i3 AlternativesWindow Managers and other similar apps like i3

Alternatives list

1. 

   

   GNOME

    527 likes

   An easy and elegant way to use your computer, GNOME is designed to help you have the best possible computing experience.

   32 GNOME alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Free
   • Open Source

   Application typeApplication types

   • Desktop Environment
   • Window Manager

   Origin

   • United States

   Platforms

   • Linux
   • BSD

   • United States

   

   

   

   +9

   

   More about GNOME  

   

   Good alternative?Is GNOME a good alternative to i3?

    
2. 

   

   Hyprland

    55 likes

   An independent tiling Wayland compositor written in C++. Noteworthy features of Hyprland include dynamic tiling, tabbed windows, a clean and readable C++ code-base, and a custom renderer that provides window animations, rounded corners, and Dual-Kawase Blur on transparent windows.

   38 Hyprland alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Free
   • Open Source (BSD-3-Clause)

   Application typeApplication types

   • Window Manager
   • Wayland Compositor

   Platforms

   • Linux
   • BSD
   • openSUSE
   • Arch Linux
   • Gentoo
   • Fedora
   • Ubuntu
   • Debian
   • FreeBSD
   • Alpine Linux
   • Slackware
   • Wayland

   

   

   

   +3

   

   More about Hyprland  

   

   Good alternative?Is Hyprland a good alternative to i3?

    
4. 

   

   COSMIC

    31 likes

   COSMIC is the name for the main shell components in Pop_Shell.

   35 COSMIC alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Free
   • Open Source (GPL-3.0)

   Application typeApplication types

   • Desktop Environment
   • Window Manager

   Origin

   • United States

   Platforms

   • Linux

   • United States

   

   

   

   +5

   

   More about COSMIC  

   

   Good alternative?Is COSMIC a good alternative to i3?

    
5. 

   

   niri

    17 likes

   Windows are arranged in columns on an infinite strip going to the right. Opening a new window never causes existing windows to resize.

   87 niri alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Free
   • Open Source (GPL-3.0)

   Application typeApplication types

   • Window Manager
   • Wayland Compositor

   Origin

   • Russia

   Platforms

   • Linux
   • Wayland

   • Russia

   

   

   More about niri  

   

   Good alternative?Is niri a good alternative to i3?

    
6. 

   

   Sway

    24 likes

   Sway is a Tiling Wayland Compositor and a drop-in replacement for the i3 window manager for X11. It works with your existing i3 configuration and supports most of i3's features, plus a few extras.

   58 Sway alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Free
   • Open Source (MIT)

   Application typeApplication types

   • Wayland Compositor
   • Window Manager

   Origin

   • International

   Platforms

   • Linux

   • Global

   

   More about Sway  

   

   Good alternative?Is Sway a good alternative to i3?

    

   |

   1comment

   ExpandCollapse

   Sway vs i3 Comments

   Comment by Barrett · Sep 3, 2021

   I like Sway, but it is not much of an alternative to i3 unless you're switching over to Wayland as well.

   1 of 1 comments

   

   

   • Sway is Free and Open Sourcei3 is also Free and Open Source
   • Sway is a Wayland Compositor i3 is a Window Manager
8. 

   

   awesome

    40 likes

   awesome is a highly configurable, next generation framework window manager for X. It is very fast, extensible and licensed under the GNU GPLv2 license.

   Cost / License

   • Free
   • Open Source (GPL-2.0)

   Application type

   • Window Manager

   Platforms

   • Linux
   • BSD

   

   

   

   +2

   

   More about awesome  

   

   Good alternative?Is awesome a good alternative to i3?

    

   |

   1comment

   ExpandCollapse

   awesome vs i3 Comments

   Positive comment by RemovedUser · Nov 1, 2023

   This is the first WM I ever used.

   1 of 1 comments

   

   

   • awesome is Free and Open Sourcei3 is also Free and Open Source
9. 

   

   Openbox

    78 likes

   Openbox is a highly configurable, next generation window manager with extensive standards support.

   80 Openbox alternatives

   Cost / License

   • Free
   • Open Source

   Application type

   • Window Manager

   Origin

   • Canada

   Alerts

   • Discontinued

   Platforms

   • Linux
   • BSD

   • Canada

   

   

   

   More about Openbox  

   

   Good alternative?Is Openbox a good alternative to i3?

    

   |

   1comment

   ExpandCollapse

   Discontinued

   No actively developed anymore. Last commit was in 2015.

   Openbox vs i3 Comments

   Negative comment by GeorgeIsHappy · Jan 23, 2020

   Openbox is great but it is not a tiling window manager.

   1 of 1 comments

   

   

   • Openbox is Free and Open Sourcei3 is also Free and Open Source
   • Openbox is Privacy focusedi3 is not according to our users
10. 

    

    Kera Desktop

     10 likes

    An easy, pleasant, speedy, and exciting way to use your favorite OS.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application typeApplication types

    • Desktop Environment
    • Window Manager

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Chrome OS

    

    

    More about Kera Desktop  

    

    Good alternative?Is Kera Desktop a good alternative to i3?

     
11. 

    

    GlazeWM

     12 likes

    A tiling window manager for Windows inspired by i3 and Polybar.

    39 GlazeWM alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (GPL-3.0)

    Application type

    • Window Manager

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Rust

    

    

    

    More about GlazeWM  

    

    Good alternative?Is GlazeWM a good alternative to i3?

     
12. 

    

    bspwm

     13 likes

    A tiling window manager based on binary space partitioning.

    78 bspwm alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (BSD-2-Clause)

    Application type

    • Window Manager

    Origin

    • International

    Platforms

    • Linux

    • Global

    

    More about bspwm  

    

    Good alternative?Is bspwm a good alternative to i3?

     
13. 

    

    Xmonad

     25 likes

    xmonad is a dynamically tiling X11 window manager that is written and configured in Haskell. In a normal WM, you spend half your time aligning and searching for windows. xmonad makes work easier, by automating this.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (BSD-3-Clause)

    Application type

    • Window Manager

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
    • X11
    • Haskell

    

    

    

    +2

    

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    Good alternative?Is Xmonad a good alternative to i3?

     
14. 

    

    Qtile

     9 likes

    A full-featured, hackable tiling window manager written and configured in Python.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application type

    • Window Manager

    Platforms

    • Linux

    

    

    

    +2

    

    More about Qtile  

    

    Good alternative?Is Qtile a good alternative to i3?