Raycast vs Fenn: Solving Different Problems on Your Mac

Apr 7, 2025

Raycast is an incredible tool. It’s fast, keyboard-first, and packs a serious punch for productivity. You can launch apps, run scripts, create calendar events, do quick math, control Spotify, and even send Slack messages without touching your mouse.

But when it comes to searching for actual files on your Mac?
That’s where things start to fall apart.

Let’s say you’re trying to find a PDF you downloaded two weeks ago. Or a slide deck about pricing you remember editing last month. Or a voice note from a meeting where someone mentioned "Q4 projections."

In Raycast?
You’ll need to install an extension called "File Explorer for Mac."
That tells you a lot.

Raycast is a launcher. Fenn is a file search engine.

Two Different Tools for Two Different Jobs

To be clear: Raycast is excellent at what it does. If you're replacing Spotlight or Alfred for launching apps, running snippets, or doing quick actions, it’s a top-tier experience. Clean design. Massive plugin ecosystem. Keyboard-first.

But launching is not the same as finding.

You can’t drop a vague idea like "slide with pink neon typography" into Raycast and expect anything helpful. It’s not built for that kind of search. It’s built to execute commands and open apps, not dive deep into 30,000 disorganized files and show you the one you forgot you even saved.

That’s exactly where Fenn comes in.

Fenn Understands What You Meant, Not Just What You Typed

Fenn is a semantic, visual, and contextual search engine. It doesn’t rely on filenames. It doesn’t care if your file is called final_final_V3_USE_THIS_ONE.pptx. It scans the actual content—text, audio, images, even video—to find what you were trying to remember.

So when you type something like:

“Zoom call where we discussed Q4 pricing”
“Screenshot of a Wi-Fi password from a coffee shop”
“Slide about startup burnout in pink font”

Fenn finds it. Instantly. Even if the file name is generic, even if the content is buried on page 42 of a PDF, or hidden in a blurry image.

It works locally. It works offline. And it works without needing to dig through plugin directories or copy-paste folder paths.

Want a deep dive on how this kind of search works?
Check out What Is Semantic Search? And Why Your Mac Needs It in 2025

Why This Matters More in 2025

In 2025, your Mac isn’t just for launching apps. It’s where you store everything—client work, inspiration, meetings, notes, receipts, drafts, ideas, files you meant to organize but never did.

And while Raycast can get you to Chrome in two keystrokes, it can’t answer:
Where’s that PDF I skimmed last month about mental health for founders?

Fenn can.

Because Fenn was built for searching in chaos. Not searching clean, well-organized folders. Not just launching apps. Real-world, messy, cluttered folders with thousands of screenshots, videos, notes, scans, and assets.

Raycast + Fenn = A Real Power Stack

This isn’t about picking one over the other.
In fact, many Fenn users also love Raycast—for launching, automations, snippets, and dev tools. They just know that when it comes to actually finding what matters, Raycast hits a wall.

Fenn picks up where launchers stop.

Raycast is for opening Figma.
Fenn is for finding the slide you exported from Figma two weeks ago and forgot to name.
Raycast is for starting Zoom.
Fenn is for jumping to the exact part of the Zoom recording where pricing was discussed.

If you're a Mac power user, a creative, or someone who juggles thousands of files across different projects, you probably need both. One to move fast. One to go deep.

Final Thought: Use the Right Tool for the Right Job

Raycast is a launcher.
Fenn is a file search engine.

One runs commands.
The other understands context.

If you're tired of pretending that quick launchers or outdated tools like Spotlight can handle the kind of search you actually need, it's time to add something smarter to your workflow.

Fenn helps you find what you meant—not just what you typed.
And it does it privately, locally, and blazingly fast.

Next time you think: “I know I saw that somewhere…”
Don’t scroll through folders. Don’t guess filenames. Don’t hope a plugin works.
Just open Fenn.

👉 Try Fenn now – the smarter search engine your Mac was missing

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