Polybar Alternatives

Polybar is described as 'Status bar for Unix-like systems' and is an app in the os & utilities category. There are more than 10 alternatives to Polybar for a variety of platforms, including Linux, Wayland, GTK, BSD and openSUSE apps. The best Polybar alternative is Eww, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like Polybar are Quickshell, Ewwii, YASB Reborn and AGS.

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Polybar alternatives page was last updated Jan 5, 2026

Eww
14 likes
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 (MIT)
Application type
Desktop Customization
Origin
Germany
EU
Platforms
Linux
+4
Is Eww a good alternative to Polybar?
Quickshell
6 likes
Quickshell is a toolkit for building status bars, widgets, lockscreens, and other desktop components using QtQuick. It can be used alongside your wayland compositor or window manager to build a complete desktop environment.
23 Quickshell alternatives
Cost / License
Free
Open Source (LGPL-3.0)
Origin
United States
Platforms
Linux
+2
Is Quickshell a good alternative to Polybar?
Ewwii
1 like
Ewwii is a flexible, resource-efficient, and scriptable widget system that integrates seamlessly with any programming language, letting developers build powerful interfaces quickly.
Cost / License
Free
Open Source (GPL-3.0)
Platforms
Rust
Linux
GTK
Wayland
Nix Package Manager
Is Ewwii a good alternative to Polybar?
YASB Reborn
2 likes
A highly configurable Windows status bar written in Python.
28 YASB Reborn alternatives
Cost / License
Free
Open Source
Platforms
Windows
Is YASB Reborn a good alternative to Polybar?
AGS
1 like
A framework for crafting Wayland Desktop Shells.
54 AGS alternatives
Cost / License
Free
Open Source (GPL-3.0)
Platforms
Linux
GTK
Typescript
Wayland
+2
Is AGS a good alternative to Polybar?
I
I
Ignis (widget framework)
1 like
A widget framework for building desktop shells, written and configurable in Python
Cost / License
Free
Open Source (LGPL-2.1)
Application type
Desktop Customization
Platforms
Linux
Python
Wayland
I
Is this a good alternative to Polybar?
fabric (Desktop Widgets System)
1 like
The next-generation framework for building desktop widgets using Python.
51 fabric (Desktop Widgets System) alternatives
Cost / License
Free
Open Source (AGPL-3.0)
Application type
Desktop Customization
Platforms
Linux
Python
Wayland
+2
Is this a good alternative to Polybar?
zebar
1 like
Zebar is a tool for creating customizable and cross-platform taskbars, desktop widgets, and popups.
24 zebar alternatives
Cost / License
Free
Open Source (GPL-3.0)
Platforms
Windows
Mac
Linux
Is zebar a good alternative to Polybar?
I
I
ironbar
2 likes
Customisable Wayland gtk bar written in Rust.
Cost / License
Free
Open Source (MIT)
Platforms
Linux
Wayland
Rust
GTK
I
Is ironbar a good alternative to Polybar?
Y
Y
Yambar
1 like
Modular status panel for X11 and Wayland, inspired by polybar.
Cost / License
Free
Open Source (MIT)
Alerts
Discontinued
Platforms
Wayland
Linux
Y
Is Yambar a good alternative to Polybar?
xfce-panel
4 likes
Xfce componet to switch between opened windows, launch applications, switch workspaces and menu plugins to browse applications or directories.
24 xfce-panel alternatives
Cost / License
Free
Open Source (GPL-2.0)
Platforms
Linux
BSD
Is xfce-panel a good alternative to Polybar?
nwg-panel
1 like
Nwg-panel is a GTK3-based panel for sway and Hyprland Wayland compositors. The panel is equipped with a graphical configuration program that frees the user from the need to manually edit configuration files.
Cost / License
Free
Open Source (MIT)
Origin
Poland
EU
Platforms
Linux
Wayland
Is nwg-panel a good alternative to Polybar?