Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Spectacle App VS Putback

Compare Spectacle App VS Putback and see what are their differences

Spectacle App logo Spectacle App

Move and resize windows with ease.

Putback logo Putback

Putback is a Mac window manager that restores every window when your displays change, and lets you name arrangements as Scenes you switch to with one hotkey. Real window management for docking, undocking and monitors, $19 once.
  • Spectacle App Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-09-18

Important note: Spectacle is no longer being actively maintained

  • Putback Landing page
    Landing page //
    2026-07-16

Spectacle App features and specs

  • User-Friendliness
    Spectacle App offers an intuitive and easy-to-use interface, which allows users to quickly understand and navigate through its features without a steep learning curve.
  • Efficiency
    The app provides keyboard shortcuts for managing window sizes and positions, enhancing workflow efficiency and minimizing the time spent on window management.
  • Customization
    Users can customize the keyboard shortcuts according to their preferences, making the app versatile and adaptable to different working styles.
  • Free to Use
    Spectacle App is available at no cost, providing powerful window management features without any financial barriers.
  • Open Source
    As an open-source project, Spectacle App allows users to contribute to its development and modifications, promoting community collaboration and transparency.

Possible disadvantages of Spectacle App

  • Limited Development
    The app is no longer actively maintained, which may result in compatibility issues with newer operating systems or a lack of new features over time.
  • Basic Functionality
    While effective, Spectacle App offers relatively basic functionality compared to some commercial window management tools, which may have more advanced features.
  • No Multi-Monitor Support
    Spectacle App lacks robust support for managing windows across multiple monitors, which can be a limitation for users with complex setups.
  • Potential Bugs
    As an open-source project without ongoing maintenance, users might encounter bugs or glitches that will not be addressed through official updates.

Putback features and specs

  • Simple concept
    Putback appears to focus on a straightforward, easy-to-understand use case, which can make onboarding and daily usage intuitive for most users without a steep learning curve.
  • Convenience for tracking
    The app likely helps users keep track of items, tasks, or returns in one centralized place, reducing the mental load of remembering details manually.
  • Mobile accessibility
    Being an app-based solution, Putback is likely accessible on smartphones, allowing users to update or check information on the go rather than being tied to a desktop.
  • Time-saving potential
    By streamlining a specific process (such as organizing items or managing returns), the app can save users time compared to manual tracking methods like spreadsheets or notes.
  • Niche focus
    Because Putback seems to target a specific use case rather than being a bloated all-in-one app, it may perform that core function well without unnecessary complexity.

Possible disadvantages of Putback

  • Limited information available
    There is limited publicly available detail about Putback's full feature set, pricing, and reliability, making it hard to fully evaluate its strengths and weaknesses without firsthand use.
  • Potential niche limitations
    If the app is built around a very specific use case, it may not offer broader functionality that some users might want, limiting its versatility compared to more general-purpose tools.
  • Dependence on user input
    Like many tracking or organization apps, its usefulness likely depends heavily on consistent user input; if users forget to update it, the app's value diminishes significantly.
  • Unclear market adoption
    As a smaller or newer app, Putback may have a smaller user base, which could mean less community support, fewer integrations, or slower feature updates compared to more established competitors.
  • Possible platform restrictions
    Depending on its availability, the app may be limited to certain operating systems (iOS or Android only), which could exclude some potential users from accessing it.

Analysis of Putback

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

Spectacle App videos

Demo of Spectacle App for Mac

More videos:

  • Review - Spectacle App Showcase: Window Management, Manipulation, & Organization for Mac (2017)

Putback videos

No Putback videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Spectacle App and Putback)
Screenshot Annotation
100 100%
0% 0
OSX Tools
0 0%
100% 100
Window Manager
91 91%
9% 9
Mac Tools
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 Spectacle App and Putback

Spectacle App Reviews

Moom vs Magnet vs Spectacle
While custom sizes can only be done with Moom, the predefined window sizes are provided by Magnet and Spectacle out of the box, but can also be configured manually with Moom. Itโ€™s also possible to assign keyboard shortcuts. So, in this case, if you want all the features, Moom can do them all.
Source: medium.com

Putback Reviews

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

Based on our record, Spectacle App seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 4 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.

Spectacle App mentions (4)

Putback mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Putback yet. Tracking of Putback recommendations started around Jul 2026.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Spectacle App and Putback, you can also consider the following products

Greenshot - Greenshot is a free and open source screenshot tool that allows annotation and highlighting using the built-in image editor.

Rectangle - Window management app based on Spectacle, written in Swift.

ShareX - ShareX is a free and open source program that lets you capture or record any area of your screen...

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).

PicPick - PicPick screen capture software enable you to grab an image on your computer screen, save, print, add effects, and share.

BetterTouchTool - Nov 5, 2017 - BetterTouchTool is a great, feature packed app that allows you to configure many gestures for your Magic Mouse (1 & 2), Macbook Trackpad and Magic Trackpad (1 & 2) and also Mouse Gestures for normal mice.