Our take
Pick Bartender if mac users who will pay $24.99 once for Bartender 7 while they Activate a first Work preset — not Pro $19.99/yr first unless they want future majors + Top Shelf, and not Raycast’s Free launcher unless they only need a command palette. Pick Raycast if mac or Windows users who will stay on Free at $0 (launcher + File Search + community extensions; no AI credits) while they open a first .heic list,
Best for
Bartender A menu-bar layout you start at a public $
Raycast A launcher you start at a public $
Free plan
Bartender No free plan
Raycast $0 · launcher + community extensions. No AI credits (“AI isn’t available on the Free plan”)
Lowest paid
Bartender Bartender Pro $19.99
Raycast Pro $10/mo
Next step up
Bartender Bartender 7 $24.99
Raycast Plus $20/mo
Watch out
Bartender One-time v7 excludes future majors
Raycast AI is not on Free
Last checked
Bartender 2026-10-23 · macbartender.com/Bartender7/Blog/meet-bartender-7
Raycast 2026-10-23 · raycast.com/pricing
mac users who will pay $24.99 once for Bartender 7 while they Activate a first Work preset — not Pro $19.99/yr first unless they want future majors + Top Shelf, and not Raycast’s Free launcher unless they only need a command palette.
Read the Bartender pagemac or Windows users who will stay on Free at $0 (launcher + File Search + community extensions; no AI credits) while they open a first .heic list, then Pro at $10/month when they want AI Chat — not Plus $20 unless they need advanced models, and not Max $50 unless they need the top credit grant.
Read the Raycast page
