Best Launchpad alternatives for macOS 26 and 27, compared

Disclosure: this guide is written by the LaunchHome team, and LaunchHome is one of the apps compared. Prices and features of the other apps come from their own websites as of 2026-10-15; sale prices change, so check the official site before you buy.

If you just want the old full-screen Launchpad with pages and folders, any grid-style replacement will do. Everything in the table below except Raycast is one, and most keep the basic grid free.

If restoring your old pages and folders matters most, make sure the app can import the old Launchpad layout, and that your Mac was upgraded from macOS 15 or earlier. A brand-new Mac has no old layout to import.

If you prefer searching with the keyboard and don’t care about an icon grid, the built-in Apps view or a launcher like Raycast is enough. You don’t need a Launchpad at all.

Checked on 2026-10-15. “Free” means the basic grid stays free to use.

Sources: LaunchOS · AppGrid · Launchie · LaunchNext on GitHub · LaunchingPad · BuhoLaunchpad

Old layout import: a Mac that used Launchpad on macOS 15 or earlier usually still has the old Launchpad database. A replacement that can read it restores your pages, folders and order exactly, so you don’t have to arrange everything again.

Signing and notarization: a notarized app opens with a double-click. An unsigned one is blocked until you allow it in System Settings › Privacy & Security, and you may have to do that again after every update.

How it opens, and what permissions it needs: F4 and custom shortcuts usually need nothing extra. System-wide trackpad gestures and hot corners need Accessibility access, which sandboxed Mac App Store apps can’t get — that’s why most replacements are downloaded from their own websites.

Pricing: every paid version here is a one-time purchase, not a subscription. The differences are how many Macs a license covers and which features sit behind the paywall.

Supported macOS: all of them run on macOS 26 and 27. If you still have a Mac on macOS 14 or 15, check the minimum requirement.

LaunchHome is a fully native AppKit app. The download is about 4 MB, the first open takes about 181 ms and every open after that takes under 5 ms. Pages, folders, drag-and-drop, search by partial names and initials, old layout import and F4 are all free.

Pro adds hot corners, a custom grid size, six page transitions, widgets (calculator, clipboard history, clock), multi-select batch actions and a full uninstall that also cleans up leftovers in ~/Library.

Every new install gets 7 days of Pro to try. After that Pro is a one-time $9.9, one license activates up to 3 Macs, all 1.x updates are included and there’s a 14-day money-back guarantee. For setup steps, see How to get Launchpad back.

Head-to-head comparisons: LaunchHome vs Launchie and LaunchHome vs AppGrid.

The built-in Apps view: click Apps in the Dock, or open Spotlight and press ⌘1, to browse every app, filter by category and switch between grid and list. It’s quick for finding apps, but it has no pages or custom folders, and the system decides the order.

An Applications stack in the Dock: drag Applications from the Finder sidebar to the Dock, Control-click it and choose to view content as a Grid. It isn’t full screen and gets crowded fast.

Sources: Apple, Mac User Guide: View and open apps on Mac