Flick and Contexts, side by side

The short answer

Both are keyboard window switchers built around search, and both give each window its own row. Contexts has the deeper search tricks: acronym matches first, queries it remembers, and Fast Search, where you hold a key such as Fn and type a letter or two. It also has an auto-hiding sidebar of windows grouped by Space, and a trackpad gesture.

Flick puts browser tabs (with a license), apps that aren't open and the names of the files your windows show into the same search, and it has a free version. As of October 2026, Contexts' latest release is 3.9.0, from August 2022, and its site lists macOS Ventura, Sonoma and Sequoia. Flick 1.1 came out in October 2026 and needs macOS 14 or later.

At a glance

When Contexts fits better

• Search that adapts to you. Contexts favours acronyms, and once you pick a window for a query, typing that query again puts the window first, so a letter or two becomes your own shortcut. Fast Search goes further: hold Fn, type, and let go (Contexts' website). Flick's ranking is fixed, with ties going to the window you used last.
• A list you can glance at. Contexts' sidebar hides at the edge of the screen and lists your windows by Space, and each display can have its own. There's also a two-finger trackpad gesture. Flick appears only when you call it, from the keyboard or its menu bar menu.
• Several Macs, or a family. One $9.99 Contexts license covers all the Macs you mainly use and can be shared with up to six family members in your household. A Flick license counts Macs: $16.49 covers 3.
• More ways to set up keys. Contexts takes any shortcut, can keep one setup on ⌘Tab and another on ⌥Tab, and tells the left and right modifier keys apart. Flick opens with ⌥Tab or ⌘Tab only; its search shortcut is the one you can change.

When Flick fits better

• Browser tabs in the same search. With a license, Flick finds tabs by title or address in Safari, Chrome, Chrome Beta, Brave and Edge, and switches straight to the tab. Browser tabs in Flick
• Search that finds more than titles. Flick also matches the file and folder names of the document a window shows. When few windows match, it offers apps that aren't open. How window search works
• More actions without switching. Both can close, minimize, hide or quit the selected item from the keyboard. Flick adds an actions menu with Close All Windows, Hide Others, Force Quit and Ignore.
• A recent release, and a free start. Flick 1.1 came out on October 12, 2026, with a Liquid Glass panel on macOS 26 Tahoe and later. Its free version never expires and has every feature except browser tabs, across your 5 most recent windows.

Price and licensing

As of October 2026, Contexts costs $9.99, one time. Its license agreement allows 21 days of evaluation. After that, one license covers all the Macs an individual mainly uses and can be shared with up to six family members in the same household, while a company needs a license for each person who uses it (Contexts license agreement).

Where one Contexts license covers the Macs one person mainly uses, Flick's licenses are one-time and per Mac (1, 2 or 3), and its free version, for your 5 most recent windows, never expires. Pricing

Permissions and privacy

Contexts' release notes say it reads apps and windows through macOS's Accessibility access, and asks you to turn it on. Its site doesn't say whether it asks for anything else, such as Screen Recording.

Flick needs the same Accessibility access, plus Automation for each browser whose tabs you turn on, and never Screen Recording. The permissions Flick uses

Moving from Contexts

1. Choose ⌥Tab or ⌘Tab

   Flick starts on ⌥Tab and leaves ⌘Tab to macOS. If your fingers know Contexts' ⌘Tab, select Command ⌘ + Tab in Settings › Shortcuts: Flick then takes ⌘Tab and ⇧⌘Tab, and ⌘` switches between the front app's windows, much as in Contexts. Once Flick is on ⌘Tab, it shows “Contexts also uses ⌘Tab” while Contexts is running. Quit Contexts, or change its shortcut and then click Don't Warn About Contexts. Choosing between ⌥Tab and ⌘Tab

2. Bring your search shortcut

   Contexts' site uses ⌃Space to open its search window. Flick's search shortcut is ⇧⌘Space; to keep ⌃Space, record it under Search Mode in Settings › Shortcuts. Flick notes that ⌃Space usually switches keyboard input sources and takes it over while it's running. Change the search shortcut

3. Swap Fast Search for hold and type

   Hold ⌥, tap Tab and type a letter or two without letting go. Every letter goes into the search, and letting go switches to the top match.

4. Set the Space filter

   If you had Contexts show only visible Spaces, turn on Show only the active Space in Settings › General. Otherwise Flick lists every Space and marks windows on another Desktop with an icon.

Questions