Cairo-Dock AlternativesApplication Launchers and other similar apps like Cairo-Dock

Cairo-Dock is described as 'Animated and customizable dock for Linux desktops offering hardware acceleration, multi-docks, taskbar integration, launchers, and detachable applets as widgets' and is a popular application launcher in the os & utilities category. There are more than 25 alternatives to Cairo-Dock for a variety of platforms, including Windows, Linux, Mac, Wayland and GNOME apps. The best Cairo-Dock alternative is RocketDock, which is free. Other great apps like Cairo-Dock are Docky, ObjectDock, Eww and Winstep Nexus.

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Cairo-Dock alternatives page was last updated

Alternatives list

  1. RocketDock icon

    RocketDock

     295 likes
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    RocketDock is a Mac OS X dock clone. It provides a nice clean interface to drop shortcuts on for easy access and organization. With each item completely customizable there is no end to what you can add and launch from the dock.

    65 RocketDock alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application types

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Windows
    RocketDock screenshot 1
     
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    • Most users think RocketDock is a great Cairo-Dock alternative.

    • RocketDock is the most popular Windows alternative to Cairo-Dock.

    • RocketDock is the most popular free alternative to Cairo-Dock.

    • RocketDock is Free and ProprietaryCairo-Dock is Free and Open Source
    • RocketDock is LightweightCairo-Dock is not according to our users
  2. Docky icon

    Docky

     131 likes
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    Docky is a full fledged dock application that makes opening common applications and managing windows easier and quicker. Docky is fully integrated into the GNOME Desktop and features a no non-sense approach to configuration and usage. It just works.

    53 Docky alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Linux
    Banshee Application Controls
     
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    12
    Comments about Docky as an Alternative to Cairo-Dock
    Guest
    Positive
    0

    it's just simple and the best

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Cairo-Dock Icon
    Docky icon

    • Almost everyone thinks Docky is a great Cairo-Dock alternative.

    • Docky is the most popular Linux alternative to Cairo-Dock.

    • Docky is the most popular Open Source alternative to Cairo-Dock.

    • Docky is Free and Open SourceCairo-Dock is also Free and Open Source
  4. ObjectDock icon

    ObjectDock

     64 likes
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    Animated Windows dock for fast access to apps, shortcuts and files, featuring auto-hide, drag and drop launching, fully customizable color, size and position, support for multiple docks, shortcut management, enhanced desktop organization and visual effects.

    53 ObjectDock alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Pay once
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    ObjectDock screenshot 1
     
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    10

    • Most users think ObjectDock is a great Cairo-Dock alternative.

    • ObjectDock is the most popular commercial alternative to Cairo-Dock.

    • ObjectDock is Paid and ProprietaryCairo-Dock is Free and Open Source
  5. Ad
    Screenshot
    Winstep Nexus icon
    Winstep Nexus

    Enjoy a free, simple docking solution for Windows with Winstep Nexus. Create docks, sub-docks, organize apps in groups, and enjoy fun interactions with animations. Nexus Ultimate offers Shelves, Tabbed Docks, and Grid Stacks for ...

    https://www.winstep.net
    Learn More
  6. Eww icon

    Eww

     14 likes
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    Elkowars Wacky Widgets is a standalone widget system made in Rust that allows you to implement your own, custom widgets in any window manager.

    61 Eww alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    Eww screenshot 1
     
  7. Winstep Nexus icon

    Winstep Nexus

     45 likes
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    Enjoy a free, simple docking solution for Windows with Winstep Nexus. Create docks, sub-docks, organize apps in groups, and enjoy fun interactions with animations. Nexus Ultimate offers Shelves, Tabbed Docks, and Grid Stacks for better organization and access.

    35 Winstep Nexus alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium (Pay once)
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Winstep Nexus screenshot 1
     
  8. Latte Dock icon

    Latte Dock

     11 likes
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    Latte is a dock based on plasma frameworks that provides an elegant and intuitive experience for your tasks and plasmoids. It animates its contents by using parabolic zoom effect and trys to be there only when it is needed.

    24 Latte Dock alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • KDE
    Latte Dock screenshot 1
     
  10. MaxLauncher icon

    MaxLauncher

     14 likes
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    MaxLauncher is a simple tabbed launcher that was designed to reduce the amount of time to find and run a program. It is capable of creating multiple data files, each of which can have a maximum of 10 tabs. Each tab and button is assigned a key(eg. F1-F10, 0-9, A-Z, etc.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    MaxLauncher screenshot 1
     
  11. Plank icon

    Plank

     34 likes
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    Plank is meant to be the simplest dock on the planet. The goal is to provide just what a dock needs and absolutely nothing more. It is, however, a library which can be extended to create other dock programs with more advanced features.

    21 Plank alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    Plank screenshot 1
     
  12. tint2 icon

    tint2

     30 likes
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    tint2 is a simple panel/taskbar unintrusive and light (memory / cpu / aestetic). We try to get virtual desktop and multi-monitor easier to use. We follow freedesktop specifications.

    31 tint2 alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD
    tint2 screenshot 1
     
  13. Dock icon

    Dock

     11 likes
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    In macOS, the Dock is used as a repository for any program or file in the operating system. It can hold any number of items and resizes them dynamically to fit while using magnification to clarify smaller resized items.

    49 Dock alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    Dock screenshot 1
     

    • Dock is the most popular Mac alternative to Cairo-Dock.

    • Dock is Free and ProprietaryCairo-Dock is Free and Open Source
  14. Avant Window Navigator icon

    Avant Window Navigator

     64 likes
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    Avant Window Navigator (AWN/Awn) is a dock-like navigation bar for the linux desktop that positions itself at the bottom of the screen. It can be used to keep track of open windows and behaves like a normal window list.

    Cost / License

    • Free Personal
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Linux
    Avant Window Navigator screenshot 1
     
  15. Dash to Dock icon

    Dash to Dock

     3 likes
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    A dock for the Gnome Shell. This extension moves the dash out of the overview transforming it in a dock for an easier launching of applications and a faster switching between windows and workspaces.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • GNOME
    Dash to Dock screenshot 1
     
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