When comparing OS X Launchpad vs LaunchBar, 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 OS X Launchpad is ranked 4th.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Free
Built-in to OS X.
Pro Can add application collections
Pro Design, fade-in animation effect
Pro Searchable
Just start typing to narrow down your search.
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
Cons
Con All apps are automatically included, even uninstallers
Con Limited configurability
You can customize a keyboard shortcut to Launchpad but that's about it.
Con Organize and ordering applications is a nightmare
App organisation in Launchpad is the same as the iPad. You can only move one app at a time, if you drop an app on a full page, it will offset all the icons on the pages to the right. As the total of apps could be very important, as all bundles are automatically added by the app, you have to drag each app icon, one after the other, and scroll through the pages, to put it in the wanted location. The difference with the iPad, is that on the iPad this can be done with iTunes.