Product facts on this page were checked against publisher documentation on . Software changes. Confirm important details with the publisher before you rely on them.
The short definition
The Raycast Manual describes Raycast as a way to launch apps, search files, manage windows, expand snippets, and use AI without leaving the keyboard. The desktop app is the full launcher. iOS is documented around AI, dictation, notes, snippets, Quicklinks, widgets, and a keyboard. Linux is not on the roadmap in Raycast's FAQ.
RaycastWork is not that product. Reading this page does not install anything, create a Raycast account, or start a subscription.
What you can do before paying
The billing manual's Free examples include clipboard history, Quicklinks, a calculator, snippets, an emoji picker, window management, five notes, access to the iOS app, the extension store, and developer tooling. That is enough for a launcher, a text expander, and basic window moves. It is not the whole catalog.
What stays on a paid plan
AI is the largest paid boundary. The same billing page puts Cloud Sync, Dictation, Translator, unlimited notes, unlimited clipboard history, custom themes, and custom window management on paid plans. Individual plan names reviewed on 21 October 2026 were Pro, Pro+, and Max. Prices and credit amounts are on the pricing guide, with the manual as the source.
Mac, Windows, and older versions
Raycast's v2 requirements page says macOS Tahoe and Apple Silicon are required for the current Mac app. The same publisher keeps an information page for unsupported Macs, including Intel machines and older macOS releases, that points at older version numbers. Those older builds are not the feature set described in the current manual.
Windows 10 version 21H2 or later, and Windows 11, are the versions named for the Windows app. The FAQ still used the words public beta. Treat Windows as available, and treat feature-by-feature parity as something to check.
Accounts and data, in the publisher's words
Cloud Sync, billing, and AI need a Raycast account. An older passage on Raycast's FAQ still says the app is a Mac product that does not require a web account. That passage conflicts with the current manual. This site follows the manual for account behavior and does not repeat the outdated sentence as current fact.
The Raycast application's privacy practices are Raycast's, not this website's. This website's privacy policy only covers raycastwork.com.
Where it does not operate
Raycast's FAQ lists availability exceptions: Belarus, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria, and the Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk regions of Ukraine. That list is the publisher's, and it can change.
A careful way to evaluate it
Start with the job. If you want Spotlight-style search and nothing else, a second launcher may be unnecessary. If you want snippets and window commands on Windows, Spotlight is not an option and Alfred's documented app is Mac-only. If you want Raycast AI, budget for a paid plan and read the credit rules. The feature explorer is the detailed catalog. This page is the map.