket and Socket Server free
- 14-day free trial, no card
Raycast
Free core, Pro subscription
$8/monthbilled yearly, $10 month to month
- Free tier covers the launcher and basics
- AI, cloud sync and full clipboard history need Pro
- Advanced AI models cost extra
- Stop paying and Pro features stop
- Slash$8.99
- Raycast Pro, 1 year$96
- Raycast Pro, 3 years$288
In fairness
Where Raycast shines
We'd rather you pick the right tool. Raycast is the better fit if these matter most to you:
A giant extension store
Thousands of community extensions for services like Jira, Linear and GitHub, written in React and TypeScript.
Window management
Snap and resize windows with hotkeys, built in. Slash leaves that to dedicated apps.
Teams
Shared snippets, quicklinks and extensions across a company, with admin controls.
Switching from Raycast
You don't have to choose today. Run both and give Slash its own hotkey for a week.
- Download Slash and start the 14-day trial
- Pick a hotkey, or take over Raycast's ⌥Space when you're ready
- Move your snippets into Clip, they use the same :keyword idea
- Pair your iPhone and try Deck and Trackpad
Is Slash a Raycast replacement?
For most people, yes. The launcher, clipboard history, snippets, notes, AI chat and system actions are all here, plus tools Raycast doesn't have built in like a browser, terminal, screenshots and a camera. If you depend on a specific store extension or window management, keep Raycast for that.
Do I need an account?
You sign in with GitHub once to activate your licence. Your content never touches that account, it stays in your data folder.
Is the AI really free?
Yes. Chat runs on Apple's on-device model or a local one you download, so there's nothing for us to charge for per message.
What if I want to stop?
Your data is plain JSON in a folder you chose. Take it with you.
Try Slash for 14 days
Everything unlocked, no credit card. Keep your old launcher next to it and see which hotkey you reach for.
Also compare: Slash vs Alfred
Other apps change. We checked their public sites and pricing on October 5, 2026. Spot something out of date? Tell us at support@slash.tools and we'll fix it. Raycast and Alfred are trademarks of their respective owners. Slash isn't affiliated with or endorsed by them.