Open ContextsDecide whether you need windows or tabs
Start with the object you are trying to find. Two Chrome windows are two window targets. Twenty tabs inside one of those windows are a different problem. Open Contexts helps with the first problem; it does not surface every tab as a separate choice.
For a project with an editor, terminal and a few browser windows, a named group can be easier to revisit than scanning all open work. If the missing item is a web page buried inside a window, keep a tab search tool or evaluate Better Window Switcher instead.
A persistent list instead of visual arrangements
Better Window Switcher offers multiple visual arrangements, including a flat 2D row as well as 3D views. Open Contexts uses a compact titled list and a persistent app bar that can sit on a screen edge. The choice is about how you locate work, not whether one visual style is universally better.
Create task groups, pin windows and choose their order in Open Contexts. Group names and ordering persist, with saved placement for matchable windows. It does not reopen apps or restore window geometry after a restart.
Check hardware and cost before migrating
Open Contexts supports macOS 13 or later and provides a Universal build for Intel and Apple silicon. Better Window Switcher requires macOS 14 or later on Apple silicon. An Intel Mac therefore makes the compatibility question straightforward.
Open Contexts is free under Apache 2.0. Better Window Switcher offers a seven-day trial, then a one-time Personal license at $19.99 for up to two Macs or Team at $49.99 for up to five. Current-major-version updates are included; check the official checkout for regional pricing.
What you give up
Open Contexts currently has no window search, thumbnail grid, gesture switching or individual browser-tab selection. Better Window Switcher documents those visual and tab-oriented workflows. Open Contexts requires Accessibility access; the competitor also requires Screen Recording for window pictures.
Neither a text list nor fewer permissions proves better battery life or lower latency. We have not run a performance benchmark between these products. Use a real session to decide whether the workflow change helps.
Try a window-based workflow
- Keep your current settings. There is no automatic Better Window Switcher settings importer.
- Quit the current switcher before assigning overlapping shortcuts in Open Contexts.
- Grant Accessibility access and choose your all-window and same-app shortcuts.
- Create one named group for a recurring task and try its app bar during a work session.
- Check minimized windows, multiple displays and any full-screen workflow you depend on; full-screen behavior needs more verification in Open Contexts.
If tab-level navigation is the reason you installed Better Window Switcher, switching to Open Contexts alone will leave that need uncovered.