# The best window manager for a Mac

Source: https://ribbonformac.com/best-window-manager-for-mac  
Updated: 2026-10-29

There's no single best Mac window manager; there are three kinds, and the right one depends on your screen and how much you want to configure. If you only need halves now and then, macOS 15's own tiling or a free snapper like Rectangle is enough. If you want every window placed automatically on a large monitor, use a grid tiler. If you work on a laptop or an ultrawide and windows keep getting squeezed, try a scrolling window manager. We make one of these (Ribbon), so weigh our view accordingly.

## The three kinds

| Kind | What it does | Best on |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Snapping | You press a shortcut or drag; the window goes to a half, third or quarter. Nothing happens on its own. | Any screen, occasional use |
| Grid tiling | Every new window is fitted into the screen automatically; the others shrink to make room. | Large monitors |
| Scrolling | Every new window gets a column on a strip wider than the screen; the others keep their size and you scroll. | Laptops and ultrawides |

## Built in: macOS tiling

macOS 15 Sequoia and later snap windows to halves and quarters by dragging to edges or pressing <kbd>Fn</kbd><kbd>⌃</kbd> and an arrow. Free, already there, and enough for many people. No thirds, and nothing automatic. [How to tile windows on a Mac](https://ribbonformac.com/how-to-tile-windows-on-mac) has every shortcut.

## Snapping apps

| App | Price | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Rectangle | Free, open source (MIT) | The standard pick: halves, thirds, quarters, sixths, by shortcut or drag |
| Rectangle Pro | $9.99 once | Adds custom snap areas, saved layouts and trackpad gestures |
| Magnet | Paid, Mac App Store | Simple drag-to-snap and shortcuts |
| Loop | Free, open source (GPL-3.0) | A radial menu you steer with the mouse or trackpad, plus shortcuts |
| Raycast | Free for personal use | A launcher with window commands you can bind to keys; see [Raycast window management](https://ribbonformac.com/raycast-window-management) |

**Pick a snapper if** you mostly use one or two windows at a time and occasionally want them side by side.

## Grid tilers

| App | Price | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| AeroSpace | Free, open source (MIT) | i3-style tree, keyboard-driven, TOML config, its own workspaces instead of macOS Spaces |
| yabai | Free, open source (MIT) | Binary space partitioning, scripted from the shell with a hotkey tool; some extras need SIP partly disabled |
| Amethyst | Free, open source (MIT) | Automatic layouts in the style of xmonad, with a preferences window |

**Pick a grid tiler if** you have a large monitor and want to see every window at once, and you're happy for windows to resize as others open. Coming from i3? See [i3 for Mac](https://ribbonformac.com/i3-for-mac).

## Scrolling window managers

| App | Price | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Ribbon (ours) | $9.99 once | Native settings window, trackpad swipe that follows your fingers, stacks and tabbed columns, one strip per display and per Space. macOS 13+ on Apple silicon. |
| Paneru | Free, open source (MIT) | The engine Ribbon is built on; command line and a TOML config |
| OmniWM | Free, open source (GPL-2.0) | Scrolling or BSP per workspace; needs macOS 26 Tahoe on Apple silicon |
| PaperWM.spoon | Free, open source (MIT) | A scrolling strip inside Hammerspoon, configured in Lua |

**Pick a scrolling manager if** you work on a laptop or an ultrawide, keep many windows open, and are tired of them getting narrower every time you open another. The [best scrolling window managers guide](https://ribbonformac.com/best-scrolling-window-managers-for-mac) compares these four in depth.

## Our honest pick by situation

- **MacBook only, a few windows:** macOS tiling. Free and good enough.
- **MacBook only, many windows:** a scrolling manager. Halves are already narrow on a laptop; scrolling keeps windows usable. See the [MacBook window manager guide](https://ribbonformac.com/macbook-window-manager).
- **Large monitor, likes config files:** AeroSpace or yabai.
- **Large monitor, wants a GUI:** Amethyst, or Rectangle Pro for fixed layouts.
- **Ultrawide:** a scrolling manager or thirds with Rectangle. See [ultrawide window managers](https://ribbonformac.com/ultrawide-monitor-window-manager-mac).
- **Coming from niri or PaperWM:** a scrolling manager. See [niri for Mac](https://ribbonformac.com/niri-for-mac).

## About Ribbon

[Ribbon](https://ribbonformac.com/) is the one we make. It's a scrolling window manager with everything in a settings window (no config file), a trackpad swipe that moves the strip with your fingers, stacks and tabbed columns, per-app float rules, session restore, and a Mac Setup page that checks for conflicting settings. It needs only the Accessibility permission, no SIP changes. It costs $9.99 once for one Mac, and all sales are final, so [try the live demo](https://ribbonformac.com/#demo) first, then see [pricing](https://ribbonformac.com/#pricing).

## FAQ

### What is the best free window manager for Mac?

For snapping, Rectangle. For automatic tiling, AeroSpace, yabai or Amethyst. For scrolling, Paneru (command line) or PaperWM.spoon (Hammerspoon). macOS 15's built-in tiling is also free.

### Does macOS have a built-in window manager?

macOS 15 Sequoia and later have built-in tiling for halves and quarters. It doesn't place windows automatically.

### Which Mac window manager doesn't need SIP disabled?

Almost all of them: Rectangle, Magnet, Loop, Raycast, AeroSpace, Amethyst and Ribbon need only the Accessibility permission. Some of yabai's advanced features need SIP partly disabled.

### Can I run two window managers at once?

Not on the same windows. Two tools moving the same window fight each other. A launcher like Raycast is fine as long as you don't use its window commands too.

## Keep reading
- [Best scrolling WMs for Mac](https://ribbonformac.com/best-scrolling-window-managers-for-mac) — Ribbon, OmniWM, Nehir, Paneru, PaperWM.spoon and the rest, ranked by situation.
- [AeroSpace alternatives](https://ribbonformac.com/aerospace-alternatives) — yabai, Amethyst, Rectangle, Loop, OmniWM, Ribbon, PaperWM.spoon and macOS tiling.
- [Auto-arrange windows](https://ribbonformac.com/auto-arrange-windows-mac) — Fill & Arrange in macOS 15, why it doesn't stick, and managers that place windows for you.
- [Raycast window management](https://ribbonformac.com/raycast-window-management) — Raycast's window commands, how to set hotkeys, where they stop, and what to add.
- [Scrolling WMs explained](https://ribbonformac.com/what-is-a-scrolling-window-manager) — The strip, the columns, the moves, and every scrolling WM by operating system.