Best window managers for Mac (2026): Rectangle, Magnet, Moom and Panely compared

Disclosure up front: Purplelink, which publishes this site, makes one app on this list, Panely, sold as a free 7-day trial and then $9.99 once. I write about it from its own product page, and where another app is the better choice I say so.

I did not install or test any of the other apps. Everything below is read from Apple's help pages and from each vendor's own page, store listing or repository, on October 12, 2026. Prices, versions and features change, "not stated" means the page I read did not say, and I left out any claim I could not find on a vendor or Apple page.

The short answer

Try what is already in macOS first: it snaps windows to halves, quarters and more by dragging or with Fn-Control shortcuts, and it costs nothing. If you want more, the common free pick is Rectangle, the low-priced App Store picks are Magnet and BetterSnapTool, and Moom is the deepest for custom layouts. AeroSpace, yabai and Amethyst are a different kind of tool that tiles automatically. Panely, which I make, is for snapping plus saved layouts that return after a monitor is reconnected, for a single $9.99 payment.

The table below compares them by job. A longer section on each follows.

The apps side by side

October 12, 2026, as stated on each source page. Sources are listed in each section.

What window managers do, and what they do not

There are two different ideas under the same name, and most of the confusion in comparisons comes from mixing them.

1. Snappers. You ask for a place: a shortcut, a drag to an edge, a menu. The window goes there and stays until you move it. macOS, Rectangle, Magnet, BetterSnapTool, Moom, Loop, Swish and Panely work this way.
2. Automatic tiling managers. The app decides the arrangement and re-tiles as windows open and close. AeroSpace, yabai and Amethyst work this way. They reward people who like to configure a system and keep their hands on the keyboard, and they ask you to learn a model.

Whichever you pick, a window manager needs the Accessibility permission, which is how macOS lets an app move other apps' windows. You can check or switch it off in System Settings, Privacy & Security, Accessibility. And no manager can resize a window below the minimum its app allows.

The shortlist

1. macOS built in: free, nothing to install, fixed layouts.
2. Rectangle: free and open source, with a paid Pro.
3. Magnet: $4.99 on the Mac App Store.
4. BetterSnapTool: custom snap areas, $1.99 on its listing.
5. Moom: $15, custom actions and saved layouts.
6. Loop: free, a radial menu.
7. Swish: trackpad gestures.
8. AeroSpace, yabai and Amethyst: automatic tiling.
9. Panely: mine, $9.99 once, with saved layouts.

Jump to the side-by-side table, how to choose or the FAQ.

macOS built in

Cost: free. Platform: Apple's help describes window tiling for macOS Sequoia 15 and later, with pages for Sequoia, Tahoe 26 and macOS 27.

Apple lists five ways to tile: drag a window to an edge, hold Option while dragging to a highlighted area, use the green button's menu, use the Window menu under Move & Resize, or use keyboard shortcuts. Dragging to the menu bar fills the desktop. Shortcuts on Apple's list include Fn-Control-F to fill, Fn-Control-C to center, Fn-Control with an arrow key for a half, and Fn-Control-R to return to the previous size. Adding Shift arranges two windows side by side or stacked. Corner quarters have no shortcut on that list.

Settings are under System Settings, Desktop & Dock, Windows, and include whether dragging to an edge tiles and whether tiled windows have margins. Apple's page words them as "Drag windows to left or right edge of screen to tile" and "Tiled windows have margins"; names can differ between macOS versions.

What I did not find: custom areas, saved layouts, or anything about remembering windows across monitors on the pages I read. Pick it if halves and quarters are all you need. See also how to snap and tile windows on a Mac.

Rectangle

Cost: free and open source; its site also offers Rectangle Pro, free for 10 days, and its docs describe the license as a one-time, lifetime purchase usable on three devices at once. I could not read the Pro price on those pages. Platform: the repository says macOS 14 and later, with older releases for older systems.

Rectangle is the app most people mean by "a free window manager". Keyboard shortcuts move and resize windows, and repeating a shortcut cycles through sizes. Dragging to an edge or corner snaps to halves, quarters, thirds or maximized, and snapping can be turned off. It has next and previous display actions, a restore action, extra shortcuts for more positions, per-app shortcut disabling, and JSON import and export of settings. Pro adds custom snap areas, custom sizes, arranging a set of apps with one shortcut (optionally when displays connect or disconnect), stashing windows at an edge, and iCloud sync, per its Pro page.

Where it beats Panely: it is free and open source, supports older macOS releases, and has been the default recommendation for years. Pick it if you want a capable free snapper. The pages I read describe no saved arrangements in the free app; that is where Rectangle Pro or Panely come in.

Magnet

Cost: $4.99 on the Mac App Store, which describes it as a perpetual license with no subscription or in-app purchases. Platform: macOS 13.0 or later, by BOOTCODE A.S.

Per Magnet's site, it activates by dragging, customizable keyboard shortcuts or the menu bar, snaps to halves, quarters and thirds, supports up to six external displays, and adapts to vertical screens. The listing adds optional iCloud sync and unlimited custom commands. The developer reports on the listing that it collects no data.

What I did not find: a restore action or saved layouts on those pages. Pick it if you want an established paid snapper from the App Store.

BetterSnapTool

Cost: $1.99 with in-app purchases on the Mac App Store listing; the vendor page links to a separate license and gives no price I could read. Platform: macOS 12.0 or later, by folivora.AI GmbH.

The listing describes drag to an edge or corner, halves and quarters, custom snap areas, multiple monitors, customizable shortcuts, and moving or resizing with modifier keys. The vendor page lists custom snap areas anywhere on the display.

What I did not find: saved arrangements. Pick it if you want the lowest entry price and custom snap areas, and it supports an older macOS than most.

Moom

Cost: $15, with a free trial, per Many Tricks; the page says the license is valid forever and includes updates for at least one year. Platform: Moom 4.6 requires macOS 10.13 or newer.

Moom is the long-running power tool. It has a pop-up palette of up to 61 custom actions that can be chained, an on-screen grid, a keyboard controller, snap zones, hover-and-modifier moving, and layouts saved per app or for the most recently used windows. Saved layouts try to adjust to displays of other sizes, which the page says suits laptops that sometimes use an external display.

Where it beats Panely: depth of custom actions and a long history. Pick it if you want to script your own window moves and do not mind a higher price and a busier interface.

Loop

Cost: free and GPLv3-licensed, per its repository, which also has a sponsor link. Platform: the README says macOS 13 and later, though a table on the same page says macOS 15 or later, so check before installing.

You hold a trigger key and move the cursor over a radial menu to choose where a window goes, with a preview before you commit. Keys can be paired with the trigger, repeated combinations cycle actions, windows can be stashed at the screen edge, and a URL scheme allows scripting.

Pick it if you like a radial menu and open source. I did not find drag to edges or multi-display behavior stated on that page.

Swish

Cost: $16 once with a 14-day trial, per its site, which also says it is in Setapp. One license works on two Macs. Platform: macOS 12 or later.

Swish is gesture based: about 30 trackpad gestures for windows, the Dock and the menu bar, snapping by swiping a title bar to 2x2, 3x2 or 3x3 grids, resizing several windows at once by dragging a divider, and moving windows between screens. It also takes keyboard shortcuts.

Pick it if you work on a trackpad and want gestures rather than shortcuts.

AeroSpace, yabai and Amethyst

These are tiling window managers. You describe rules, and the app arranges everything. They are a different approach from the snappers above, and the cost is a learning curve.

AeroSpace is, per its guide, an i3-like tiling manager for Apple silicon and Intel, configured in a TOML file, with a CLI. It reimplements Spaces as its own "workspaces" and suggests using a single macOS Space after that. Its README says it runs on macOS 13 or later and that it will never require turning off System Integrity Protection.

yabai is, per its repository, an MIT-licensed tiling manager based on binary space partitioning, controlled from the command line, with shortcuts from skhd or other software. It requires Accessibility, needs Screen Recording only for window animations, and some features need System Integrity Protection partly disabled for a scripting addition. The page lists support from macOS Big Sur on Intel and Monterey on Apple silicon through Tahoe 26.

Amethyst is, per its repository, a free, MIT-licensed tiling manager "à la xmonad" for macOS 10.15 and later, with layouts such as Tall, Wide, Two Pane, three-column, Fullscreen and BSP, and a beta custom layout in JavaScript. It needs the Accessibility permission.

Pick one of these if you want windows tiled for you. If you only want to place a window when you ask, they are more machinery than the job needs.

Panely (Purplelink's)

Cost: free for 7 days, then $9.99 once, every update included; one key works on two Macs. Also part of the $59.99 Mac Suite. Platform: macOS 14 or later, a direct download from its page, no Mac App Store build. I make it, it is new, and I have not compared it with the others on a test Mac.

Panely snaps the front window to halves, thirds, quarters, two thirds and sixths, plus maximize, almost maximize, center and a step larger or smaller, from a shortcut, the menu bar, or a drag to an edge or corner with a preview of where the window will land. Every shortcut can be re-recorded, reset or turned off, and Panely refuses combinations macOS keeps for itself. A margin and a gap between windows run from 0 to 32 points.

Beyond that: up to twelve custom areas, set as percentages of the screen so they fit any display; saved layouts of your open windows that you apply from the menu bar; a layout you describe in words, read by fixed rules on your Mac rather than a model; and an automatic layout for each arrangement of displays that puts windows back a few seconds after a display is plugged in again. It can ignore chosen apps, such as a game or a video call, and restores a window to its size before the first snap.

It needs the Accessibility permission, reads each window's position, size and title and nothing inside it, and works offline. It uses macOS's own global shortcut system, so it does not need Input Monitoring. Its only network use is its check for a new version.

What it lacks: it is Mac only, new, and macOS 14 or later, which is a higher floor than Magnet, BetterSnapTool, Moom or Swish. It is not open source. It does not tile automatically, and it works only on windows in the current Space; macOS gives apps no way to move windows between Spaces.

Where others are better today: Rectangle for free and open source, Magnet or BetterSnapTool for a lower price, Moom for custom actions, AeroSpace, yabai and Amethyst for automatic tiling. Pick Panely if you want snapping and a saved arrangement that comes back when you reconnect a monitor, with one payment and no subscription.

Quick picks

• Only halves and quarters? macOS built in.
• Want free and open source? Rectangle, or Loop for a radial menu.
• Want the lowest paid price? BetterSnapTool or Magnet from the App Store.
• Want custom actions and layouts? Moom, or Panely for saved layouts with a one-time price.
• Want to restore windows after a monitor change? Panely, Moom's saved layouts, or Rectangle Pro.
• Want windows tiled for you? AeroSpace, yabai or Amethyst.
• Want trackpad gestures? Swish.

How to choose

1. Decide whether you want to place windows or have them placed. Snappers act when you ask. Tiling managers rearrange by themselves.
2. Start with the built-in tools. If halves and quarters cover you, you may not need an app. The how-to guide shows the steps.
3. Count your displays. If you plug a laptop into a monitor and back, look for saved layouts or a per-monitor memory, not just snapping.
4. Check the price model. Free, one-time or paid upgrade; a license that covers a second Mac matters if you have two.
5. Check your macOS version. Floors run from macOS 10.13 for Moom to macOS 14 for Panely and the current Rectangle.
6. Read the permission. Window managers use Accessibility. A repository you can read is a real advantage for a tool with that access.
7. Turn off overlapping behavior. If you add an app and keep macOS's drag-to-edge tiling on, a drag may snap twice.

Frequently asked

What is the best window manager for Mac?

There is no single best one. macOS's built-in tiling covers halves and quarters for free. Rectangle is the usual free, open source pick. Magnet and BetterSnapTool are low-priced App Store options, Moom is the deepest for custom actions, and AeroSpace, yabai and Amethyst tile automatically. Panely, which I make, is for snapping plus saved layouts. I tested none of the others, so this is a reading of vendor pages, not a ranking by use.

Does macOS have built-in window snapping?

Yes. Apple's help describes tiling in macOS Sequoia 15 and later: drag a window to an edge, hold Option while dragging, use the green button menu or the Window menu under Move & Resize, or use Fn-Control shortcuts. It offers fixed layouts and no custom areas on the pages I read.

Is Rectangle free?

Rectangle itself is free and open source. Rectangle Pro is a separate paid option with a 10-day trial; its docs describe a one-time, lifetime license usable on three devices at once. I could not read the Pro price on those pages.

What is the difference between a window manager and a tiling window manager?

A snapper such as Rectangle, Magnet or Panely moves a window when you ask. A tiling manager such as AeroSpace, yabai or Amethyst arranges all windows by rule and re-tiles as windows open and close. Tiling managers take more setup.

Do window managers need special permissions?

They use the macOS Accessibility permission to move other apps' windows. yabai also lists Screen Recording for animations, and some yabai features need System Integrity Protection partly disabled. AeroSpace says it will never require that. Panely uses Accessibility and does not need Input Monitoring.

Will a window manager restore my layout after I reconnect a monitor?

Some can. Panely keeps an automatic layout for each arrangement of displays, Moom saves layouts that adjust to other display sizes, and Rectangle Pro can arrange a set of apps when displays connect or disconnect. Magnet and the free Rectangle do not state this on the pages I read.

Is Panely available, and what does it cost?

Panely is Purplelink's Mac menu-bar window manager: free for 7 days, then $9.99 once, for macOS 14 or later. I make it, it is new, and this guide describes it from its own product page rather than from a test against the others.

Related guides

• Panely: the Purplelink Mac menu-bar window manager described above.
• How to snap and tile windows on a Mac: the built-in steps and shortcuts, and what to do when a window will not resize.
• Is it safe to allow Full Disk Access, Input Monitoring or Accessibility on a Mac?: what the Accessibility permission allows.
• Best keyboard sound apps for Mac: the same kind of comparison for another Purplelink app.
• All products and all guides.