Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Rectangle VS SelfControl

Compare Rectangle VS SelfControl and see what are their differences

Rectangle logo Rectangle

Window management app based on Spectacle, written in Swift.

SelfControl logo SelfControl

V2 updates! - Custom time interval for distraction free mode - Ability to turn off ' always on' mode - Improved UI -- Self Control -- A simple app to keep you focused online by blocking sites that you spend way too much time on.
  • Rectangle Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-05-20
  • SelfControl Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-06-19

Rectangle videos

SKYWALKER RECTANGLE TRAMPOLINE REVIEW!!!

More videos:

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

SelfControl videos

How to block websites that distract you ? Selfcontrol [Mac App review and tutorial]

More videos:

  • Review - SelfControl Review - Block distracting websites

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Rectangle and SelfControl)
Mac Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Time Tracking
0 0%
100% 100
Window Manager
100 100%
0% 0
Productivity
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 SelfControl

Rectangle Reviews

Best 6 Mac Window Managers
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 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 – such as BetterSnapTool, Magnet, and Rectangle – 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.

SelfControl Reviews

We have no reviews of SelfControl yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Rectangle should be more popular than SelfControl. It has been mentiond 451 times since March 2021. 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 (451)

  • Ask HN: What macOS apps/programs do you use daily and recommend?
    - Rectangle: window management [https://rectangleapp.com/]. - Source: Hacker News / 5 days ago
  • Ask HN: What macOS apps/programs do you use daily and recommend?
    MicDrop - Add a global "mute microphone" button in the status bar (https://getmicdrop.com/) AltTab - Give the same (sane) behaviour to cmd+tab as alt+tab on Windows (https://alt-tab-macos.netlify.app/) Rectangle - Window snapping (https://rectangleapp.com/) Maccy - A clipboard history manager (https://maccy.app/) DropZone - Add a "shelf" zone in the same way as Dropover. It's less good than Dropover, but it's... - Source: Hacker News / 5 days ago
  • AeroSpace is an i3-like tiling window manager for macOS
    Https://rectangleapp.com is the spiritual successor. - Source: Hacker News / 8 days ago
  • AeroSpace is an i3-like tiling window manager for macOS
    Not to drop this kind hacker’s competitor, but I’ve been a happy user of https://rectangleapp.com/. Will definitely be checking this out instead tho, even though I’ve paid for rectangle — any demo that has SublimeText windows in it is a demo I trust! - Source: Hacker News / 8 days ago
  • Updating My Mac Window Shortcuts Strategy for Optimal Workflow
    Rectangle’s installation is incredibly straightforward. Its immediate out-of-the-box functionality was a pleasant surprise. For anyone seeking to reduce the friction of window management on their Mac, Rectangle is a solution I wholeheartedly recommend. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
View more

SelfControl mentions (75)

  • My 30-Year Quitting Addiction
    There is a free and open source app called SelfControl for macOS. It allows one to block access to any site one adds to the list in the app for the amount of time the user chooses. Attempt to use multiple browsers, restarting one's machine, deleting the app, etc. won't get around the block either. It's been super helpful for me, so I thought I'd just throw it out there. https://selfcontrolapp.com. - Source: Hacker News / 5 months ago
  • App to prevent distractions at work
    It is SelfControl. It is open-source and free. You select the website you want to block and the time. The moment you click the button no matter what you do, you can forget about accessing those websites until the time is over; there is no cancel button. Restarted mac won't work, you can delete the app no luck. Source: 6 months ago
  • App to prevent distractions at work
    The SelfControl app lets you specify web sites that will be blocked. When you run the app, you specify a countdown timer, during which time those apps will be inaccessible. Source: 6 months ago
  • Finals season
    - https://selfcontrolapp.com/ this is free app. block off all social media and time wasters .. Only for mac. if there is nothing to be distracted... IMO I eventually be bored and I was able to get into the zone... Not right away... But I told my self... Today I study... And I stay in the study room. Source: 6 months ago
  • Looking for the right app
    Apps I have tried and are not enough: - https://heyfocus.com/ - https://freedom.to/ - https://selfcontrolapp.com/ - https://www.forestapp.cc/ - https://www.rescuetime.com/. Source: 7 months ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

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

Magnet Window Manager - Magnet Developers

Cold Turkey - Cold Turkey is a free productivity program that you can use to temporarily block distractions so that you can get your work done!

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

Freedom.to - Freedom is a productivity hack that lets you block apps, websites or the entire Internet on iPhones, iPads, Windows and Mac computers.

Moom - Move your mouse over the green zoom button in any window, and Moom's mouse control overlay will appear (as seen in the above animation).

Focus - New Tab page that gives you a moment of calm and inspires you to be more productive.