Rift AlternativesWindow Managers and other similar apps like Rift

Rift is described as 'Tiling window manager for macOS that focuses on performance and usability' and is a Window Manager in the os & utilities category. There are more than 25 alternatives to Rift for a variety of platforms, including Linux, BSD, Mac, Wayland and Windows apps. The best Rift alternative is Hyprland, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like Rift are niri, i3, Sway and GlazeWM.

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Rift alternatives page was last updated Nov 26, 2025

Hyprland
38 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.
25 Hyprland alternatives
Cost / License
Free
Open Source
Application types
Window Manager
Wayland Compositor
Platforms
Linux
BSD
openSUSE
Arch Linux
Gentoo
Fedora
Ubuntu
Debian
FreeBSD
Alpine Linux
Slackware
Wayland
+3
Is Hyprland a good alternative to Rift?
Hyprland is the most popular Linux alternative to Rift.
Hyprland is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to Rift.
Hyprland is Free and Open SourceRift is also Free and Open Source
Hyprland is CustomizableRift is not according to our users
niri
9 likes
Windows are arranged in columns on an infinite strip going to the right. Opening a new window never causes existing windows to resize.
76 niri alternatives
Cost / License
Free
Open Source
Application type
Window Manager
Origin
Russia
Platforms
Linux
Wayland
Is niri a good alternative to Rift?
i3
71 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.
78 i3 alternatives
Cost / License
Free
Open Source
Application type
Window Manager
Platforms
Linux
BSD
+1
Is i3 a good alternative to Rift?
Sway
21 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.
25 Sway alternatives
Cost / License
Free
Open Source
Application type
Wayland Compositor
Origin
International
Platforms
Linux
Is Sway a good alternative to Rift?
GlazeWM
7 likes
A tiling window manager for Windows inspired by i3 and Polybar.
30 GlazeWM alternatives
Cost / License
Free
Open Source
Application type
Window Manager
Platforms
Windows
Rust
Is GlazeWM a good alternative to Rift?
GlazeWM is the most popular Windows alternative to Rift.
GlazeWM is Free and Open SourceRift is also Free and Open Source
Openbox
78 likes
Openbox is a highly configurable, next generation window manager with extensive standards support.
74 Openbox alternatives
Cost / License
Free
Open Source
Application type
Window Manager
Origin
Canada
Alerts
Discontinued
Platforms
Linux
BSD
Is Openbox a good alternative to Rift?
awesome
39 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.
Cost / License
Free
Open Source
Application type
Window Manager
Platforms
Linux
BSD
+2
Is awesome a good alternative to Rift?
Griddle
2 likes
A native macOS menu bar app that provides quick window tiling with keyboard shortcuts and visual grid overlay. Just press QWE, ASD to tile your windows instantly. DRM-free, one-time purchase for all your Macs.
Cost / License
Pay once
Proprietary
Application type
Window Manager
Platforms
Mac
Is Griddle a good alternative to Rift?
Griddle is the most popular Mac alternative to Rift.
Griddle is the most popular commercial alternative to Rift.
Griddle is Paid and ProprietaryRift is Free and Open Source
bspwm
12 likes
A tiling window manager based on binary space partitioning.
71 bspwm alternatives
Cost / License
Free
Open Source
Application type
Window Manager
Origin
International
Platforms
Linux
Is bspwm a good alternative to Rift?
Fluxbox
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.
72 Fluxbox alternatives
Cost / License
Free
Open Source
Application type
Window Manager
Platforms
Linux
BSD
C++
Is Fluxbox a good alternative to Rift?
Sxmo
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...
69 Sxmo alternatives
Cost / License
Free
Open Source
Application type
Window Manager
Origin
International
Platforms
postmarketOS
Linux Mobile
Is Sxmo a good alternative to Rift?
Qtile
8 likes
A full-featured, hackable tiling window manager written and configured in Python.
Cost / License
Free
Open Source
Application type
Window Manager
Platforms
Linux
+2
Is Qtile a good alternative to Rift?