Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Rectangle VS pttrns

Compare Rectangle VS pttrns and see what are their differences

Rectangle logo Rectangle

Window management app based on Spectacle, written in Swift.

pttrns logo pttrns

iPhone and iPad user interface patterns
  • Rectangle Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-05-20
  • pttrns Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-03-23

Rectangle features and specs

  • 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 of Rectangle

  • 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.

pttrns features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    Pttrns offers a user-friendly interface allowing designers to quickly search and find design patterns for mobile and web apps.
  • High-Quality Examples
    The platform provides high-quality, curated design examples from well-known apps, helping designers implement industry standards.
  • Inspiration
    Pttrns serves as a source of inspiration for designers, showcasing a variety of design styles and approaches.
  • Categorization
    Design patterns are well-categorized, making it easy for users to find specific UI patterns based on their needs.
  • Up-to-date
    The platform regularly updates its library with new and trending design patterns, ensuring users have access to the latest designs.

Possible disadvantages of pttrns

  • Subscription Cost
    While some content is free, full access to Pttrns requires a subscription, which might not be suitable for all budgets.
  • Limited Interactivity
    The examples are typically static images or screenshots, lacking interactive elements that could better demonstrate the user experience.
  • Over-Reliance on Examples
    Designers might become overly reliant on the provided examples and may neglect creating original and innovative designs.
  • Lack of Detailed Explanations
    The platform focuses more on showcasing finished designs and might not provide in-depth explanations behind design choices.
  • Mobile-Centric
    Pttrns primarily focuses on mobile app design patterns, which might be a limitation for designers looking for web or other platform-specific patterns.

Analysis of Rectangle

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.

Analysis of pttrns

Overall verdict

  • Yes, pttrns is considered good by many designers and developers.

Why this product is good

  • Pttrns is a popular resource for mobile and web app design inspiration, offering a vast collection of user interface patterns. It is valued for its comprehensive and well-categorized collections, which help designers find specific design patterns efficiently. The site showcases real-world UI examples that help designers understand current design trends and enhance their creative workflow.

Recommended for

  • UI/UX designers seeking design inspiration
  • Developers looking for design pattern references
  • Product managers who want to understand current design trends
  • Design students aiming to learn about UI/UX patterns

Rectangle videos

SKYWALKER RECTANGLE TRAMPOLINE REVIEW!!!

More videos:

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

pttrns videos

Pttrns: Mobile Design Patterns

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Rectangle and pttrns)
Mac Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Design Tools
0 0%
100% 100
Window Manager
100 100%
0% 0
Design Inspiration
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Rectangle and pttrns

Rectangle Reviews

Best 6 Mac Window Managers
Rectangle shows that you donโ€™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 dropping. Just like Magnet, you can split your screen up into quarters, thirds, or halves.
Source: mackeeper.com
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 โ€“ such as BetterSnapTool, Magnet, and Rectangle โ€“ offer this functionality.
The 6 Best Mac Window Management Tools
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 Rectangle's shortcuts.

pttrns Reviews

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

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Rectangle seems to be a lot more popular than pttrns. While we know about 479 links to Rectangle, we've tracked only 3 mentions of pttrns. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Rectangle mentions (479)

  • 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 paste, etc. https://support.apple.com/en-au/102650#text 2. Karabiner elements (FOSS) fixes keyboard mappings outside of the Settings: https://karabiner-elements.pqrs.org/ 3. I have the... - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • Native Instant Space Switching on macOS
    Every macOS user uses Rectangle.app โ€” https://rectangleapp.com The ones who don't use it is because they donโ€™t know it exists. - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • Native Instant Space Switching on macOS
    I use https://rectangleapp.com/ and enjoy it. I have shortcuts to move windows to the left/right half of the screen, and cycle between monitors. This, combined with native cmd+tab and cmd+` is enough for me. - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • Make macOS consistently bad (unironically)
    Rectangle [1] is pretty much essential for me because of this. I use only a few keypresses (maximize window, move to one of the halves of the screen horizontally) but that is enough. My mouse very rately interacts with the borders of any window, or those buttons. I had to click on the green one that you mentioned in order to see what it did (yuck). [1] https://rectangleapp.com/. - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • Make macOS consistently bad (unironically)
    I use Rectangle [1] for window management. I only use three shortcuts: full screen, left half of the screen, and right half of the screen. My editors and chrome are always running in one of these modes. But for other apps like Messages, Notes, Music, etc - yeah I don't usually expand them to full screen. [1] https://rectangleapp.com/. - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
View more

pttrns mentions (3)

  • App or Software to organise a UI Pattern Library
    While I'm aware that there are current resources out there such as Mobbin or Pttrns, I have been taking my own screenshots for a while now and it would be great to be able to set up tags to categorise and organise these. Source: about 5 years ago
  • Does anyone else find Behance and Dribbble absolutely useless?
    Https://pttrns.com/ is a similar site but the quality went down a bit. Source: about 5 years ago
  • UX gallery, similar to component.gallery
    Maybe try mobbin.design or https://pttrns.com/. Source: over 5 years ago

What are some alternatives?

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

Magnet Window Manager - Magnet Developers

Mobbin - Latest mobile design patterns & elements library

yabai - A tiling window manager for macOS based on binary space partitioning

Refero Design - The biggest collection of UX Patterns, UI Elements and design references from great web applications

BTT Remote - A remote control for you Mac, using your iPhone or iPad

Page Flows - User flow design inspiration for mobile & desktop