Here’s the Deal
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When comparing LaunchBar vs Spotlight, the Slant community recommends LaunchBar for most people. In the question“What are the best app launchers for Mac OS X?” LaunchBar is ranked 2nd while Spotlight is ranked 5th.
Specs
Price (Base Program)Free
Price (Unlimited Functionalities)$34
No specs yet!
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Common Questions
Pros
Pro Powerful file operations and filesystem browsing
Pro Clipboard history
Pro Abbreviation search which allows you to find items just by typing short acronyms of their name
Pro Access to bookmarks and history of all major browsers
Pro iTunes library browsing, searching and control
Pro Access to contacts and features like creating emails, tweeting, etc
Pro Predefined web searches and the ability to add your owns
Pro Native to OS X
Spotlight comes packaged with OS X and iOS.
Pro Intuitive
Cons
No cons yet!
Con Limited customization
Allows for very little customization, not theming, and no custom scripting.
Con No longer launches applications at all in Sierra
After updating to Sierra, typing an application name in Spotlight results in "No Results" or random wikipedia matches. True even after reloading com.apple.metadata.mds.plist and adding/removing "Macintosh HD" on the "Privacy" tab. Launchpad still works.