Software Alternatives & Startups

Rectangle VS Kanera

Compare Rectangle VS Kanera and see what are their differences

Rectangle

Window management app based on Spectacle, written in Swift.

Rating
0 reviews
Pricing
Open source
Kanera

Plan across boards with Kanban, tables, calendars, Gantt timelines, and dependencies. Track priorities, progress, and changes with reporting, activity history, automations, notes, custom fields & AI agent attribution. Mobile-ready and self-hostable.

Rating
0 reviews
Pricing
Freemium Free trial $5 / Monthly ($49 per user/year. Save 18% with annual billing.)
Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Which is more popular?

Based on our record, Rectangle seems to be more popular. It has been mentioned 480 times since March 2021.

social mentions
480 vs 0
Mac Tools popularity
100% vs 0%
alternatives listed
240+ vs 8

Base details

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

Rectangle
Kanera
Website rectangleapp.com kanera.app
Pricing
Open source
Freemium Free trial $5 / Monthly ($49 per user/year. Save 18% with annual billing.) Official pricing
Platforms —
Browser PWA
Company — 2026
Listed in

About Rectangle and Kanera

In their own words, as submitted to SaaSHub.

Rectangle
Kanera

No description of Rectangle yet.

Kanera is a work management platform that combines familiar project boards with a clear view of priorities, progress, and changes across your team. Create standalone boards with independent workflows, or group related boards in workspaces with shared lists, labels, custom fields, templates, and...

Read more about Kanera

Features and specs

What each product offers, as listed by its team.

Rectangle 5 features
Kanera 45 features
  • Ease of Use
    Rectangle offers an intuitive user interface that makes window management straightforward and user-friendly.
  • Customizable Shortcuts
    Users can easily configure keyboard shortcuts to better suit their workflow, making window management faster and more efficient.
  • Free
    Rectangle is available for free, making it accessible to anyone without the need for a financial investment.
  • Frequent Updates
    The app receives regular updates, introducing new features and ensuring compatibility with the latest macOS versions.
  • Lightweight
    Rectangle is a lightweight application that doesn't consume many system resources, ensuring smooth performance even on older Macs.

Possible disadvantages

  • Limited Advanced Features
    Rectangle lacks some of the more advanced features found in paid window management applications, such as multiple monitor support and more complex window arrangements.
  • MacOS Only
    Rectangle is only available for macOS, so users of other operating systems are unable to take advantage of its features.
  • Occasional Bugs
    Some users report occasional bugs or unpredictable behavior, which might require troubleshooting or waiting for a future update.
  • Learning Curve for Shortcuts
    While customizable shortcuts are a benefit, there is an initial learning curve for users to memorize and effectively use these shortcuts.
  • Basic Aesthetic
    The app's design and aesthetic are quite basic, lacking the polish and visual appeal found in some other similar tools.
  • Kanban Boards
    Organise and manage work using flexible drag-and-drop boards, lists and cards.
  • Table View & Reporting
    Edit card information inline, filter and group work, calculate totals and averages, break results down by another dimension, and export reports to Excel or JSON.
  • Calendar
    See scheduled work, due dates and deadlines across projects in a calendar view.
  • My Cards
    See all work assigned to you across multiple boards in one central view.
  • Team Cards
    View work across your team, including assigned, overdue, blocked, waiting and completed work.
  • Work Done Report
    Review progress over a selected period, compare delivery with the previous period, inspect workload and current risks, and explore attributed daily activity.
  • Deadlines
    Set due dates, track upcoming deadlines and quickly identify overdue work.
  • Automations
    Create rules and automated actions to reduce repetitive work and keep projects moving.
  • Global Search
    Instantly search across cards, comments, notes and other work throughout Kanera.
  • Notes
    Create and organise collaborative notes alongside your projects and tasks.
  • Comments
    Discuss work directly on cards and keep conversations connected to the relevant task.
  • Attachments
    Upload and manage files directly alongside cards and project work.
  • Custom Fields
    Add structured information to cards using configurable custom fields.
  • Notifications and Private Reminders
    Receive assignments, mentions, and updates through in-app notifications, email, or browser push. Set private card reminders and workspace delivery rules. Pro adds ntfy, Gotify, and personal webhook delivery.
  • Trello Import
    Import existing Trello boards into Kanera to quickly migrate your projects and work.
  • MCP and AI Agent Connections
    Connect Claude, ChatGPT, Codex, Copilot, Cursor, and other compatible agents to live Kanera work. Personal connections are available on Free; Pro adds higher limits and unattended agents.
  • REST API
    Integrate Kanera with external applications and services using its REST API.
  • Webhooks
    Send Kanera events to external applications and services using configurable webhooks.
  • Real-Time Updates
    Changes are synchronised across connected users in real time so everyone stays up to date.
  • Self-Hosting
    Deploy and run Kanera on your own infrastructure using Docker.
  • PWA
    Install Kanera as a Progressive Web App on supported desktop and mobile devices.
  • Client & Guest Collaboration
    Give external collaborators access to selected boards. On hosted Pro, single-board guests are free; guests working across multiple boards count as one paid seat.
  • Reporting
    Get clear visibility into work, progress, deadlines and completed activity across projects and teams.
  • Timeline and Gantt Charts
    Plan work with start-to-finish bars, dependency links, critical paths, working-day slack, and scheduling conflicts. Drag or resize bars on desktop to adjust dates.
  • Dependencies and Blockers
    Connect prerequisites across boards, map dependency chains, and identify work that is blocked or ready to start.
  • Up next Queue
    Rank assigned cards in one personal work queue across multiple boards and projects.
  • Team Overview
    See each teammate’s work in progress, upcoming priorities, assignments, and recently completed work across accessible boards.
  • Time in Progress
    Automatically track working hours spent in active workflow stages, identify stalled cards, and report totals or averages.
  • Activity History and Audit Trails
    Review timestamped card changes and description diffs to understand who changed what and how work evolved.
  • AI Agent Attribution
    Identify changes made by OAuth-connected agents, including the agent’s name and the person it acted for.
  • Live AI Agent Runs
    Follow ongoing agent work directly on cards, including progress, waiting states, and recorded outcomes.
  • One-Way Board Syncing
    Mirror selected lists and card content between boards while keeping destination assignments and deadlines independently managed.
  • Private Scratchpad
    Keep private notes, drafts, reminders, files, and pasted screenshots alongside your work without sharing them with the team.
  • Assignable Checklists and Subtasks
    Break cards into checklist items with their own owners, due dates, descriptions, and sub-checklists.
  • Standalone Boards
    Create independent boards with their own lists, labels, custom fields, templates, automations, and access settings.
  • Shared Workspace Configuration
    Configure lists, labels, custom fields, templates, and automations once and use them consistently across related boards.
  • CSV Import
    Import cards and structured information from spreadsheets and other tools using configurable column mappings.
  • Excel and JSON Export
    Export board data and filtered reports to Excel or JSON for analysis, backups, and migration.
  • Command-Line Interface
    Read and update Kanera from your terminal, scripts, or coding agents using the official Kanera CLI.
  • TypeScript SDK
    Build custom JavaScript and TypeScript integrations using Kanera’s official typed API client.
  • Chat Integrations
    Send selected card activity to Slack, Discord, Telegram, and Zulip, with configurable events and delivery history.
  • Roles and Board Permissions
    Control organisation, workspace, board, and guest access, including read-only roles and assigned-items-only card visibility.
  • Two-Factor Authentication
    Protect accounts with authenticator-based verification and recovery codes. Organisation administrators can require MFA for members and board guests.
  • Offline Browsing
    Browse cached boards when disconnected, with editing and other online operations available after reconnecting.
  • Multilingual Interface
    Choose from 11 language options for the interface, emails, and notifications. Each teammate can use their preferred language.

Analysis

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

Rectangle
Kanera

Overall verdict

  • Overall, Rectangle is highly regarded for its ease of use, extensive customization options, and the fact that it is free and open-source. It provides essential functionality without unnecessary complexity, making it suitable for both casual users and power users who need efficient window management.

Why this product is good

  • Rectangle is a popular window management tool for macOS, known for its simplicity and ease of use. It allows users to efficiently organize and resize application windows using customizable keyboard shortcuts or by dragging windows into pre-defined areas of the screen. This can enhance productivity by minimizing the time spent arranging windows and improving multitasking capabilities.

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.

No analysis of Kanera yet.

Videos

Walkthroughs and reviews on video.

Rectangle 3 videos + Add
Kanera 1 video + Add

SKYWALKER RECTANGLE TRAMPOLINE REVIEW!!!

More videos

  • - Skywalker Rectangle Trampoline Review #1
  • - Marvin Malton 160 Rectangle Flying Hour Watch Review

Kanera | Project Management Without the Board Hopping

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
Rectangle
Kanera
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
100% 100%
100% 100%
0% 0%
0% 0%
100% 100%

Questions & Answers

As answered by people managing Rectangle and Kanera.

Why should a person choose your product over its competitors?

Kanera's answer:

Kanera is designed for teams that want powerful project management without the complexity and fragmentation that can come with larger work-management suites. It keeps the familiar board-and-card workflow while adding cross-project visibility, structured reporting, automations, notes, client collaboration, API and webhook access, and native MCP support for AI tools. There is also a self-hosted option with no Kanera per-seat licence fee, giving organisations greater control over their infrastructure and data.

How would you describe the primary audience of your product?

Kanera's answer:

Kanera is primarily built for ALL teams that manage multiple projects and need a clearer way to see work across them. It suits development, product, marketing, operations, support, project-delivery, sales and client-service teams, as well as organisations that need self-hosting or greater control over their infrastructure. It is particularly useful for teams that have outgrown basic Kanban boards but do not want the complexity of a heavyweight enterprise project-management platform.

What's the story behind your product?

Kanera's answer:

Kanera was built from a desire for a work-management system that stayed fast and straightforward while still giving teams the visibility and functionality they need as their projects grow. The goal was to keep the simplicity of working with boards and cards, but remove the need to jump between separate projects just to understand what is assigned, overdue, blocked or completed across a team. That grew into a broader project and work-management platform with connected workspaces, cross-project reporting, automations, notes, integrations, API access and AI connectivity through MCP. Kanera is developed and operated by Happen Software Limited in Ireland and is also source-available so organisations can inspect the code and self-host the complete product when required.

Which are the primary technologies used for building your product?

Kanera's answer:

Angular, Node.js, PostgreSQL, Socket.IO, Valkey, Docker and Docker Compose. Kanera’s self-hosted deployment includes the web application, API and real-time services, worker processes, PostgreSQL database, Valkey cache, public API, MCP server and nginx-based web tier.

Who are some of the biggest customers of your product?

Kanera's answer:

Kanera is still in its early commercial stage, and we do not currently publish customer names publicly.

What makes your product unique?

Kanera's answer:

Kanera combines familiar project boards with cross-project visibility and a clear record of who changed what—including your AI agents.

Keep boards independent or group them in workspaces with shared workflows, labels, custom fields, templates, and automations. My Cards, Team Cards, Team overview, and a ranked Up next queue bring priorities together across projects, while Timeline/Gantt planning and dependency maps show what is blocked and what can move next.

Accountability stays alongside the work. Timestamped activity and description diffs help explain changes. OAuth-connected AI agents are clearly identified, and live agent runs show their progress, when they need input, and their outcomes.

Bring the assistant you already use—such as Claude, ChatGPT, Codex, or Cursor—through MCP, the CLI, or API. Kanera does not require a separate Kanera AI subscription; any costs from your AI provider remain separate.

Choose managed cloud hosting or self-host the same Pro feature set with Docker Compose, with no Kanera licence or per-seat fee for self-hosting.

User comments

Share your experience with using Rectangle and Kanera. For example, how are they different and which one is better?

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Reviews and articles

External articles and on-site reviews we used to compare the two products.

Rectangle no reviews yet
Kanera no reviews yet
  • Best 6 Mac Window Managers
    mackeeper.com · Sep 2023

    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...

  • Top 6 Window Manager Apps for Mac

    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...

  • The 6 Best Mac Window Management Tools
    www.makeuseof.com · Apr 2023

    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...

We have no reviews of Kanera yet. Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Recommendations tracked on public social media and blogs since March 2021.

Rectangle 480 mentions
Kanera 0 mentions
  • Apple introduces M6 and M5 Ultra for a big leap in performance and AI compute
    Rectangle solved my macos window management annoyances. https://rectangleapp.com/ Not involved in dev of this, just a happy user. - Source: Hacker News / 2 months ago
  • Ubuntu 26.04 LTS Released
    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 / 7 months ago
  • Native Instant Space Switching on macOS
    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 / 7 months ago

View more

Tracking Kanera since Aug 2026.

Alternatives to Rectangle and Kanera

When comparing Rectangle and Kanera, you can also consider the following products.