Top picks
We tested every major free window manager on macOS Sequoia and Tahoe. Here are the four worth your time, in order of approachability.
Rectangle App
Free, open source, works out of the box. Covers every standard layout — halves, thirds, quarters, full screen — with customisable keyboard shortcuts. The one to install first.
Amethyst
A free xmonad-style tiling manager that automatically rearranges windows into predefined layouts. Steep learning curve, powerful once mastered.
Yabai
A scriptable tiling manager with a full shell API. Requires effort and optionally SIP changes, but offers unmatched control.
macOS Stage Manager
Apple's built-in grouping tool. Not a full window manager, but free and always available. Best for casual window organisation.
App breakdown
Rectangle wins for most users because it asks nothing of you: download, grant Accessibility permission, and start snapping. The default shortcuts mirror Windows Snap, so the muscle memory transfers immediately.
Amethyst is the right second step if you want automatic tiling. It imposes a layout on your windows — tall, wide, fullscreen, and more — and cycles between them with a shortcut.
Yabai is in a category of its own. Every window action is a shell command. Combined with a hotkey daemon like skhd, you can replicate any Linux tiling experience on macOS. The trade-off is significant setup time.
Stage Manager, introduced in macOS Ventura, groups related windows into clusters. It's less about tiling and more about focus modes. Use it alongside Rectangle App rather than instead of it.
Our recommendation
Start with Rectangle, explore from there
Rectangle App is the best first free window manager on Mac. It's approachable, actively maintained, and covers the layout needs of 95% of users at zero cost.
Once you've used it for a week, you'll know whether you want more automation (Amethyst) or scripting power (Yabai) — but many people never leave Rectangle.
Get Rectangle freeFrequently asked questions
Is there a truly free window manager for Mac?
Yes — Rectangle, Amethyst, and Yabai are all free and open source. Rectangle is the most accessible of the three.
Does macOS have built-in window snapping?
macOS Sequoia added basic window tiling via the green traffic-light button. It covers halves and quarters but lacks the keyboard-shortcut depth that Rectangle App provides.
What is the easiest window manager to learn on Mac?
Rectangle, without question. Its default shortcuts match Windows Snap conventions, so you can be productive within the first minute of use.