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

Cairo-Dock is described as 'Animated application launch bar for the desktop, comparable to the dock in Mac OS X or Rocket Dock (for Windows)' 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, GNOME and BSD apps. The best Cairo-Dock alternative is RocketDock, which is free. Other great apps like Cairo-Dock are ObjectDock, Docky, Winstep Nexus and Eww.

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Cairo-Dock is an animated application launch bar for the desktop, comparable to the dock in Mac OS X or Rocket Dock (for...

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Cairo-Dock alternatives page was last updated Mar 18, 2025
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  1. RocketDock icon
     291 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

    License model

    • FreeProprietary

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Discontinued

    The program is no longer updated, but last version, 1.3.5, released in September 2008, can be still downloaded from the official website. "It is true, RocketDock has been discontinued. [...] The app remains available on https://rocketdock.com, but is unsupported."

    RocketDock Features

    1.  Dock
    2.  Launcher

    RocketDock VS Cairo-Dock

     
    • 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
  2. ObjectDock icon
     62 likes
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    ObjectDock is an animated dock for Windows that enables you to quickly access and launch your favorite applications, files and shortcuts.

    53 ObjectDock alternatives

    License model

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Windows

    ObjectDock Features

    1.  Launcher
    2.  Dock

    ObjectDock VS Cairo-Dock

     
    • 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
  3. Docky icon
     129 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.

    49 Docky alternatives

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Platforms

    • Linux
    Discontinued

    Last commit and last available version from 2015-09-02

    Docky Features

    1.  Dock
    2.  Window docking
    3.  Launcher

    Docky VS Cairo-Dock

     
    Comments about Docky as an Alternative to Cairo-Dock
    Guest
    Positive Nov 24, 2016
    0

    it's just simple and the best

    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. Winstep Nexus icon
     43 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

    License model

    • FreemiumProprietary

    Country of Origin

    • PT flagPortugal
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Windows

    Winstep Nexus Features

    1.  Dock
    2.  Skins
    3.  Extensive settings menu
    4.  Launcher

    Winstep Nexus VS Cairo-Dock

     
  5. Eww icon
     11 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.

    53 Eww alternatives

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Country of Origin

    • DE flagGermany
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Linux

    Properties

    1.  Customizable
    2.  Configurable

    Features

    1.  Support for scripting
    2.  Widgets
    3.  Custom widgets
    4.  Gtk
    5.  Rust

    Eww VS Cairo-Dock

     
  6. Latte Dock icon
     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.

    20 Latte Dock alternatives

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • KDE

    Latte Dock Features

    1.  Dock

    Latte Dock VS Cairo-Dock

     
  7. Plank icon
     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.

    16 Plank alternatives

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  Dock
    2.  Clipboard monitoring
    3.  No registration required
    4.  Works Offline
    5.  Dark Mode
    6.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    7.  Ad-free
    8.  XFCE support
    9.  Launcher
    10.  Intuitive Nodes

    Plank VS Cairo-Dock

     
  8. Dock icon
     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.

    50 Dock alternatives

    License model

    • FreeProprietary

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Mac

    Dock VS Cairo-Dock

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

    • Dock is Free and ProprietaryCairo-Dock is Free and Open Source
  9. Dash to Panel icon
     3 likes
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    An icon taskbar for the GNOME Shell. This extension moves the dash into the GNOME main panel so that the application launchers and system tray are combined into a single panel, similar to that found in KDE Plasma and Windows 7+.

    9 Dash to Panel alternatives

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • International

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • GNOME

    Dash to Panel VS Cairo-Dock

     
  10. MaxLauncher icon
     13 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.

    44 MaxLauncher alternatives

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Windows

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Portable
    2.  Ad-free
    3.  Dark Mode
    4.  Launcher

    MaxLauncher VS Cairo-Dock

     
  11. Sidebar icon
     2 likes
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    Sidebar transforms the macOS Dock experience, offering multi-screen support, customizable preferences, live previews on Ventura, and window management with WindowSnap. It reserves screen space to optimize display usage and supports storing multiple window configurations for flexible setups.

    55 Sidebar alternatives

    License model

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Mac

    Properties

    1.  Support for Themes
    2.  Customizable

    Features

    1.  Ad-free
    2.  Support for Multiple Monitors
    3.  Live Preview
    4.  No registration required
    5.  Works Offline
    6.  Multi-Screen
    7.  Snap windows
    8.  Dock
    9.  Support for Keyboard Shortcuts
    10.  Sidebar

    Sidebar VS Cairo-Dock

     
  12. tint2 icon
     29 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.

    30 tint2 alternatives

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD
    Discontinued

    "The final release of tint2 is 17.0.2.The code is frozen and no more feature requests are accepted."

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Dock
    2.  Software Management

    tint2 VS Cairo-Dock

     
12 of 46 Cairo-Dock alternatives