Feature comparison of Mac window tools
| Tool | Price | Open source | Window switcher | Single-window snap | Multi-window layouts | Edge access & reopening |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tidest | Free | Yes (GitHub) | Option + Tab (per window) | Option + Q (3×3 grid, 1–9) | Option + Shift + Q (presets, custom split, templates) | Option + W (Window Dock + Keep path/tabs) |
| Rectangle | Free (Rectangle Pro is paid) | Free version | No | Keyboard shortcuts & edge drag | No | No |
| AltTab | Free (Pro is paid) | Free version | Option + Tab style window switcher | No | No | No |
| Loop | Free | Yes | No | Radial compass menu & shortcuts | No | Stash hides live windows at an edge; path/tab reopening is not documented |
| Moom | Paid | No | No | Grid, green button popup & shortcuts | Saved layout snapshots | No |
| AeroSpace | Free | Yes | Focus/workspace keys | Automatic tiling or floating windows | Tiling workspaces; default config included | No |
| yabai | Free | Yes | Focus/space commands | Tiling or floating layouts | Per-space layouts; configured with commands | No |
| Magnet | Paid | No | No | Keyboard shortcuts, menu bar & edge drag | No | No |
| macOS built-in tiling (macOS 15+) | Built in | No | Command + Tab (app level) | Halves, quarters, edge drag & green button menu | Built-in arrangement presets; no custom canvas or saved templates | No |
Four jobs people want from a Mac window tool
Most complaints about managing windows on a Mac come down to four everyday tasks: switching directly to one window when an app has several open, snapping a single window to a half or corner, setting up three or four windows together without resizing them one by one, and getting back to a folder or window you closed earlier.
Most utilities solve one of these well. People often install AltTab for window switching and Rectangle or Magnet for snapping, while multi-window workspaces and reopening closed Finder folders still take manual work.
macOS built-in tiling: single windows and arrangement presets
Starting in macOS Sequoia (macOS 15), built-in tiling can place a window in halves or corners. The green button and Window menu also offer presets that arrange multiple windows together on the regular desktop.
These presets may be enough for common arrangements. Tidest adds a different workflow: split a custom canvas, adjust shared dividers, assign a window to each region, and save templates. It also works on macOS 14 Sonoma, which does not include the newer system tiling controls.
Rectangle and Magnet: dedicated window snapping
Rectangle (free and open source) and Magnet (a paid app on the Mac App Store) are the classic choices for snapping a single window. Both let you move the active window to halves, thirds, or corners with shortcuts or by dragging a window to the edge of the display.
Instead of memorizing a separate shortcut for each screen position, Tidest uses one shortcut (Option + Q) to open a 3×3 grid under your pointer, where keys 1–9 correspond to the nine positions and Space fills the screen. And because Option + Q points at the window under your cursor, you can snap a partially covered window without clicking to focus it first.
AltTab vs Tidest for switching individual windows
AltTab provides free, open-source Windows-style window switching on macOS. Its paid Pro version adds features such as window search and additional shortcut options.
Tidest builds Option + Tab window switching directly into the same app as window snapping, multi-window layouts, and the Window Dock. Every open window — including multiple Finder or browser windows and minimized windows — gets its own preview in a row or grid, so you do not need to run two separate menu bar utilities.
Loop, Moom, and automatic tiling managers (AeroSpace, yabai)
Loop uses a radial menu and shortcuts to move and resize windows; its Stash feature hides live windows at a screen edge. Moom provides window controls and saved layouts, including arrangements for the most recently used windows. Edge hiding and layout restoration differ from reopening a closed Finder folder or browser tab set; the linked Loop and Moom documentation does not describe that same path/tab reopening workflow.
AeroSpace and yabai support keyboard-driven workspaces and automatic tiling, and both also support floating windows. AeroSpace uses its built-in default configuration when no custom file is present. yabai allows tiling or floating layouts per Space through commands. Tidest keeps windows floating until you choose to snap or arrange them, with layout controls in its interface.
Where Tidest goes further: multi-window layouts and Window Dock
Press Option + Shift + Q in Tidest to open Arrange Windows: a full-screen layout canvas where you pick a preset or split regions yourself, drag dividers to adjust proportions, assign a window to each region with live previews, and click Apply to place every window at once. You can save custom layout templates or pin the current window group to the Window Dock.
Press Option + W to pick up a window and drop it into the Window Dock at the left or right edge of your screen. When you pin a docked item to enable Keep, closing the window does not lose your place: clicking the item reopens Finder at the saved folder path, macOS Terminal at the saved directory, or Safari and Chrome with your window’s tab URLs and order.
- Pick Tidest if you want window switching, 1–9 grid snapping, multi-window layouts, and an edge dock with path/tab reopening in one free, open-source app on macOS 14+.
- Pick Rectangle, Loop, or AltTab if you only want a single-purpose snapper or switcher, or AeroSpace/yabai if you want full-time automatic tiling workspaces.
- Try built-in macOS tiling on macOS 15+ if its single-window positions and multi-window arrangement presets cover your needs.
Official sources
Checked against the official pages below on October 31, 2026. “No” means the linked documentation does not describe an equivalent feature. Edge hiding, saved layouts, and reopening closed windows are compared separately.
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