LaunchBar

LaunchBar predates every other launcher on this list and works on a different idea from them. You type an abbreviation, it learns which target you meant, and after a month it is uncannily good at your particular habits rather than at search in general. Instant Send pushes a selected file or a block of highlighted text into an action — compress it, mail it, run it through a Service — and that is the feature people miss most when they move away. Clipboard history, snippets and a calculator come with it.

Two things about buying it. The prices are hidden until you put the item in the cart: €35 for a Single Licence, €59 for a Family Licence covering up to five Macs in one household, non-commercial only. And you can keep using LaunchBar free indefinitely — after the 30-day trial it does not stop working, it just occasionally asks you to take a short break. Plenty of people never pay, which makes €35 closer to a thank-you than a gate.

LaunchBar 6 has been the current version since 2014, with point releases since. Read that however you like: nothing breaks, and nothing changes. Previous major versions were paid upgrades, so a version 7 would likely cost again. If you want a launcher that is actively growing AI features and a plugin ecosystem, this is not it, and Alfred or Raycast will suit you better.