bspwm Alternatives

Apps similar to bspwm include Hyprland, which is free and open source. Other options are niri, Sway, i3 and Openbox. Window Managers like bspwm are a crowded field, with more than 50 alternatives for Linux, Mac and Windows.

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Alternatives
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Alternatives list

  1. strataWM icon
     Like

    Strata is a cutting-edge, robust and sleek Wayland compositor written in Rust using the Smithay library. It is designed to be minimal and flexible yet customizable. Strata is configured in Lua, a lightweight, high-level, multi-paradigm programming language.

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2024

    Platforms

    • Wayland
    • Linux
    Good alternative?
     
  2. Heavily Inspired by i3wm. Wmderland aims to simplify the core functionalities of i3wm, and bundle in the essential features required for a modern but minimal Tiling Window Manager.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2018

    Platforms

    • Linux
    Good alternative?
     
  3. wtftw icon
     Like

    Window Tiling For The Win (wtftw) is a tiling window manager written in Rust.

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2019

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
    Good alternative?
     
  4. OmniWM icon
     Like

    OmniWM is a free, open-source, Developer ID-signed and Apple-notarized tiling window manager for Apple Silicon Macs running macOS 26 or later. It combines Niri-style orientation-aware scrolling containers and Hyprland-style Dwindle BSP layouts, selectable per workspace, with...

    49 OmniWM alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2026

    Platforms

    • Mac
    Good alternative?
     
  5. StumpWM icon
     Like

    StumpWM is a tiling, keyboard driven X11 Window Manager written and scriptable in Common Lisp. StumpWM attempts to be customizable yet visually minimal. There are no window decorations, no icons, and no buttons.

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2019

    Platforms

    • Linux
    Good alternative?
     
  6.  Like

    Wio is a Wayland compositor for Linux & FreeBSD which has a similar look & feel to plan9's rio.

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2024

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • FreeBSD
    Good alternative?
     
  7. Way Cooler is a tiling Wayland window manager, written in Rust, configurable using Lua, and extendable with D-Bus.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2018

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Linux
    Good alternative?
     
  8. Window manager for X inspired by DWM, i3, and other tiling window managers. Windows are assigned to tags, and are automatically arranged on the screen in a stacked layout making the most of your monitor.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2025

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • X11
    Good alternative?
     
  9. Cortile icon
     Like

    Linux auto tiling manager with hot corner support for Openbox, Fluxbox, IceWM, Xfwm, KWin, Marco, Muffin, Mutter and other EWMH compliant window managers using the X11 window system.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2024

    Platforms

    • Linux
    Good alternative?
     
  10.  Like

    Mahogany is a tiling window manager for Wayland modeled after StumpWM. While it is not a drop-in replacement for StumpWM, StumpWM users should be very comfortable with Mahogany. Its planned features are:

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2024

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Wayland
    Good alternative?
     
  11. Xlambda icon
     Like

    Xlambda is an X window manager that is extensible in Guile.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2019

    Platforms

    • Linux
    Good alternative?
     
  12. PaperWM icon
     Like

    PaperWM is an experimental Gnome Shell extension providing scrollable tiling of windows and per monitor workspaces. It's inspired by paper notebooks and tiling window managers. Supports Gnome Shell 3.28 and 3.30 on X11 and wayland.

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2019

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • GNOME
    Good alternative?
     
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