Blog

How-tos and comparisons for your Mac: clipboard history, AI, colors, focus and windows, and how Helix compares with other apps.

• Helix vs Raycast: pointing vs typing on your Mac

  What Raycast does well, where Helix differs, a feature-by-feature table, pricing, and who should choose each.

• Helix vs Alfred: two ways to reach your Mac's tools

  What Alfred does well, where Helix differs, a feature-by-feature table, pricing, and who should choose each.

• Helix vs Paste: clipboard history compared

  What Paste does well, where Helix differs, a feature-by-feature table, pricing, and who should choose each.

• Helix vs Pie Menu: two radial menus for Mac

  Helix and Pie Menu both open a ring around your pointer. Here's how they differ: built-in tools or other apps' shortcuts, and what each costs.

• The best Raycast alternatives for Mac

  Alfred, Tinycast, Monarch, LaunchBar, Spotlight and Helix compared as alternatives to Raycast, whether you want something free, a one-time price or no typing at all.

• The best Alfred alternatives for Mac

  Raycast, Tinycast, Monarch, LaunchBar, Spotlight and Helix compared as alternatives to Alfred: how you use each, what it costs and who it suits.

• The best Paste alternatives for Mac

  Maccy, Raycast, Alfred, Spotlight and Helix compared as alternatives to Paste: what each costs, what you'd give up and who each suits.

• The best Pie Menu alternatives for Mac

  Radial, Radiant, Loop and Helix compared as alternatives to Pie Menu: what goes in each ring, what it costs and who it suits.

• The best clipboard managers for Mac

  Spotlight, Maccy, Paste, Raycast, Alfred and Helix compared: what each clipboard manager costs, what it keeps and who it suits.

• How to see your clipboard history on a Mac

  Where your Mac keeps what you copied, how to see it on macOS 26 Tahoe and earlier, and how to get a full clipboard history one shortcut away.

• How to snap windows on a Mac

  How to tile and snap windows to half the screen on a Mac with macOS's built-in tiling, keyboard shortcuts, or a flick of the pointer with Helix.

• How to pick a color from your screen on a Mac

  How to pick any color on your Mac's screen and copy it as hex, RGB or HSL, with Digital Color Meter or in one move with Helix.

• How to ask ChatGPT or Claude from anywhere on your Mac

  Ways to ask ChatGPT or Claude without leaving what you're doing on a Mac, and how to open both from one shortcut with your own API key in Helix.

• How to use a Pomodoro timer on your Mac

  How the Pomodoro technique works and how to run 25-minute focus sessions with breaks on your Mac, with the Clock app or in one move with Helix.