Sway AlternativesWindow Managers and other similar apps like Sway

Sway is described as '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' and is a Window Manager in the os & utilities category. There are more than 25 alternatives to Sway for a variety of platforms, including Linux, BSD, Mac, Windows and Chrome OS apps. The best Sway alternative is GNOME, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like Sway are i3, Openbox, Hyprland and awesome.

Sway alternatives are mainly Window Managers but may also be Desktop Environments. Filter by these if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of Sway.

Sway

Free • Open Source
Window Manager

Sway is a tiling Wayland compositor and a drop-in replacement for the i3 window manager for X11. It works with your...

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GNOME
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Desktop Environment
Window Manager
Linux
BSD
29 GNOME alternatives
GNOME 3 has been designed from the ground up to help you have the best possible computing experience. Learn about what it has to offer.
- - GNOME is the most popular Linux alternative to Sway.
- - GNOME is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to Sway.
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GNOME Features
1. Extensible by Plugins/ExtensionsGNOME can be extended with add-ons, plugins and extensions.
2. LightweightGNOME consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
3. Privacy focusedGNOME is considered a privacy friendly alternative.
4. Dark ModeGNOME supports dark mode for comfortable usage in low light conditions.
5. Support for Multiple MonitorsGNOME supports the use of multiple displays.
6. Ad-freeGNOME doesn't contain any form of external advertising.
7. No TrackingGNOME will not track you or use your personal data.
8. Rolling ReleaseGNOME supports updates that are continuously rolled out, rather than in batches of versions.
Clean design
Optimal performance
Themes
i3
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Window Manager
Linux
BSD
44 i3 alternatives
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.
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i3 Features
1. Lightweighti3 consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
Tiling Window Manager
Tiling
Tabbed interface
X server
Built-in bar/panel
Highly costomizable
Mod Keys
Openbox
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Window Manager
Linux
BSD
43 Openbox alternatives
Openbox is a highly configurable, next generation window manager with extensive standards support.
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Openbox Features
1. LightweightOpenbox consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
KDE
Discontinued
No actively developed anymore. Last commit was in 2015.
Hyprland
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Window Manager
Linux
43 Hyprland alternatives
Hyprland is a dynamic tiling Wayland compositor based on wlroots that doesn't sacrifice on its looks.
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Hyprland Features
1. LightweightHyprland consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
2. Support for scriptingHyprland supports scripts and macros to automate or customize tasks.
Tiling Window Manager
Customizable
Compositor
awesome
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Window Manager
Linux
BSD
46 awesome alternatives
awesome is a highly configurable, next generation framework window manager for X. It is very fast, extensible and licensed under the GNU GPLv2 license.
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awesome Features
X server
Tiling
Extensible window manager
dwm
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Window Manager
Linux
BSD
35 dwm alternatives
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.
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dwm Features
1. Lightweightdwm consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
2. Support for Multiple Monitorsdwm supports the use of multiple displays.
X server
Keyboard focused
Xmonad
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Window Manager
Mac
Linux
43 Xmonad alternatives
xmonad is a dynamically tiling X11 window manager that is written and configured in Haskell. In a normal WM, you spend half your time aligning and searching for windows. xmonad makes work easier, by automating this.
- - Xmonad is the most popular Mac alternative to Sway.
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Xmonad Features
X server
Tiling
Extensible window manager
bspwm
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Window Manager
Linux
40 bspwm alternatives
A tiling window manager based on binary space partitioning.
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bspwm Features
1. Support for scriptingbspwm supports scripts and macros to automate or customize tasks.
2. Extensible by Plugins/Extensionsbspwm can be extended with add-ons, plugins and extensions.
3. Support for Multiple Monitorsbspwm supports the use of multiple displays.
4. Ad-freebspwm doesn't contain any form of external advertising.
5. Lightweightbspwm consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
6. Dark Modebspwm supports dark mode for comfortable usage in low light conditions.
Tiling
Configurable
Tiling Window Manager
IceWM
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Window Manager
Linux
BSD
36 IceWM alternatives
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.
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IceWM Features
X server
Qtile
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Window Manager
Linux
41 Qtile alternatives
A full-featured, hackable tiling window manager written and configured in Python.
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Qtile Features
1. Support for Multiple MonitorsQtile supports the use of multiple displays.
2. Support for scriptingQtile supports scripts and macros to automate or customize tasks.
3. Command line interfaceQtile either have CLI support or is a CLI-only app.
Tiling
Extensible window manager
Kera Desktop
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Desktop Environment
Window Manager
Mac
Windows
Linux
Chrome OS
31 Kera Desktop alternatives
An easy, pleasant, speedy, and exciting way to use your favorite OS.
- - Kera Desktop is the most popular Windows alternative to Sway.
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Kera Desktop Features
1. LightweightKera Desktop consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
2. No TrackingKera Desktop will not track you or use your personal data.
3. PortableKera Desktop can be used from a USB stick or similar with no prior installation.
4. Privacy focusedKera Desktop is considered a privacy friendly alternative.
Separated workspaces
Workspaces
Fluxbox
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Window Manager
Linux
BSD
C++
41 Fluxbox alternatives
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.
Fluxbox has no features, suggest some!