When comparing Xfce Whisker Menu vs Launchy, the Slant community recommends Xfce Whisker Menu for most people. In the question“What are the best app launchers for UNIX-like systems?” Xfce Whisker Menu is ranked 6th while Launchy is ranked 11th.
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Pros
Pro The most simple and convenient app launcher on my experience
Pro Built into Xfce desktop environment
Pro .deb files available for Debian based distros
For those using Debian based distros Launchy is very easy to install as their website has 32 and 64bit .deb files available. For all other diistros Launchy will have to be compiled from source.
Pro Easily themed with many available on the web
Launchy can be easily themedby placing themes into the Launchy theme folder and then selecting that theme from within the apps settings. There are also many user created themes available which is great for those that want their launcher to match the rest of their OS's theme.
Cons
Con Will not support file search
Limited to application launch: https://bugzilla.xfce.org/show_bug.cgi?id=11551#c2
Con Small selection of plugins
The official plugin page on Launchy's homepage hosts just 11 plugins.
Con Abandoned
Launchy was last updated in 2010.