Rainmeter icon
Rainmeter icon

Rainmeter

Transform your Windows desktop with customizable skins for displaying system resources, weather updates, RSS feeds, and more. Community-driven, Rainmeter offers real-time data monitoring, enhanced aesthetics, and privacy-focused features. Its portable design requires no installation and includes a dark mode.

Rainmeter screenshot 1

Cost / License

  • Free
  • Open Source

Platforms

  • Windows  As of Rainmeter 4.0, Windows XP and Windows Vista are no longer supported. Version 3.3.2 will be last release for those platforms.
4.7
Excellent18 reviews
489likes
15comments
0news articles

Features

Suggest and vote on features

Properties

  1.  Customizable
  2.  Lightweight
  3.  Support for Themes
  4.  Privacy focused

Features

  1.  Widgets
  2.  Customize skin
  3.  CPU Monitoring
  4.  Custom widgets
  5.  Ad-free
  6.  Works Offline
  7.  Hardware Monitoring
  8.  Desktop Widget
  9.  Live Wallpapers
  10.  No registration required
  11.  Support for Multiple Monitors
  12.  Skinnable
  13.  Colored Text
  14.  Portable
  15.  Dark Mode

 Tags

  • theme-generator

Rainmeter News & Activities

Highlights All activities

Recent News

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Recent activities

  • DesktopMagic icon
    Stone_Red added Rainmeter as alternative to DesktopMagic
  • git-legend, felipillowe, Creative_joe and goodemerald liked Rainmeter
  • jcoppo, Arthagam and owlherpes69 liked Rainmeter
  • Wattage icon
    POX added Rainmeter as alternative to Wattage
  • p0xy liked Rainmeter
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Comments and Reviews

   
 Post comment/review
Comment summary: Rainmeter is highly praised for its customizability and functionality, allowing users to personalize desktop aesthetics with unique skins and widgets. It offers useful desktop widgets and real-time system information. However, users report issues on various platforms; it's unavailable for Mac and Linux, and there are occasional stability problems on Windows causing explorer crashes. Some users find it less suited for gaming due to performance impacts.
Top Positive Comment
Kagerjay
3

Useful for having a mini spotify player on desktop. Displays computer / network / hardware information real time which comes in handy as well

Spotify icon Spotify Player / Rainmeter skins found here

On that list, "Sober Spotify" fits within the taskbar

kusarebaita
2

Rainmeter is a nice program... but what makes it so nice is the abundant choice of skins, there's something for everyone's taste and needs... wait, where all the skins have gone?

The sad part of the story is that many old Rainmeter downloads are now forever lost, because sites like Customize.org are long dead, and you could say that DeviantArt no longer exists either, with all the users' work buried under all the insanity of changes in the past few years. The community looks pretty desperate trying to find another place to upload and archive their work, a problem that has not seen its solution to this day.

NejyCR
1

The best informative & aesthetic desktop widget out there. I have my HDD, CPU, GPU, RAM, and volume displayed on the right-hand side of my desktop.

The only negative is that the template/layouts haven't been updated in a while (it's an old app). You have to trust sites like Deviant Art or similar for layout downloads.

jethro_tull
1

Allows me to use Win Vista & Win7 -style gadgets like the "All CPU Meter" by SilverAzide.

DarkSystemCD®
1
  • good desktop widgets;
  • customization must be learned, Chat GPT can provide insights on how to write skins;
  • having the ability for creating custom widgets, is what makes in usage values;
TBayAreaPat
0

It started out working, but the widgets disappeared and I can't get Rainmeter to run again. What's more, someone on the skin site advertised UXThemePatch and I ran that though maybe I shouldn't have (they say it makes permanent changes that don't get undone without reinstall of Windows). Well, my system runs, but I'm struggling to find the skins and I guess I will look for themes.

Guest
1

nice and clean base to customise windows

Review by a new / low-activity user.
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7 of 15 comments

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What is Rainmeter?

Rainmeter is a desktop customization platform through which you can enhance your Windows computer at home or work with skins: handy, compact applets which float freely on your desktop, much like Windows Sidebar gagdgets, or dashboard widgets for the Mac. Rainmeter skins provide you with useful information at a glance. Its easy to keep an eye on your system resources, like memory and battery power, or your online data streams, including email, RSS feeds, and weather forecasts. Many skins are even functional: they can record your notes and to-do lists, launch your favorite applications, and send your tweets to Twitter - all in a clean, unobtrusive interface that you can rearrange and customize to your liking.

With Rainmeter, there are no secrets. Our bundled library of open-source skins covers a wide range of functions, but if you want your desktop to do something new, you dont have to wait for us. Every inch of a skin is completely customizable. Rainmeter skins are written in a simple, elegant language thats easy to learn for anyone whos willing to put in the effort. Skins call upon measures, a set of powerful built-in modules that do all the heavy lifting, and create interactive meters to display that information however you decide. In this way, Rainmeter brings productive innovation together with creative artistry like no other platform of its kind. Rainmeter is built by people like you. In the span of just a few months, a thriving community has built up around Rainmeter, as average users freely contribute their own original skins, their generous knowledge and support, and their inspirational ideas to a project whose scope and capabilities are constantly expanding.

Official Links

Rainmeter information

  • Developed by

    US flagRainys
  • Licensing

    Open Source (GPL-2.0) and Free product.
  • Written in

  • Rating

    Average rating of 4.7 (18 ratings)
  • Alternatives

    34 alternatives listed
  • Supported Languages

    • English

AlternativeTo Categories

OS & UtilitiesSystem & HardwarePhotos & GraphicsOnline Services

GitHub repository

  •  5,540 Stars
  •  608 Forks
  •  40 Open Issues
  •   Updated  
View on GitHub

Our users have written 15 comments and reviews about Rainmeter, and it has gotten 489 likes

Rainmeter was added to AlternativeTo by Ola Johansson on and this page was last updated .