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Fluent Search vs PowerToys Command Palette: catalog facts
Fluent Search	PowerToys Command Palette
Best for: Windows users who want one keyboard search for everything on the PC	Best for: Windows users who want a keyboard launcher from Microsoft
Free Free download; the site does not list a price.	Free Free as part of Microsoft PowerToys.
Windows	Windows
Searches files, apps, tabs, history and windows in one place Keyboard-only Screen Search for on-screen elements All 4 strengths for Fluent Search Searches files, apps, tabs, history and windows in one place Keyboard-only Screen Search for on-screen elements Installer, portable and Store builds for x64 and ARM64 Extensible with community plugins	Opens with one shortcut and searches apps, files, commands and the web Extensible and customisable All 4 strengths for PowerToys Command Palette Opens with one shortcut and searches apps, files, commands and the web Extensible and customisable Optional compact search box mode Comes with the rest of the PowerToys utilities
Windows only Source code is not published	Windows only Requires PowerToys to be installed and running in the background
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Not open source	Open source
License not stated	License: MIT
No account needed	No account needed
Offline features available	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Sources for Fluent Search fluentsearch.net Catalog checked September 23, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Sources for PowerToys Command Palette learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/powertoys/command-palette… Catalog checked October 1, 2026

“Not stated” means we have not confirmed it. Features can vary by device and plan.