When comparing Krunner vs Plasma Kickoff, the Slant community recommends Krunner for most people. In the question“What are the best app launchers for UNIX-like systems?” Krunner is ranked 8th while Plasma Kickoff is ranked 18th. The most important reason people chose Krunner is:
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Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Opens folders/files also
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Pro Extensible with plugins
Krunner can be extended with the use of "runners" which are essentially plugins for the app launcher to allow for extra functions.
Pro Fast
As it is written in Qt QtQuick using QML.
Pro Lots of handy features
Such as a fully featured calculator, file opening, browser functions, currency conversion, date/time functions, etc.
Pro Great integration with Plasma, developed by KDE
Pro Can be used to open websites
By just typing an URL into the text box users can have the site open in their default launcher.
Pro I'm able to find open tabs from browsers with KRunner which is very nice
Even supports edge browser.
Pro Visual design is good
Pro Decent default with good customization
Pro Has different options and full customisation of the KDE desktop
Cons
Con There are few plugins/"runners", and some do not work as they are old
Con Lacks more extensive taskrunner launcher capabilities
No plugins, etc.