
Magnet Window Manager
yabai
BTT Remote
Moom
Homebrew
AppCleaner
iTerm2
Window management app based on Spectacle, written in Swift.

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

Which is more popular?
Based on our record, Rectangle should be more popular than i3. It has been mentioned 480 times since March 2021.
Website, pricing, platforms and company facts side by side.
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| Website | rectangleapp.com | i3wm.org |
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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
Rectangle is recommended for macOS users looking for a straightforward, lightweight solution to manage application windows. It is particularly beneficial for those who frequently work with multiple applications at once, including developers, designers, and anyone who values a tidy and organized desktop environment.
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.
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How often each product is chosen within a category, 0–100% relative to the other.


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


Rectangle shows that you don’t need to dip into your bank account to get window resizer tools. This free Mac window manager lets you manage multiple windows using keyboard shortcuts, menu options, or by dragging and...
Most window manager apps for Mac support multiple monitors. They can help you move windows between screens and create custom layouts for each monitor. Many window manager apps – such as BetterSnapTool, Magnet, and...
However, it might take some time for you to get used to the shortcuts in the Rectangle app since there are many. Furthermore, you can also add some of your apps to exceptions if you want to keep them away from...
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...
Recommendations tracked on public social media and blogs since March 2021.


Rectangle solved my macos window management annoyances. https://rectangleapp.com/ Not involved in dev of this, just a happy user. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 month ago
As a both old Linux and now decade user of MacOS, after I got used to no middle-click paste and no focus-follows-mouse: 1. Keyboard shortcuts are Emacs, Ctrl-A: start of line, E: end of line, K: kill selected or to end of line, Y to... - Source: Hacker News / 6 months ago
Every macOS user uses Rectangle.app — https://rectangleapp.com The ones who don't use it is because they don’t know it exists. - Source: Hacker News / 6 months ago
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
When comparing Rectangle and i3, you can also consider the following products.


Sway is a drop-in replacement for the i3 window manager, but for Wayland instead of X11.
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A tiling window manager for macOS based on binary space partitioning
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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 Rectangle or i3:
A remote control for you Mac, using your iPhone or iPad
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Openbox is a highly configurable, next generation window manager with extensive standards support.
Compare Openbox to Rectangle or i3: