Open ContextsSide-by-side feature comparison
On a small screen, scroll the table horizontally to compare both products.
| Category | Open Contexts | Contexts |
|---|---|---|
| Window selection | Title list in most-recently-used order | Title list with an enhanced Command-Tab |
| Search | Not currently available | Search and modifier-key Fast Search |
| Task organization | Saved named custom groups; pin and order windows | Sidebar groups windows by Space |
| Gestures | Not currently available | Edge scroll gesture for switching windows |
| Price | Free, Apache 2.0 | $9.99 license; free trial available |
| Compatibility | macOS 13+; Intel and Apple silicon | Vendor lists Ventura, Sonoma and Sequoia for version 3.9 |
Search is the clearest functional difference
For a Mac with many similarly placed windows, remembering part of a title can be more useful than remembering its position. Contexts searches app names and window titles. Fast Search lets you hold a modifier, type a query and release the modifier to switch.
Open Contexts uses a most-recently-used title list without search. That suits repeated movement between active windows, but it does not cover a type-to-find habit. If keyboard search is your primary workflow, Contexts is the clearer fit.
A Space-based sidebar versus named task groups
Contexts describes a sidebar that groups windows by Space and can filter the windows it shows. Open Contexts lets you create named groups and manually order or pin windows inside its persistent app bar. A task group is not a macOS Space and does not move a window to a different desktop.
For example, a “Release” group can keep a terminal, issue tracker and editor together even when their apps also contain unrelated work. Saving that grouping records organization for matchable windows; it does not relaunch applications or restore window sizes and positions.
Price and compatibility boundaries
Contexts offers a free trial and lists its license at $9.99. Its version 3.9 page explicitly lists Ventura, Sonoma and Sequoia. This is the vendor’s published list, not proof of compatibility or incompatibility with every newer macOS release; test your version during the trial.
Open Contexts targets macOS 13 and later on Intel and Apple silicon, with Accessibility access required. It is free under Apache 2.0. The project still needs more full-screen verification, so check the desktop behavior you depend on before committing to a switch.
Choose by the action you repeat
- Choose Contexts if you repeatedly type a few letters to find a window, use Fast Search or prefer gesture switching.
- Choose Contexts if its Space-oriented sidebar and multiple-switcher configuration already match how you work.
- Choose Open Contexts if you want an open-source title list and saved custom groups you arrange yourself.
Names aside, these are independent projects. There is no automatic transfer of Contexts settings or search shortcuts. Test one workflow after quitting the other switcher to avoid shortcut conflicts.