Openbox AlternativesWindow Managers and other similar apps like Openbox

Openbox is described as 'Highly configurable, next generation window manager with extensive standards support' and is a popular Window Manager in the os & utilities category. There are more than 50 alternatives to Openbox for a variety of platforms, including Linux, BSD, Wayland, Windows and Mac apps. The best Openbox alternative is Hyprland, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like Openbox are i3, Sway, Sxmo and Fluxbox.

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

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Openbox alternatives page was last updated May 10, 2024
  1. Hyprland icon
     17 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.  Customizable
    2.  Lightweight

    Features

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

    Hyprland VS Openbox

    Is Hyprland a good alternative to Openbox?
     
    • Hyprland is the most popular Linux alternative to Openbox.

    • Hyprland is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to Openbox.

    • Hyprland is Free and Open SourceOpenbox is also Free and Open Source
    • Hyprland is Customizable and LightweightOpenbox is not according to our users
  2. i3 icon
     70 likes

    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.

    72 i3 alternatives
    i3 with VIM, git, MPlayer, i3bar

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Tiling Window Manager
    2.  Tiling
    3.  X server
    4.  Built-in bar/panel
    5.  Mod Keys
    6.  Tabbed interface
    i3 iconOpenbox Icon

    i3 VS Openbox

    Is i3 a good alternative to Openbox?
     
  3. Sway icon
     18 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.  Wayland Support
    2.  Tiling Window Manager
    3.  Support for Multiple Monitors
    4.  Tiling Layouts
    5.  Tiling
    Sway iconOpenbox Icon

    Sway VS Openbox

    Is Sway a good alternative to Openbox?
     
  4. 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 iconOpenbox Icon

    Sxmo VS Openbox

    Is Sxmo a good alternative to Openbox?
     
  5. 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 iconOpenbox Icon

    Fluxbox VS Openbox

    Is Fluxbox a good alternative to Openbox?
     
  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 iconOpenbox Icon

    awesome VS Openbox

    Is awesome a good alternative to Openbox?
     
  7. 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 iconOpenbox Icon

    bspwm VS Openbox

    Is bspwm a good alternative to Openbox?
     
  8. 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 iconOpenbox Icon

    Qtile VS Openbox

    Is Qtile a good alternative to Openbox?
     
  9. IceWM icon
     11 likes

    IceWM is a Window Manager for X Window System. It is fast and memory-efficient, and it provides many different looks including Windows'95, OS/2 Warp 3,4, Motif.

    63 IceWM alternatives
    IceWM screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD

    IceWM Features

    1.  X server
    IceWM iconOpenbox Icon

    IceWM VS Openbox

    Is IceWM a good alternative to Openbox?
     
  10. Amethyst icon
     21 likes

    Amethyst is a tiling window manager for Mac similar to the xmonad tiling window manager popular on Linux. Amethyst is written in Objective-C and has configurable shortcuts, multi-monitor support, multiple layouts, and the option to float certain applications.

    91 Amethyst alternatives
    Amethyst screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac

    Amethyst Features

    1.  Snap windows
    2.  Tiling Layouts
    3.  Customize Windows
    4.  Multi Column View
    5.  Autostart
    6.  Mouse tracking
    7.  Application whitelisting
    8.  Floating windows
    9.  Toggle
    10.  Support for Keyboard Shortcuts
    Amethyst iconOpenbox Icon

    Amethyst VS Openbox

    Is Amethyst a good alternative to Openbox?
     
    • Amethyst is the most popular Mac alternative to Openbox.

    • Amethyst is Free and Open SourceOpenbox is also Free and Open Source
  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 iconOpenbox Icon

    dwm VS Openbox

    Is dwm a good alternative to Openbox?
     
  12. niri icon
     2 likes

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

    70 niri alternatives
    niri screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Wayland

    niri Features

    1.  Rust
    2.  Tiling Window Manager
    niri iconOpenbox Icon

    niri VS Openbox

    Is niri a good alternative to Openbox?
     
12 of 69 Openbox alternatives