
Sway
dwm
Openbox
awesome
bspwm
Fluxbox
Hyprland
A dynamic tiling window manager designed for X11, inspired by wmii, and written in C.

GitKraken
SourceTree
GitHub Desktop
TortoiseGit
Fork
tig
Tower
SmartGit is a front-end for the distributed version control system Git and runs on Windows, Mac OS...

Which is more popular?
Based on our record, i3 seems to be more popular. It has been mentioned 93 times since March 2021.
Website, pricing, platforms and company facts side by side.
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| Website | i3wm.org | syntevo.com |
| Pricing | — | |
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What each product offers, as listed by its team.


Possible disadvantages
Possible disadvantages
An editorial look at what each product does well and who it suits.


Overall verdict
Why this product is good
Recommended for
i3wm is recommended for advanced users, developers, and anyone who prefers a keyboard-centric interface. It is ideal for users who like to customize their environment extensively and are comfortable with configuring software via text files. New users with a willingness to learn may also find it rewarding.
Overall verdict
Why this product is good
Recommended for
SmartGit is ideal for software developers, DevOps professionals, and anyone who frequently works with Git version control systems. It is particularly useful for those who need a GUI-based solution to manage and visualize their repository workflows.
Walkthroughs and reviews on video.
30k Miles with the BMW i3 - End of Lease Review
More videos
SmartGit's Distributed Reviews
More videos
How often each product is chosen within a category, 0–100% relative to the other.


Share your experience with using i3 and SmartGit. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
External articles and on-site reviews we used to compare the two products.


Sway is a tiling Wayland i3-compatible window manager that dynamically arranges app windows to rationally maximise desktop space. It is free, open-source, and lightweight. By default, it arranges windows in a grid and...
i3-wm is one of my most loved standalone window managers, qualifying it to easily fit under the desktop environment list! The configuration is just very easy, and you can change everything that you see on screen. This...
Sway is a free, open-source, and lightweight tiling Wayland i3-compatible window manager that automatically arranges app windows to logically maximize desktop space. It arranges windows into a grid by default and...
The tool lets you compare or merge files and edit them side-by-side. It can resolve merge conflicts by using the Conflict Solver. SmartGit also provides SSH client, an improved rebase performance and Git-Flow that...
If you are looking for a cross-platform git GUI, you can try SmartGit. You can easily install the software on macOS, Linux, or Windows computers. Moreover, the tool runs smoothly on your device without slowing it down.
The SmartGit free Git GUI allows users to perform all the tasks required to work with their repositories. It provides the possibility to view and edit files side-by-side and allows resolving merge conflicts...
Recommendations tracked on public social media and blogs since March 2021.


In my case, I decided to go with a compositor instead of desktop environment. I have already used others windows tilling managers such as i3wm. This time, I want something that has more features out-of-the-box. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
I've been using Omarchy as my main setup since June 26, 2025, the day DHH released the first version. Before that I had my own custom Opinionated Linux, mclovin-ARCHived: an Arch + i3wm installer set up exactly the way I liked. It was... - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
Then few years back, in 2015, I got shown i3wm and used it on my ubuntu-netinstall until 2020, then I switched to Budgie and my personal laptop has been using that ever since. - Source: dev.to / 9 months ago
Tracking SmartGit since Mar 2021.
When comparing i3 and SmartGit, you can also consider the following products.

Sway is a drop-in replacement for the i3 window manager, but for Wayland instead of X11.
Compare Sway to i3 or SmartGit:

The intuitive, fast, and beautiful cross-platform Git client.
Compare GitKraken to i3 or SmartGit:

dwm is a dynamic window manager for X. It manages windows in tiled, monocle and floating layouts. All of the layouts can be applied dynamically, optimising the environment for the application in use and the task performed.
Compare dwm to i3 or SmartGit:

Openbox is a highly configurable, next generation window manager with extensive standards support.
Compare Openbox to i3 or SmartGit:

GitHub Desktop is a seamless way to contribute to projects on GitHub and GitHub Enterprise.
Compare GitHub Desktop to i3 or SmartGit: