Rainmeter AlternativesOnly apps categorised as Shell Extensions

The best Shell Extension alternative to Rainmeter is DeskDash. It's not free, so if you're looking for a free alternative, you could try XWidget or Übersicht. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to Rainmeter and four of them are Shell Extensions so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement.

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Most Rainmeter alternatives are Desktop Customization Tools, but you can also narrow the list to Shell Extensions or Wallpapers Hubs. Other popular filters are Mac, Android, Linux, Desktop Customization and Windows. You can also filter for EU-based alternatives if you prefer software from the European Union.
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Alternatives
Rainmeter alternatives page was last updated

Alternatives list

  1. DeskDash icon
     9 likes

    DeskDash turns your Windows desktop background into a live dashboard of widgets that sit behind your open windows. Build your own or install from a secure community-based marketplace.

    25 DeskDash alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Since

    • New

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Good alternative?
     
  2. XWidget icon
     39 likes

    XWidget is a free desktop customization platform. It’s light, handy with powerful visual widget editor and very subtle animations. The Android page is found here: http://android.xwidget.com/

    39 XWidget alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2011

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Android
    • Android Tablet
    • Steam
    Good alternative?
     
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    1
  3. Übersicht icon
     20 likes

    Übersicht lets you run system commands and display their output on your desktop in little containers, called widgets. Widgets are written using HTML5, which means they

    26 Übersicht alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2015

    Platforms

    • Mac
    Good alternative?
     
    |
    2
  4. OpenAnima icon
     1 like

    OpenAnima is an open-source Windows desktop overlay engine for animated and static assets.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application type

    Since

    • Since 2026

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Good alternative?
     
4 of 4 Rainmeter alternatives