Raycast's window switcher, compared

Not in its Switch Windows command, which lists windows only. For tabs you add a free Raycast Store extension such as Browser Tabs by koinzhang, which lists tabs from Chrome, Safari, Edge, Arc and other Chromium or WebKit browsers. Better Window Switcher gives each tab in Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Brave, Edge, Vivaldi and Opera its own card next to your windows. A Safari tab shows Safari's icon until the switcher has seen it in front.

It is Raycast's built-in window switcher, and it is in the free plan. You open Raycast, run Switch Windows and get a list of your open windows in the same panel as your other commands, which you filter by title or app name. Better Window Switcher does the same job with pictures. Each window is a card in one of seven 3D shapes you orbit, and browser tabs get cards of their own.

Not with the Browser Tabs extension. Its store page says Firefox is supported on Windows but not on macOS, so on a Mac your Firefox tabs are left out. Better Window Switcher has been tested with Firefox, along with Chrome and Safari. Each open Firefox tab gets its own card, and you can find it by typing part of its title or the name of the website it is on.

Raycast's own site does not say whether Switch Windows shows previews, and we have not confirmed it either way. Better Window Switcher shows a picture of every window, and the card you have selected is live. You can tell windows apart by what is in them, which helps when you have three Chrome windows with similar titles and the names alone do not tell you which one you want.

Its window switching is. Switch Windows, window management and store extensions such as Browser Tabs are all in the free plan. Raycast Pro is a subscription at 96 USD a year, which works out to 8 a month billed yearly, and it adds extras on top. Better Window Switcher is a one-time purchase that covers two Macs with every feature included, and you can use all of it during the 7-day free trial first.

Yes. Raycast is a general launcher and this is a visual window switcher, so one does not change how the other behaves. You can keep Raycast for commands, clipboard history and snippets, and use this to find a window or a tab by what it looks like when you do not remember its exact name. By default Better Window Switcher runs on Option-Tab, next to Command-Tab.

No. Raycast is a command bar, and Switch Windows is a list you filter by typing. Better Window Switcher arranges the same windows as real perspective cards in one of seven shapes: Cover Arc, Carousel, Ring, Flip 3D, Panorama, Grid and 2D Row. You orbit the scene with the trackpad and pick a window when you recognize it, which works even when you cannot remember what it is called.

Yes. The 7-day free trial unlocks every feature and asks for no account and no card. Keep Raycast for everything else it does, and use both switchers for a week to see which one you reach for. Better Window Switcher needs an Apple Silicon Mac with macOS 14 or later. If you buy it and change your mind, there is a 14 day money back guarantee, and one payment covers two Macs.