Raycast window management vs Let's Tile: when the launcher is enough
If you already run Raycast as your launcher, there's a fair question waiting for you: do you still need a window manager at all? Raycast ships window commands in its free tier, and they're good. For a lot of people that genuinely ends the search — no second app, no second hotkey scheme. This post is an honest look at what Raycast window management does, where it stops, and the cases where a dedicated tiler like Let's Tile is still the better answer.
What Raycast window management actually gives you
It's a built-in extension, not a paid add-on. Open Raycast, type "left half", press Return, and the focused window snaps. The command set is broad — several dozen positions covering:
- Halves — left, right, top, bottom
- Thirds — first, centre, last, plus the two-thirds combinations
- Quarters and sixths
- Maximize, Maximize Height / Width, Reasonable Size, Center, Restore
- Move to Previous / Next Display for multi-monitor setups
- Toggle Fullscreen and moving windows between Spaces
Any of those can get a global hotkey. Raycast's own example is ⌃⌥← for Left Half, so you don't have to open the launcher at all for the layouts you reach for constantly. Like every tool that moves windows, it needs Accessibility permission in System Settings — and it breaks in the same ways when that permission goes stale, which we covered in when your window manager stops working.
That's a real window manager. Anyone telling you Raycast's version is a token feature hasn't used it.
Where Raycast window management stops
Three limits, in rough order of how often they'll bite you.
One hotkey per layout, all over again
Raycast's model is a command per position. Reaching a layout means either two steps through the launcher (summon, type, Return) or a memorised chord. Bind six layouts and you're maintaining six chords; bind twelve and you've built the exact problem people leave Rectangle and Magnet over — a keyboard map you have to hold in your head, competing with every other app's shortcuts.
This is the axis Let's Tile is built on. One shortcut (⌘↵ by default, rebindable) drops a visible grid over the window you're using. Steer with the arrow keys, press ↵, done. Nothing to memorise, because the layouts are on screen. It's the same argument we made in the Rectangle alternative piece, and it applies to Raycast unchanged.
Custom sizes and saved layouts are Pro — and Pro is a subscription
Raycast's presets are fixed. The moment you want a position they didn't ship — a 40/60 split, a specific offset, a multi-app layout you can restore — you need Create Command or Create Layout, both of which sit behind Raycast Pro. That's $8/user/month billed annually, or $10 monthly — roughly $96 a year, for a plan whose headline features are AI, cloud sync and unlimited clipboard history. If windows are the only reason you'd upgrade, it's an expensive door.
It's tied to your launcher
Raycast's window management is a feature of Raycast. That's a strength if Raycast is already your launcher and a genuine cost if it isn't — you'd be installing a whole launcher to move windows, and inheriting its update cycle and its account model. If you're happy with Spotlight, Alfred or LaunchBar (we compared them in Spotlight alternatives for Mac), that's a lot of app for one job.
Raycast window management vs a dedicated tiler
| Raycast (free) | Raycast Pro | Let's Tile | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preset layouts | Several dozen | Same | 3 × 2 grid: halves, thirds, two-thirds, quarters, full screen |
| How you pick one | Type in launcher, or a hotkey per layout | Same | One shortcut, then arrow keys on a visible grid |
| Custom sizes / grids | No | Yes (Create Command) | Yes — any grid, e.g. 4 × 3 or 6 × 2 |
| Different grid per display | No | No | Yes, remembered automatically |
| Saved multi-app layouts | No | Yes (Create Layout) | No |
| Margins between windows | No | Via custom commands | Yes, in pixels |
| Drag-to-edge snapping | No | No | No — macOS does this natively now |
| Also launches apps, AI, clipboard | Yes | Yes | No |
| Cost | Free | $8/mo annual, $10/mo monthly | $9.99 once, up to 20 devices |
Two things that table won't tell you: Raycast has been at this for years and has a vast extension ecosystem, and Let's Tile is a much newer app doing exactly one thing. Weigh that how you like.
When Raycast is enough
Be honest with yourself here, because for a good share of readers the answer is "it's enough."
- You already use Raycast daily and don't want a second menu-bar app.
- Halves, thirds and quarters cover your layouts on a single laptop screen.
- You use four or five positions, so four or five hotkeys is a fine trade.
- You're already paying for Raycast Pro for the AI or the clipboard history, so Create Command costs you nothing extra.
If that's you, use the thing you already have. One fewer app is a real feature.
When a dedicated tiler earns its place
- You have a big or ultrawide display. Fixed halves and thirds waste a 34" panel. A grid you define — six columns, two rows — describes what an ultrawide actually needs. That's the whole point of tiling on an ultrawide.
- You run multiple displays with different shapes. A laptop screen and a 4K want different grids. Per-display grids that are remembered automatically beat one preset list applied to both.
- You don't want to memorise anything. A grid you can see is a different kind of tool from a list of commands you have to recall the name of.
- You'd rather pay once. $9.99 with no account and no subscription, on up to 20 devices, against $96/year.
- You don't want a launcher. Let's Tile is a menu-bar app that moves windows and does nothing else.
The other half of a keyboard-first setup is getting to the right window, which neither Raycast's window commands nor a tiler solve — that's what Let's Switch does with Option-Tab. Placement and retrieval are two different jobs.
Frequently asked questions
Is Raycast window management free? Yes. The Window Management extension is part of Raycast's free core features. Custom commands and saved multi-app layouts require Raycast Pro.
Can I use Raycast for windows and a tiler at the same time? Yes, as long as their hotkeys don't collide. Both drive windows through the same macOS Accessibility API, so they coexist fine — just don't bind the same chord twice. Many people run Raycast as a launcher and a separate tiler for windows.
Does Raycast support drag-to-edge snapping? No — it's command- and hotkey-driven. macOS itself has done drag-to-edge snapping since Sequoia, so on a current Mac you already have it for halves and quarters.
Is Raycast better than Rectangle for window management? For most people, if you already use Raycast, yes — it covers more positions and is one fewer app. Rectangle still wins if you want drag-to-snap in one tool and nothing else installed. Both stop at the same wall: fixed layouts and a hotkey per layout.
Try the free tier of Let's Tile alongside Raycast for a week. If the visible grid doesn't change how you work, you've lost nothing — and you'll know Raycast was already enough.