i3 AlternativesWindow Managers and other similar apps like i3

i3 is described as 'Dynamic tiling window manager with clean, readable and documented code, featuring extended Xinerama support, usage of libxcb instead of xlib and several improvements over wmii' and is a popular Window Manager in the os & utilities category. There are more than 50 alternatives to i3 for a variety of platforms, including Linux, BSD, Wayland, Windows and Mac apps. The best i3 alternative is GNOME, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like i3 are COSMIC, Hyprland, Openbox and Sway.

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i3 alternatives are mainly Window Managers but may also be Wayland Compositors or Desktop Environments.  Filter by these or use the filter bar below if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of i3.
i3 iconi3
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  • ...

i3 is a dynamic tiling window manager with clean, readable and documented code, featuring extended Xinerama support, usage of libxcb instead of xlib and several improvements over wmii.

More about i3
  1. GNOME icon
     475 likes

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

    30 GNOME alternatives
    GNOME 40

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD

    Properties

    1.  Clean design
    2.  Optimal performance
    3.  Privacy focused
    4.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Desktop Environment
    2.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    3.  Dark Mode
    4.  Support for Multiple Monitors
    5.  Ad-free
    6.  No Tracking
    7.  No registration required
    8.  Rolling Release
    9.  Themes
    GNOME iconi3 Icon

    GNOME VS i3

    Is GNOME a good alternative to i3?
     
    • GNOME is the most popular Linux alternative to i3.

    • GNOME is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to i3.

    • GNOME is Free and Open Sourcei3 is also Free and Open Source
    • GNOME is Privacy focused and Lightweighti3 is not according to our users
  2. COSMIC icon
     12 likes

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

    33 COSMIC alternatives
    COSMIC screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Platforms

    • Linux

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  Ad-free
    2.  Dark Mode
    3.  Support for Multiple Monitors
    4.  Dock
    5.  No registration required
    6.  No Tracking
    COSMIC iconi3 Icon

    COSMIC VS i3

    Is COSMIC a good alternative to i3?
     
  3. Hyprland icon
     15 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.

    16 Hyprland alternatives
    Screenshot of a preconfigured setup

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Platforms

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

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Customizable

    Features

    1.  Tiling Window Manager
    2.  Compositor
    3.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    4.  Support for scripting
    5.  Support for Multiple Monitors
    Hyprland iconi3 Icon

    Hyprland VS i3

    Is Hyprland a good alternative to i3?
     
  4. Openbox icon
     78 likes

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

    69 Openbox alternatives
    BlackWhite theme by lyrae @ box-look.org

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  No Tracking
    2.  Dark Mode
    3.  Ad-free
    4.  No registration required
    5.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    6.  KDE
    Discontinued

    No actively developed anymore. Last commit was in 2015.

    Openbox iconi3 Icon

    Openbox VS i3

    Is Openbox a good alternative to i3?
     
    Comments about Openbox as an Alternative to i3
     
    GeorgeIsHappy

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

    Negative commentJan 23, 2020
    7
    i3 Icon
    Openbox icon
    • Some users think Openbox is a great i3 alternative, some don't.

    • Openbox is Free and Open Sourcei3 is also Free and Open Source
    • Openbox is Lightweight and Privacy focusedi3 is not according to our users
  5. Sway icon
     17 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.

    16 Sway alternatives
    Sway screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Support for Multiple Monitors
    2.  Wayland Support
    3.  Tiling Window Manager
    4.  Tiling Layouts
    5.  Tiling
    Sway iconi3 Icon

    Sway VS i3

    Is Sway a good alternative to i3?
     
    Comments about Sway as an Alternative to i3
     
    Barrett

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

    CommentSep 3, 2021
    1
    i3 Icon
    Sway icon
    • Sway is Free and Open Sourcei3 is also Free and Open Source
    • Sway is Lightweighti3 is not according to our users
  6. awesome icon
     34 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.

    75 awesome alternatives
    awesome screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD

    awesome Features

    1.  X server
    2.  Tiling
    3.  Extensible window manager
    awesome iconi3 Icon

    awesome VS i3

    Is awesome a good alternative to i3?
     
    Comments about awesome as an Alternative to i3
     
    RemovedUser

    This is the first WM I ever used.

    Positive commentNov 1, 2023
    0
    i3 Icon
    awesome icon
    • Almost everyone thinks awesome is a great i3 alternative.

    • awesome is Free and Open Sourcei3 is also Free and Open Source
  7. Kera Desktop icon
     6 likes

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

    34 Kera Desktop alternatives
    Kera Desktop screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Chrome OS

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  No Tracking
    2.  Portable
    3.  Separated workspaces
    4.  Workspaces
    Kera Desktop iconi3 Icon

    Kera Desktop VS i3

    Is Kera Desktop a good alternative to i3?
     
    • Kera Desktop is the most popular Windows & Mac alternative to i3.

    • Kera Desktop is Free and Open Sourcei3 is also Free and Open Source
    • Kera Desktop is Lightweight and Privacy focusedi3 is not according to our users
  8. bspwm icon
     10 likes

    A tiling window manager based on binary space partitioning.

    66 bspwm alternatives
    bspwm screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Support for Multiple Monitors
    2.  Support for scripting
    3.  Extensible by Plugins/Extensions
    4.  Ad-free
    5.  Dark Mode
    6.  Tiling
    7.  Tiling Window Manager
    bspwm iconi3 Icon

    bspwm VS i3

    Is bspwm a good alternative to i3?
     
  9. Sxmo icon
     2 likes

    A minimalist Linux smartphone environment that is truly yours to control. Sxmo, or Simple X Mobile, is a collection of simple and suckless X programs and scripts used together to create a fully functional mobile UI adhering to the Unix philosophy for the PinePhone and other...

    64 Sxmo alternatives
    Sxmo screenshot 1
    Sxmo screenshot 2
    Sxmo screenshot 3

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • postmarketOS
    • Linux Mobile

    Sxmo Features

    1.  Support for scripting
    2.  Support for Gestures
    3.  SSH
    4.  Tiling Window Manager
    Sxmo iconi3 Icon

    Sxmo VS i3

    Is Sxmo a good alternative to i3?
     
  10. Fluxbox icon
     33 likes

    Fluxbox is a window manager for X that was based on the Blackbox 0.61.1 code. It is very light on resources and easy to handle but yet full of features to make an easy, and extremely fast, desktop experience. It is built using C++ and licensed under the MIT license.

    67 Fluxbox alternatives
    fluxbox with a custom theme

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD
    • C++
    Fluxbox iconi3 Icon

    Fluxbox VS i3

    Is Fluxbox a good alternative to i3?
     
  11. dwm icon
     24 likes

    dwm is a dynamic window manager for X. It manages windows in tiled, monocle and floating layouts. All of the layouts can be applied dynamically, optimising the environment for the application in use and the task performed.

    73 dwm alternatives
    dwm screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Support for Multiple Monitors
    2.  X server
    dwm iconi3 Icon

    dwm VS i3

    Is dwm a good alternative to i3?
     
  12. Qtile icon
     8 likes

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

    68 Qtile alternatives
    Qtile screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux

    Qtile Features

    1.  Support for Multiple Monitors
    2.  Support for scripting
    3.  Command line interface
    4.  Tiling
    5.  Extensible window manager
    Qtile iconi3 Icon

    Qtile VS i3

    Is Qtile a good alternative to i3?
     
12 of 72 i3 alternatives