AltTab vs Contexts

AltTab provides a visual grid of window thumbnails, similar to Windows' Alt+Tab. Users press a keyboard shortcut and see all windows at once, cycling through them with arrow keys or repeated shortcut presses. The thumbnails are large enough to identify window contents at a glance, making it ideal for visual identification of windows.

Contexts offers both a visual list and a powerful search-based switcher. Users can type a few characters to filter windows by title or app name. This scales dramatically better than thumbnail grids when dealing with many windows. The search approach means you never have to cycle through windows—you jump directly to the one you need.

AltTab does not offer a persistent sidebar panel. It only shows the window switcher overlay when the keyboard shortcut is activated, disappearing once a selection is made. There is no always-visible window list or dock-like interface for ongoing window awareness.

AltTab does not include a search or filter function. You must visually scan thumbnails or cycle through them sequentially to find the window you want. For users with many windows, this can become slow compared to search-based approaches.

Contexts uses a text-based list rather than visual thumbnails. While it shows application icons and window titles, you don't get a visual preview of each window's contents. This is faster for text-based scanning but less helpful when you need to visually identify a specific window among similar-looking ones.

AltTab offers solid customization options including thumbnail size, number of rows, appearance themes (dark/light), app blacklisting, shortcut customization, and the ability to show/hide minimized windows, hidden windows, or windows from other Spaces. The preferences panel is straightforward and well-organized.

Contexts uses a one-time purchase model priced at approximately $9.99. It offers a free trial period so users can evaluate before buying. While the price is very reasonable for the functionality provided, it does represent a cost barrier compared to AltTab's free model. There are no recurring subscription fees.

AltTab supports showing windows from all Spaces and multiple displays. Users can configure whether to show windows from the current Space only or from all Spaces. Multi-monitor support works well, though the switcher overlay always appears on the active screen.