Window Manager reviews from Reddit

Summary

We analyzed 422 Reddit reviews across 24 subreddits and 46 posts to rank the best Window Manager brands recommended by redditors, including communities like r/archlinux, r/macapps, r/linuxquestions, r/linux_gaming, r/Fedora. Top-rated brands include Hyprland (4.4/5), i3 (4.4/5), Sway (4.3/5).

Stats

Reviews422

Subreddits24

Posts46

Brands87

Products16

Top communities

r/archlinux138 r/macapps78 r/linuxquestions48 r/linux_gaming25 r/Fedora21

422 reviews from

and

By Brand

By Product

Hyprland

4.4

(68)

"Hyprland is pretty fire."

"Go hyprland, you won't be disappointed."

"1. Hyprland 2. i3wm"

"My favorite is Hyprland."

"I use archraft with hyprland as awayland compositor. Runs smoothly without problems"

"Just use hyprland."

"I would recommend Hyprland instead, even if you (like me) don't care about Eyecandy."

"Another recommendation for Hyprland."

"IMO, Hyprland is the only sane option."

"Hyprland is best for aesthetics."

i3

4.4

(65)

"I like i3 because it's simple and all i need found there."

"I3 is the goto to."

"I personally use i3wm, dead simple to set and does everything I need."

"If not Hyprland."

"I3wm user for like +5 years with no problems while gaming."

"Xorg WMs like i3 or bspwm are the only ones where it’s guaranteed that you won’t have a headache."

"I3 works for me"

"Very clearly i3. Lol."

"I3"

"It's the best out there yet!! It's a proper window manager."

Sway

4.3

(38)

"Sway. No issues."

"I'd recommend Sway and Hyprland."

"Sway is the way."

"Sway"

"I am using Fedora Sway spin without problem."

"Sway"

"I use Swaywm and I know it can do points 1 and 3."

"Gonna try out sway and see where that takes me."

"Sway is rock solid."

"Sway is super solid, at least from my experience."

Openbox

4.1

(16)

"+1 openbox, hours of fun tinkering to be had."

"Openbox or Fluxbox should give you what you need."

"Openbox. Highly configurable, feature complete, stacking WM, which is what you want."

"I would say openbox is very easy"

"Openbox. I use plank, tint2, and dmenu to make a normal-ish desktop."

"I like openbox or i3."

"Openbox for a stacking WM. i3 for a tiling WM."

"I would recommend openbox."

"If you just want minimalism and easiest onboarding, Openbox is a very safe bet."

"I've loved openbox for ever."

Lasso

4.6

(12)

"Amazing app just bought it."

"Putting this here because it's earnestly deserved -- this app is fucking killer."

"Amazing fucking app! Installed it and never looked back."

"Lovely app, read about it on a german blog."

"Tried the demo, loved the UI, found it super useful, purchased!"

"I've been testing Ivan's Lasso app for the last few weeks and I can wholeheartedly say it's an incredible app!"

"This is perfect! Instant buy."

"Check out Lasso it works really nice with multiple monitors!"

"I use Lasso."

"Lasso!"

Swish

4.3

(12)

"Swish is super good if you are just using the trackpad."

"I'd say Swish"

"Swish"

"I really like Swish, but I moved away from a Magic Trackpad."

"I tried out a bunch, liked Swish and Lasso a lot, but ultimately went with Wins."

"I’m torn between Swish and BetterTouchTool, when using 3 monitors. Currently running Swish."

"The ones I still currently use are Swish, and Loop when I still want to drag-snap."

"Swish if you’re lazy like me and don’t feel like touching the keyboard."

"I've been using Swish. It's great but only if you use a trackpad."

"Imo swish if you have a trackpad, magnet if you don’t."

Awesome

4.2

(11)

"I've been living in Awesome for 5 years now and I love it!"

"Sounds like Awesome Window Manager would work for you."

"AwesomeWM has served me well."

"I like awesome or i3, depending on my mood."

"I prefer using Awesome because DWM would always break when I game."

"IMO 'Awesome' has the best out of box experience for dynamic tilers."

"If you're running X, I recommend Awesome. Very configurable."

"Awesome was awesome years ago, unsure now but i bet it still is."

"Probably either i3 or Awesome."

"It works out of the box and is highly configurable."

BSPWM

4.3

(9)

"I use bspwm on LMDE just use a picom fork and it has all the animation and stuff."

"The easiest WM to get started with is BSPWM."

"I love bspwm on my ultrawide setup."

"Switched to bspwm and it's been almost a year."

"Could try bspwm."

"Bspwm or i3 are good choices ;)"

"BSPWM is a bit more simpler for configuration."

"BSPWM is an interesting choice which might feel *advanced*."

"Honestly I would say BSPWM it is the easier one to setup."

Rectangle

4.3

(9)

"For a windows type of window manager I think Rectangle is the best."

"Rectangle is my favorite."

"No mention of Rectangle here?"

"I use Rectangle + Loop."

"I use Rectangle’s free version, and use Vimo Rebinder to rebind the shortcuts."

"I'm a Rectangle man."

"I use Rectangle and it's enough for me."

"I use rectangle, and pretty satisfied with its GUI based management."

"I use rectangle, and pretty satisfied with its UI based management."

#10

qtile

4.2

(9)

"Qtile. Wayland support as a bonus."

"I use qtile and I'm very happy with it."

"Qtile also good, but I'm dumb."

"I'm using Qtile with a list of allowed apps for tiling."

"Qtile!"

"I think qtile will suite you the best because you said that you know python very well."

"Qtile is also good."

"Check out qtile!"

"Take a look at qtile."

#11

Magnet

4.1

(9)

"I’ve been using Magnet for a while. It’s $4.99 but worth it."

"I use Magnet and like it, but I'd love to have the possibility to save a specific window arrangement and restore it when I need it."

"I am using magnet (mouse) and raycast (keyboard)."

"I personally like magnet, been using it for years."

"I've been using Magnet for years."

"Check out magnet"

"This looks more powerful than Magnet, which is what I use now."

"Will at least try it for work use, have been looking for a Magnet replacement."

"Seems like a nice upgrade coming from Magnet."

#12

Gnome

4.0

(8)

"You can also try the tiling shell gnome extension."

"I use a forge gnome extension. Works nice."

"Stock Gnome includes a tiling window manager now that works pretty well."

"I use Tiling Window Managers myself, but all the requirements you described are possible in stock Gnome."

"There are gnome extensions that can do basic window management for you. I find them easier for my usecase. Give it a try."

"Maybe gnome with this extension https://github.com/Schneegans/Fly-Pie is something for you"

"I haven't tried it myself but maybe gnome with this extension."

"Gnome, of course. sway, hyprland, if you are just not ready for gnome, yet."

#13

KDE

4.4

(7)

"KDE's KWin is nice because you can disable compositing whenever you want"

"I have had zero issues with KDE6 since I switched from Niri."

"You should try KDE."

"Use KDE with the revived Krohnkite kwin script. Works really good and snappy."

"Personally, I'm using KDE with the Krohnkite extension, and while it's not perfect, it's good enough for me."

"Kwin but just use kde tbh if u want those things"

"For no compositor you can use kde."

#14

Aerospace

4.0

(7)

"Aerospace is far better than Yabai+skhd. I normally shop for apps based on GitHub stars and internet hype, but man, Aerospace proved how bad that strategy is."

"It's the absolute best to my liking on macos."

"Aerospace was very easy to setup and worked awesome..."

"Aerospace window manager."

"AeroSpace is quite nice."

"I just recently discovered AeroSpace."

"Don’t waste your time. At least while aerospace is in beta state."

#15

dwm

4.0

(7)

"The only answer is dwm"

"DWM. Makes computing fun again."

"Mostly dwm but sometimes there is a problem with fullscreen so i go hyprland than."

"I think its worth checking out even for beginners."

"Dwm, awesome, lxqt."

"Doesn’t have the easiest configuration, but DWM is extremely minimal"

"Dwm"

#16

Yabai

4.0

(6)

"Yabai for sure, I know it is hard to configure but once you set it up, it is really nice."

"Yabai."

"I'm using yabai with skhd...a bit tedious to setup but it's amazing."

"Yabai seems like the only option."

"Now i finally settle with Yabai. Very cool window manager with alot of potential."

"I would recommend yabai."

#17

awesomewm

4.0

(5)

"The best window manager is Awesome because it already has a built-in widget system."

"Awesomewm"

"I use awesomewm and picom."

"Finally i use awesomewm."

#18

XFCE

4.0

(5)

"Xfce4 could also work for you."

"I can vouch for xfce (floating, DE) or i3 (tiling, WM)."

"I’m partial to XFCE."

"XFCE and i3 work great together."

"I personally find XFCE to be the best one without a compositor."

#19

BetterTouchTool

4.0

(5)

"Better touch tool works well plus the endless customizations!!!"

"Using Bettertouchtool for this and for many other stuff."

"Better touch tool or magnet, rectangle is also good and free."

"I use Bettertouchtool."

"I'm currently using BetterTouchTool to define snap areas to resize and position windows."

#20

river

4.3

(4)

"Coming from awesome, river is almost certainly the best choice."

"River is a good wm too."

"River is a pretty solid window manager."

"I've been enjoying river quite a bit."

#21

Moom

4.3

(4)

"Moom is the way to go"

"Moom works fine for me."

"Moom."

"I've used Moom for years now and not felt compelled to change."

#22

Fluxbox

4.0

(4)

"My recommendations is to use fluxbox, openbox or iceWM for stacking."

"Fluxbox."

"Fluxbox"

"For floating WM, I'd recommend fluxbox."

#23

Wayfire

4.0

(4)

"Wayfire has been my daily driver for years now."

"Very beginner-friendly setup for beginners."

"I've been using wayfire for about a year now... once you get it working it's solid."

"Wayfire is certainly entertaining for the kitchen sink full of animation and compositor options."

#24

Rectangle Pro

4.7

(3)

"I’ve been using Rectangle Pro and it’s been great for me."

"I believe Rectangle Pro is the best."

"I just downloaded the trial on my computer and I’m really liking it so far."

#25

GlazeWM

4.7

(3)

"GlazeWM"

"Window Manger: GlazeWM"

"Posted about GlazeWM here about a year and a half ago."

#26

Wins.cool

4.3

(3)

"I was looking for a Windows-like window manager, and wins.cool is exactly that."

"I like WINS.cool"

"I just switched from Magent to Wins.cool it’s pretty great"

#27

Amethyst

4.0

(3)

"I’m currently using amethyst but I like that aerospace uses a text config file that I can sync and transfer to other Mac."

"Amethyst for automatic tiling windows."

"Made the switch from Amethyst for now."

#28

dwl

4.0

(3)

"If you really wanna learn you can use dwl (dwm port for Wayland). It's very lightweight."

"Dwl? It's quite nice."

"For me dwl or labwc"

#29

Loop

4.0

(3)

"Loop https://github.com/MrKai77/Loop"

"I use Loop - [https://github.com/MrKai77/Loop](https://github.com/mrkai77/loop)"

"I like Loop"

#30

Compiz

4.0

(3)

"Compiz is what got my son interested in Linux."

"When I think lightweight and wobbly windows I think compiz"

"You can use Compiz-Fusion (https://devicetests.com/install-compiz-xfce4)"

#31

KWin

4.0

(3)

"KWin Wayland"

"I like KWin, but it can be annoying to configure."

"Kwin is always an option with LXQt. Version 5.27 got some fancy new tiling features."

#32

Cosmic

3.7

(3)

"Cosmic."

"Cosmic has tiling window management capabilities, last I saw."

"Still in alpha stage, but pretty functional already."

#33

Gamescope

5.0

(2)

"I just use wayland with Gamescope."

"How about using Gamescope?"

#34

i3 Window Manager

5.0

(2)

"I3wm has plenty of docs and tutorials"

"Because it’s the most productive for me."

#35

KDE Plasma

4.5

(2)

"I would say that if you have a fairly modern GPU and a VRR capable monitor I would use KDE Plasma under Wayland."

"I use KDE Plasma/Wayland on an AMD GPU."

#36

LabWC

4.5

(2)

"I think labwc is the best option currently, which is an openbox clone."

"[labwc](https://github.com/labwc/labwc)"

#37

BentoBox

4.5

(2)

"We decided to build BentoBox, a macos window manager inspired by FancyZones."

"BentoBox for that drag, right-click, and snap feature like Window's FancyZones."

#38

Microsoft PowerToys

4.0

(2)

"Perhaps https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/powertoys/fancyzones"

"Isn't FancyZones a good candidate for this?"

#39

Raycast

4.0

(2)

"Raycast can manage windows positioning and more."

"If you have Raycast, it will solve most of your basic Window Management needs."

#40

Tiling Shell

4.0

(2)

"Tiling shell is great if you want to create pre-made tiling layouts."

"Maybe Tilling Shell? I haven't tried it mysleg yet."

#41

Niri

4.0

(2)

"I feel like i'm always trying to spread the word of niri these days."

"You might also be interested in niri."

#42

Hammerspoon

4.0

(2)

"Probably the most powerful is Hammerspoon."

"I think Hammerspoon allows you to turn windows into tabs."

#43

PaperWM

4.0

(2)

"PaperWM."

"Paperwm is a great chose."

#44

Awesome WM

4.0

(2)

"Awesome wm. coming from ubuntu, it was quite easy to pick up and use."

"Awesome wm, or dwm/dwl (if you know C)."

#45

LeftWM

4.0

(2)

"I like both LeftWM and XFCE."

"I know leftwm allows you to set custom layouts and even split your single monitor as multiple workspaces."

#46

Enlightenment

4.0

(2)

"Enlightenment."

"Have you tried enlightenment? It runs Wayland with a stacking window manager."

#47

Cinnamon

4.0

(2)

"The best to use for gaming is Cinnamon, KDE, XFCE."

"I use cinnamon. It's just a simple and comfortable DE for me."

#48

HerbstLuftWM

3.5

(2)

"HerbstluftWM"

"Often get „HerbstLuftWM“ recommended."

#49

JWM

5.0

(1)

"It's lightning fast, very low resources (8MB of Ram if I recall), very configurable. I love it, and have been using it for the last 15 years!"

#50

Zetsu

5.0

(1)

"Use zetsu"

#51

nwg-shell

5.0

(1)

"I use `nwg-shell`. It's a desktop environment built on top of sway and I really like it."

#52

i3 Gaps

5.0

(1)

"I use i3 gaps on my 21:9 and it’s great!"

#53

Mosaic Pro

5.0

(1)

"I love Mosaic Pro, been using it for years"

#54

Edwina.el

5.0

(1)

"If you want a master-stack layout check out Edwina.el"

#55

SwayFX

5.0

(1)

"SwayFX"

#56

Pullover Pro

5.0

(1)

"Pullover pro is also a great multitasking tweak and has been updated for 16"

#57

Dynamic Stage

5.0

(1)

"Use dynamic stage"

#58

KDE Plasma 5

5.0

(1)

"I vote KDE Plasma 5."

#59

IceWM

4.0

(1)

"IceWM is another cool one that is actively developed/maintained and that should fit your needs."

#60

Sxmo

4.0

(1)

"If you like tiling window managers, I recommend Sxmo on postmarketOS or Arch."

#61

Lulu

4.0

(1)

"Awesome app, 've been using it and like it very much!"

#62

Joe's Window Manager

4.0

(1)

"It works nicely, it's never out of fashion."

#63

Path Finder

4.0

(1)

"Path Finder does this really well."

#64

Ace Windows

4.0

(1)

"Just for switching windows check ace-windows (or something like that, definitely ace-something)."

#65

twm

4.0

(1)

"My favourite is twm."

#66

FVWM

4.0

(1)

"Fvwm should work for you."

#67

AltTab

4.0

(1)

"Wouldn't you be helped by something simple like AltTab (free)?"

#68

Workona

4.0

(1)

"[Workona](https://workona.com/)"

#69

Tactile

4.0

(1)

"I’ve been using Tactile."

#70

gSnap

4.0

(1)

"Personally I like gSnap."

#71

Pop!_Shell

4.0

(1)

"I like Pop!_Shell with that setup."

#72

Tiles

4.0

(1)

"I use Tiles (free)."

#73

EXWM

4.0

(1)

"My choice for years has been EXWM (Emacs Window Manager)."

#74

Pop!_OS

4.0

(1)

"The tiling feature of Pop_os is the easiest to use/learn."

#75

Xmonad

4.0

(1)

"Xmonad is great."

#76

Spectrwm

4.0

(1)

"If you really need speed, and you're using quite low end hardware, I'd recommend Spectrwm."

#77

MacsyZones

4.0

(1)

"MacsyZones is nice, it mimics Fancyzones for windows."

#78

Regolith

4.0

(1)

"If you're a newbie and interested in i3, try Regolith."

#79

WindowMaker

4.0

(1)

"My window manager of choice has always been Windowmaker."

#80

Wayland

4.0

(1)

"Here is a list of tilling window compositor."

#81

skhd + yabai

4.0

(1)

"It's good but it's still a bit rough compared to skhd + yabai."

#82

Hikari

4.0

(1)

"Hikari."

#83

Nobara

4.0

(1)

"Have you tried Nobara?"

#84

Material Shell

4.0

(1)

"This got a tiling engine and you will have Gnome features"

#85

Keyboard Maestro

4.0

(1)

"Keyboard Maestro with the Maid app is pretty good for me."

#86

Divvy

3.0

(1)

"I love Divvy but it hasn't had an update in forever and basically is abandoned."

#87

Emmetapp

3.0

(1)

"Emmetappe might be close to what I want."

Discover your audience

GummySearch is an audience research toolkit for 130,000 unique communities on Reddit.

If you are looking for startup problems to solve, want to validate your idea or find your customers online, GummySearch is for you.

Tell me more

Get started