shouldiuse.io

VERDICT

Should I use Raycast?

Your shortcut to everything - raycast.com

Worth it. Buy it if you work on a Mac all day and want one keyboard shortcut for everything — the free tier costs nothing to try. Don't pay for Pro unless you'll genuinely use its AI and sync; v2 pricing and memory complaints are real.

Confidence

High. Based on 30+ public sources: Reddit threads, G2, TechCrunch, vendor pages, and security scans.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support qualityNo support evidence in sources
  • Security posture

Pricing

$0

Free

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes
Pro$8/mo annual, $10 monthly
Max (AI)Repriced Sept 2026; check site
EnterpriseCustom

Best for

  • Mac power users
  • Keyboard-first developers
  • Anyone replacing several single-purpose utilities
  • Teams needing shared commands (Enterprise)

Not for

  • Casual users fine with free built-in Spotlight
  • Buyers who only need snippets or clipboard history
  • Teams needing written privacy answers before rollout
  • Windows-first orgs wanting mature feature parity

Gotchas - check before you buy

medium

AI pricing changed Sept 2026; verify current Pro/AI tier costs before subscribing

medium

A user's data privacy clarifications reportedly went unanswered; probe before sensitive deployments

low

Cloud sync, custom themes, and AI are paid; the free tier is local-only

low

Guess: workflows built on Raycast extensions won't port to Alfred or Spotlight

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Core launcher, clipboard history, and window management are free
  • Users report it opens instantly
  • Huge extension ecosystem; one user ran a hundred daily
  • Cross-platform: Mac, Windows, and iOS
  • Enterprise deployment plan exists for teams

Cons

  • Some users report v2 uses more memory and feels slower
  • AI, cloud sync, and themes sit behind a Pro subscription
  • 2026 AI repricing drew criticism from subscribers
  • A user says Raycast didn't answer data privacy clarifications
  • Windows app is new; macOS was the sole platform until 2024

Sources & method

Analyzed 9/26/2026 - 14 sources - No known vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed; some user privacy questions remain unanswered.

official x5review x5security x3news x1

Key stats

  • Value for money: 4/5

    Rating

  • $0

    Starting price

  • 14

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 4/5. Generous free core; Pro value debated
  • Ease of use: 4/5. Opens instantly; some report slowness
  • Feature depth: 4/5. Hundreds of extensions, AI, snippets
  • Support quality. No support evidence in sources
  • Security posture: 3/5. No known CVEs; open privacy questions
  • Yes Free tier Core launcher free to use
  • $8/mo Pro price $10 month-to-month
  • $33M Total funding $30M Series B, Sept 2024
  • Mac, Windows, iOS Platforms Windows shipped after the 2024 raise

Pricing

Free

$0

  • Launcher, clipboard history, snippets
  • Extension store
  • Window management

Pro

$8/mo annual, $10 monthly

  • AI access
  • Cloud sync and backup
  • Custom themes

Max (AI)

Repriced Sept 2026; check site

  • New AI pricing model
  • Higher AI usage limits

Enterprise

Not disclosed

  • Org-wide deployment
  • Team controls

Security

No known vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed; some user privacy questions remain unanswered.

What users say

Users praise the speed, free core, and extension ecosystem, while criticizing v2 memory use, AI repricing, and unanswered privacy questions.

“Raycast opens instantly”
Reddit, r/macapps
“Excellent documentation”
Trackr research report

Companies that use it

  • Open Targets13
  • UJET
Full analysis

Based on 30+ public sources: Reddit threads, G2, TechCrunch, vendor pages, and security scans.

Free, fast Mac launcher with a huge extension library; try free, pay only if you need AI and sync.

Methodology

Based on 30+ public sources: Reddit threads, G2, TechCrunch, vendor pages, and security scans.

Sources

  1. Raycast Pricingraycast.com
    official
  2. Raycast Proraycast.com
    official
  3. Raycast for Enterpriseraycast.com
    official
  4. Product security pageraycast.com
    security
  5. Raycast Security Rating (UpGuard)upguard.com
    security
  6. Raycast raises $30M (TechCrunch)techcrunch.com
    news
  7. Raycast Review 2026 (efficient.app)efficient.app
    review
  8. Raycast Reviews on G2g2.com
    review
  9. Raycast: Still Worth It After Two Years (Medium)alltech.medium.com
    review
  10. Raycast v2 criticism (Reddit)reddit.com
    review
  11. Raycast Pro $8 debate (Reddit)reddit.com
    review
  12. No response on data privacy (Reddit)reddit.com
    security
  13. Open Targets case studyblog.opentargets.org
    official
  14. How AI pricing changedraycast.com
    official

Rate this review

Anonymous. You can change your vote.

Loading votes…

Comments

One queue. No nested comments. Give a display name first. Limit: 200 words per comment and 7 comments per day. You can edit or delete yours.

Save a name to write a comment.

0 / 200 words

No comments yet.