Rectangle is the window manager most Mac users try first, and for good reason: it's free, open source, and snaps windows to halves, thirds and quarters with keyboard shortcuts or by dragging to the screen edges. If snapping is all you need, keep it. Toolnotch's window manager, Wyndow, snaps the same way with the same ⌃⌥ keys, and adds what free Rectangle doesn't do: it puts your windows back when you unplug and replug a display, undoes your last 20 window moves, and saves whole layouts across your Spaces. It's paid, and it comes with Toolnotch's other tools: clipboard history, eye breaks and keep-awake. Rectangle Pro, the paid version, closes part of that gap; the comparison below covers both.
I make Toolnotch, so weigh that. Rectangle's details come from rectangleapp.com, the Rectangle Pro page and Rectangle's GitHub README, checked on 20 October 2026.
What each app does
| Rectangle (free) | Rectangle Pro | Toolnotch (Wyndow) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Halves, thirds, quarters by keyboard | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Press again to cycle sizes | Yes | Yes, configurable | Yes: ½ → ⅔ → ⅓, then the next display |
| Drag to screen edges to snap | Yes | Yes | Yes (a setting), plus drag to the notch for a map of your displays |
| Undo | Restore the window's size from before it was snapped | Not stated | Undo the last 20 window actions, several windows at once |
| The window already in a half moves aside | Not stated | Not stated | Yes |
| Resize two side-by-side windows together | Not stated | Not stated | Yes, drag the edge between them |
| Tile all windows, cascade, todo sidebar | Yes | Yes, more options | Ranger (⌃⌥=): two, three, then all recent windows side by side |
| Custom sizes and positions | Not listed | Yes | No |
| Move and snap with the cursor (window throw) | No | Yes | No |
| Save a layout of many apps and apply it with one key | No | Yes | Yes, desks (⌘S, ⌘1), across macOS Spaces |
| Restore windows when a display is reconnected | No | Yes, layouts can activate on connect and disconnect | Yes, automatic, including after sleep and with the lid closed on the way |
| Windows keep their halves when you unplug | Not stated | Not stated | Yes |
| Sync settings over iCloud | No | Yes | No |
| Clipboard history, eye breaks, keep-awake | No | No | Yes |
"Not stated" and "Not listed" mean Rectangle's site, README or Pro page don't mention it; check the current version if it matters to you.
Price and licence
| Rectangle | Rectangle Pro | Toolnotch | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, open source | $9.99 once | $19.99 ($4.99 for the first 10 buyers, then $9.99 for the next 100) |
| Devices | Any | 3 at a time | 3 Macs |
| Trial | n/a | 10 days | None; 14-day refund, no questions |
| Future tools | n/a | Rectangle Pro updates | Every future Toolnotch tool included |
| macOS | 14 or later (older versions available back to 10.15) | 13.5 or later | 15 Sequoia or later |
The unplug problem
This is where most people go looking for a Rectangle alternative. You work on a laptop with an external display, you unplug it to go to a meeting, and macOS piles every window onto the laptop screen, overlapping. You plug back in and they stay there. Free Rectangle doesn't deal with this; it snaps windows when you ask, it doesn't remember where they were.
Wyndow does it by itself. When you unplug, the external display's windows land on the laptop in the same zones: a left half stays a left half. When you plug back in, each one returns to where it was, and the notch says « Restored 2 windows ». It survives closing the lid on the way home, an update or a relaunch, and windows you arranged side by side on the laptop come back side by side. The full story, with the free workarounds, is in why windows move when you unplug a monitor.
Rectangle Pro covers this differently: you build layouts and set them to activate when displays connect or disconnect. That works well if your setups are fixed and you're happy to define them. Wyndow remembers whatever you had last, with nothing to set up.
Snapping, side by side
Rectangle's recommended shortcuts and Wyndow's both start with ⌃⌥: ⌃⌥← for the left half, ⌃⌥→ for the right. Both cycle sizes when you press again. Two things feel different in Wyndow:
- The other window makes room. Snap Safari to the left over a Terminal that filled the left half, and Terminal slides to the right instead of hiding behind.
- Undo means undo. ⌃⌥⌫ puts back the last action, both windows at once, and keeps going back up to 20 steps. Each snap shows an island under the notch with what moved.
Rectangle has more ways to split a screen (sixths, eighths, ninths, a todo sidebar, cycling through stacked windows). Wyndow keeps a shorter list: halves, thirds, two-thirds, quarters, centre, focus. See snap windows with the keyboard for every key.
What Toolnotch adds
The same licence includes Pasteback, a clipboard history under the notch that searches the text inside screenshots and masks API keys; Bodybreak, 20-20-20 eye breaks that wait for calls and for your typing; and Staywake, which keeps the Mac awake while a terminal job runs. One licence covers three Macs and every tool Toolnotch adds later.
What Rectangle does better
Free Rectangle costs nothing, the code is public, and it runs on older Macs. It has more layouts than Wyndow and options for nearly everything. Rectangle Pro adds window throwing with the cursor, custom sizes, a snap panel, hiding windows at the screen edge and iCloud sync of your settings, for $9.99 with a trial. If you never unplug a display and want the deepest snapping options, Rectangle and Rectangle Pro are hard to beat.
Can you run both?
Not with the same keys. Rectangle's recommended shortcuts and Wyndow's are the same ⌃⌥ combinations, including ⌃⌥⌫. Toolnotch tells you when Rectangle is running. Keep one set of shortcuts: either clear Rectangle's and use Wyndow, or turn Wyndow off and keep the rest of Toolnotch.
Which one to choose
Choose Rectangle if you want free, open-source snapping and your displays don't change.
Choose Rectangle Pro if you want custom sizes and window throwing, and are happy to define layouts per display setup.
Choose Toolnotch if you plug and unplug a display every day and want your windows back without setting anything up, and if a clipboard history and eye breaks are on your list too.
Also comparing Magnet? See Toolnotch vs Magnet. Try the window demo on toolnotch.app, or see pricing.
FAQ
Is Rectangle still free?
Yes. Rectangle is free and open source. Rectangle Pro is a separate paid app, $9.99 once, with a 10-day trial.
Does Rectangle restore windows when I reconnect a monitor?
The free version doesn't. Rectangle Pro has layouts that can activate when displays are connected or disconnected. Wyndow does it automatically.
Can I keep Rectangle's shortcuts in Wyndow?
Wyndow's defaults are already ⌃⌥ and the arrows, and every key can be changed in Settings › Wyndow.
Does Wyndow work in full screen?
It never moves a window in macOS full screen, and it needs Accessibility access, like every Mac window manager.