Software Alternatives & Startups

Putback VS WindowKeys

Compare Putback VS WindowKeys and see what are their differences

Putback

Putback is a Mac window manager that puts every window back where it was when your displays change, and switches named layouts with one hotkey.

Rating
0 reviews
Pricing
Paid Free trial $19 / One-off (1 Mac. Family 5 Macs $29, Team 20 Macs $79)
WindowKeys

Make 3rd party keyboards work with window-tiling shortcuts

Rating
0 reviews

Which is more popular?

Window Manager popularity
33% vs 67%
alternatives listed
17 vs 40

Base details

Website, pricing, platforms and company facts side by side.

Putback
WK
WindowKeys
Website putback.app apptorium.com
Pricing
Paid Free trial $19 / One-off (1 Mac. Family 5 Macs $29, Team 20 Macs $79) Official pricing
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Platforms
Mac
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Company Startup from Australia · 1 - 9 employees · 2026 —
Listed in

About Putback and WindowKeys

In their own words, as submitted to SaaSHub.

Putback
WK
WindowKeys

Every time your display setup changes, macOS moves your windows and does not move them back. Undock from a monitor and everything piles onto the laptop screen. Dock again and it stays piled. Putback is a menu bar window manager for macOS that fixes this. It learns where your windows sit while you...

Read more about Putback

No description of WindowKeys yet.

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

Putback 8 features
WK
WindowKeys 0 features
  • Restores windows on display change
    Puts every window back on the screen and in the position it came from when you dock, undock or plug in a monitor.
  • A memory for every desk
    Keeps a separate layout for each display setup: laptop only, desk with a monitor, office dock.
  • Scenes with one hotkey
    Name any arrangement as a Scene and switch to it with a single hotkey.
  • Scene Studio
    Draw a desk with a box for each app, even apps that are not open yet, plus a wallpaper per Scene.
  • Triggers
    Apply a Scene by time or calendar, like Coding at 9am or Meeting for a video call. Off by default.
  • Stash
    Tucks every window aside with one shortcut, then brings them all back exactly where they were.
  • Undo and history
    Undo the whole desk, and see every restore with the reason it happened.
  • Private, no account
    Window data never leaves your Mac. One-time purchase, no subscription, signed and notarized.

No features have been listed yet.

Analysis

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

Putback
WK
WindowKeys

Overall verdict

  • Putback is a niche app designed to help resellers and organizers track items that need to be returned to their proper place, which can be genuinely useful for people managing inventory, decluttering, or reselling goods, though its value depends heavily on your specific workflow needs and how well it integrates with tools you already use.

Why this product is good

  • Helps maintain organization by tracking items that need to be put back or returned
  • Can save time by reducing the need to remember or manually log misplaced items
  • Useful for resellers who need to track inventory location and status
  • Simple, focused functionality without unnecessary feature bloat

Recommended for

  • Resellers managing physical inventory across multiple locations
  • People decluttering or organizing home spaces who need a tracking system
  • Small business owners who need lightweight inventory location tracking
  • Users who prefer simple single-purpose apps over complex all-in-one solutions

Overall verdict

  • WindowKeys is a well-regarded macOS window management app that lets you organize and control windows using customizable keyboard shortcuts, making it a solid choice for users who want a fast, keyboard-driven workflow.

Why this product is good

  • Enables quick window snapping, resizing, and positioning via customizable keyboard shortcuts
  • Lightweight and designed specifically for macOS with a clean, native feel
  • Boosts productivity by reducing reliance on the mouse for window arrangement
  • Comes from Apptorium, a developer with a track record of quality Mac productivity tools
  • Supports multi-monitor setups and flexible layouts

Recommended for

  • macOS power users who prefer keyboard-driven workflows
  • Developers and professionals who juggle many windows and apps at once
  • People with multi-monitor setups needing efficient window organization
  • Anyone looking to speed up their daily productivity on Mac

Category popularity

How often each product is chosen within a category, 0–100% relative to the other.

Score bands 0–20 21–40 41–50 51–60 61–100
Putback
WK
WindowKeys
33% 33%
67% 67%
33% 33%
67% 67%
33% 33%
67% 67%
100% 100%
0% 0%

Questions & Answers

As answered by people managing Putback and WindowKeys.

How would you describe the primary audience of your product?

Putback's answer

Mac users who move between display setups: a MacBook that docks to a monitor at the desk, a second screen at the office, a laptop on the couch. Developers, designers and anyone who runs a lot of windows and is tired of putting them back by hand every morning.

What makes your product unique?

Putback's answer

Most Mac window managers snap windows into place when you ask. Putback remembers. It learns where your windows sit while you work, keeps a separate memory for every display setup, and puts everything back when that setup returns. Named Scenes, drawn in Scene Studio and switched with one hotkey, turn any arrangement into something you can recall in a second.

Why should a person choose your product over its competitors?

Putback's answer

Rectangle and Magnet are great at snapping a window to half the screen, and Putback runs happily alongside them. Choose Putback if your problem is that your windows get scrambled every time you dock, undock or plug in a monitor, or if you want whole desks you can switch between with a hotkey. It is a one-time purchase with a 7 day free trial, no account, and your window data never leaves your Mac. On first launch it even checks your Mission Control settings and tells you if the free macOS fix is enough before you pay.

Which are the primary technologies used for building your product?

Putback's answer

A native macOS app in Swift and SwiftUI, using the macOS Accessibility API to move windows and Sparkle for updates. Licensing and the website run on Cloudflare (Workers, D1 and Pages).

What's the story behind your product?

Putback's answer

Putback launched in July 2026 with a simple pitch: unplug your MacBook and macOS piles every window onto one screen. The launch post passed 60,000 views and the replies split down the middle, half saying "I've needed this for years" and half saying "my Mac already does this." So we went and found out. The real answer is two Mission Control settings most people never touch, and we published that free fix ourselves. Even with those settings, restores still fail when a dock reconnects slowly or an app resists being moved, and nothing in macOS remembers more than one desk or lets you name a layout. That gap is Putback. About half of its first features came straight from those launch replies.

User comments

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Alternatives to Putback and WindowKeys

When comparing Putback and WindowKeys, you can also consider the following products.