Alternatives to AltTab for Mac

What AltTab does well

AltTab's features page describes a lot that costs nothing:

• Every window as a picture. Hold ⌥ and tap Tab, and every window appears as a live thumbnail, minimized, hidden and other-Space ones included, with a badge saying where each one is.
• Free and open. The core app is free for good, and its source is on GitHub under GPL-3.0.
• Shortcuts your way. It starts on ⌥Tab, can take over ⌘Tab, and accepts almost any key combination, filtered by app, Space or screen.
• Wide support. macOS 12 or later, 21 languages, VoiceOver, and a three-finger swipe to switch.

It's actively maintained: version 11.9.2 came out on October 13, 2026, the eighth release since September 1.

Why people look elsewhere

• Search costs extra. Since version 11.0.0, on May 21, 2026, search is part of AltTab Pro, with the App Icons and Titles styles, auto-sizing thumbnails and up to 9 shortcuts. Pro is $9.99 once (updates for the current major version) or $24.99 for Pro Lifetime, for 3 Macs, and every Pro feature is free for 14 days after you install (AltTab pricing).
• Thumbnails need Screen Recording. AltTab's FAQ says it works without the permission but can't show thumbnails, and its other two styles are part of Pro. What the Screen Recording permission allows
• Windows, not tabs. AltTab's own comparison with Witch names tab switching as something it doesn't focus on.
• Stage Manager. The FAQ says thumbnails can look distorted or very small with Stage Manager on, a macOS limit, and suggests the App Icons or Titles style.

If thumbnails are what you value, AltTab may still suit you best. For a side-by-side with our app, see Flick vs AltTab.

At a glance

Each app as its maker described it on October 15, 2026, with AltTab first for reference. The order isn't a ranking.

Built in: Mission Control and App Exposé

macOS shows live windows without any extra app or permission. Press ⌃↑ for Mission Control, which lays out every window open on the desktop, with your other Spaces and full-screen apps along the top; press ⌃↓ for App Exposé, which shows only the front app's windows (Apple's Mission Control guide). Click the window you want. From the keyboard, ⌘` steps through the front app's windows (Apple's keyboard shortcuts).

Price

Free, part of macOS

Requires

Nothing to install, no permission

Good for

Seeing your windows now and then, with no extra software

Compared with AltTab

Live windows with no permission to grant, but you click to choose, one desktop at a time

Mission Control and App Exposé, Apple Support

DockDoor

DockDoor is the nearest thing to AltTab: free, open source under GPL-3.0, and updated often (1.40.7 on October 4, 2026). Hold ⌥ and press Tab for a switcher of every open window, minimized, hidden and other-desktop ones included, and type to search at no cost. Windows show as thumbnails, large previews or a compact list of titles. It also shows previews when you point at an app in the Dock. Like AltTab, it needs Screen Recording for pictures: its setup screen calls the permission optional, and without it you get the list of titles.

Price

Free; donations welcome

Requires

macOS 13 Ventura or later

Good for

Thumbnails and search in one free app

Compared with AltTab

Search and a list style at no cost, plus Dock previews; the same Screen Recording need for pictures

DockDoor website · Flick vs DockDoor

Witch

Witch, from Many Tricks, is a list first: apps, windows and browser tabs, laid out horizontally, vertically or in the menu bar, with as many switchers as you like, each on its own shortcut. Press S in the panel to search. Its supported apps for tabs are Safari, Chrome, Edge, iCab and Orion (beta). Previews are optional and need Screen Recording, and hidden or minimized windows get none. For windows on a Space you haven't visited yet, it uses AppleScript, which macOS asks you to approve for each app (advanced help). Version 4.7 came out on December 2, 2025.

Price

$14, one-time, with at least a year of updates; free trial

Requires

macOS 10.13 High Sierra or later

Good for

Apps, windows and tabs in one panel you configure

Compared with AltTab

Search and browser tabs included in the price, with previews as an option rather than the main view

Witch website · Flick vs Witch

Contexts

Contexts is the opposite of a thumbnail grid: a list of icons and titles, built around search. Press ⌃Space and type letters from anywhere in a title or app name; initials rank high, and a window you picked for a query comes first next time. With Fast Search, you hold a key such as Fn, type a letter or two and let go. It also replaces ⌘Tab with a row per window and adds a sidebar of windows by Space. Its site doesn't say whether it needs Screen Recording. The latest release, 3.9.0, came out on August 27, 2022, and its site lists macOS Ventura, Sonoma and Sequoia.

Price

$9.99, one-time; 21-day evaluation

Requires

Site lists macOS Ventura, Sonoma and Sequoia

Good for

Search-first switching, if an app last updated in 2022 suits you

Compared with AltTab

Search instead of thumbnails, paid once, and no release since 2022

Contexts website · Flick vs Contexts

rcmd

rcmd starts from apps: hold the right ⌘ key and press an app's first letter to switch to it, or open it. Its free ⌘Tab replacement cycles windows and can leave out minimized ones and those on other Spaces; fuzzy search of apps and windows comes with rcmd Pro. rcmd needs Screen Recording, which its FAQ says it uses to read window titles, so it won't help if that permission is why you're leaving AltTab. Version 3.6.4 shipped on October 5, 2026.

Price

Free; rcmd Pro €15, lifetime, with a 14-day trial

Requires

macOS 13 or later

Good for

Reaching apps with one key each

Compared with AltTab

Apps by letter rather than a grid of windows; search is paid here too, and Screen Recording is still needed

rcmd website · Flick vs rcmd

Raycast Switch Windows

If you already use Raycast as a launcher, its Switch Windows command lists every open window, several of the same app included, in one list you search by title or app; Return switches, and ⌘K can minimize, close or hide. Raycast's manual lists Accessibility as its permission and describes titles, not thumbnails. It's free, but Raycast 2 needs macOS 26 Tahoe and Apple silicon, and you open it from a hotkey rather than holding a key. Browser tabs come from separate Safari and Chrome extensions.

Price

Free; Pro $10 a month or $96 a year

Requires

macOS 26 Tahoe and Apple silicon

Good for

Searching windows from a launcher you already use

Compared with AltTab

Free search in a list of titles; opened from a hotkey instead of held

Raycast website · Flick vs Raycast

Flick Our app

Flick is a list of windows, one row each with the app's icon, name and title, and no thumbnails. Hold ⌥ and tap Tab, then type: the best match comes first, initials work (“vsc” finds Visual Studio Code), and so do the file and folder names of the document a window shows. The free version switches between and searches your 5 most recent windows; a license unlocks every window and adds browser tabs in Chrome, Chrome Beta, Brave and Edge, and in Safari while Include private windows is on. Flick needs Accessibility, plus Automation for each browser you turn on, and never Screen Recording. Like AltTab, it starts on ⌥Tab and can take over ⌘Tab. It needs macOS 14, is in English only, and isn't notarized yet, so the first open needs a one-time approval.

Price

Free version (5 most recent windows); license from $9.49, once

Requires

macOS 14 or later, Apple silicon or Intel

Good for

Finding windows and tabs by typing, without Screen Recording

Compared with AltTab

Search in the free version and browser tabs with a license, but no thumbnails, and the free version stops at 5 windows

What Flick does

How we chose

We looked for tools someone leaving AltTab might move to: switchers that take you to a particular window, plus the built-in views, each checked on its maker's site, documentation or update feed on October 15, 2026. We report each one's search, price and Screen Recording need as its maker documents them, or say the maker doesn't. We left out HyperSwitch, a beta with no new build since early 2024 (see alternatives to HyperSwitch), and Command-Tab Plus 2, which switches apps first (see alternatives to ⌘Tab). The list isn't complete, and the order isn't a ranking. We make Flick, so weigh its entry with that in mind. No link here is an affiliate link.

Questions