Ribbon is the Magnet alternative for most people who are done placing every window by hand. Windows keep their width on a strip. Rectangle is the free snapper, and BetterSnapTool, Moom and Amethyst cover cheaper dragging, saved layouts and free tiling.
The short version
| You want... | Try | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Many apps on a laptop, nothing squeezed | Ribbon | $17 once |
| Free, nothing to install | macOS built-in tiling | Free, macOS 15+ |
| Free, with keyboard shortcuts and thirds | Rectangle | Free, MIT |
| Cheaper than Magnet, drag to snap | BetterSnapTool | $1.99 |
| Mouse-driven, with a radial menu | Loop | Free, GPL-3.0 |
| Much more than Magnet | Rectangle Pro or Moom | $9.99 / $15 |
| Windows placed for you | Amethyst | Free, MIT |
What Magnet does, and why people look elsewhere
Magnet is $4.99 on the Mac App Store and needs macOS 13 or later. Drag a window to a corner for a quarter, a side for a half, the top edge to maximise, the bottom edge for thirds. Keyboard shortcuts and a menu bar menu do the same. Its site says it supports up to six external displays.
It's simple and it works. The usual reasons people look further:
- They don't want to pay for something free apps now do.
- macOS caught up. Since macOS 15 Sequoia, the system snaps to halves and quarters.
- They want more: saved layouts, custom positions, mouse gestures.
- Snapping isn't enough. With ten windows open, snapping each one by hand gets old.
Magnet alternatives compared
| App | Kind | Price | macOS | Drag to snap | Thirds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ribbon | Scrolling | $17 | 14+, Apple silicon | Drag reorders columns | A third is one width preset |
| Magnet (baseline) | Snapping | $4.99 | 13+ | Yes | Yes |
| macOS tiling | Snapping | Free | 15+ | Yes | No |
| Rectangle | Snapping | Free | 14+ | Yes | Yes |
| BetterSnapTool | Snapping | $1.99 | 12+ | Yes, plus custom areas | Custom areas |
| Loop | Snapping, radial | Free | 13+ | Radial menu | Yes |
| Rectangle Pro | Snapping | $9.99 | 13.5+ | Yes, custom targets | Yes |
| Moom | Snapping, saved layouts | $15 | 10.13+ | Yes, snap zones | Yes |
| Amethyst | Tiling | Free | 10.15+ | Not the model | Layout-driven |
Ribbon
Instead of snapping windows into a grid, Ribbon puts them on a horizontal strip, one strip per display. A new window opens as a column beside the one you're using. Nothing else resizes. ⌃⌥← and Right move along the strip.
Magnet users tend to care about two things, and Ribbon has both. ⌃⌥R sets the focused window's width, cycling a quarter, a third, a half, two thirds, three quarters and full. And when you want a classic grid, ⌘⌃4 lays out four windows, with 2, 3, 5 and 6 layouts too.
It asks only for Accessibility, keeps SIP on and uses native Spaces. One-time: $17 for one Mac, $39 for three, $59 for five.
Good to know: Ribbon needs Apple silicon and macOS 14 or later, and there is no free trial. The browser demo shows the keys.
macOS built-in tiling, if halves and quarters are enough
Before buying anything, try what's already there. Apple's shortcut list gives Fn⌃← and → for halves, Fn⌃⇧← to put two windows side by side, Fn⌃F to fill the screen, Fn⌃C to centre and Fn⌃R to put a window back. You can also drag to an edge or hover the green button. Corners have no shortcut, but drag works.
Verdict: for many Magnet users this is enough. The full walkthrough is in how to split screen on a Mac.
Rectangle, the free Magnet replacement
Rectangle is free and MIT licensed. The current build supports macOS 14 and later. It does drag-to-edge snap areas and keyboard shortcuts, and repeating a shortcut cycles sizes. Install it with brew install --cask rectangle or from the site.
Verdict: the default answer. It does what most people use Magnet for, adds thirds on a key, and is still maintained. More options in Rectangle alternatives.
BetterSnapTool, if you want it cheaper and still on the App Store
BetterSnapTool is $1.99, for macOS 12 and later. It snaps by dragging to corners and sides like Magnet, and lets you draw custom snap areas anywhere on screen.
Verdict: the closest like-for-like swap, with custom areas Magnet doesn't have.
Loop, if you'd rather flick than drag
Loop is free and GPL-3.0, for macOS 13 and later. Hold a trigger key and move the pointer; a radial menu and a preview show where the window will go.
Verdict: a good fit for trackpad people. Its last tagged release is 1.4.2 from January 2026.
Rectangle Pro or Moom, if Magnet feels too basic
Rectangle Pro is $9.99 after a 10-day trial, active on three devices, macOS 13.5 and later. It adds a one-key window throw to 16 positions, custom snap targets, layouts tied to display changes and iCloud sync.
Moom is $15 with a free trial, on macOS 10.13 and later. It adds a pop-up palette on the green button, saved layouts, snap zones and chains of actions.
Verdict: Rectangle Pro if you're keyboard-first, Moom if saved layouts are the point. Moom alternatives compares the layout apps.
Amethyst, if you want to stop snapping by hand
Amethyst is a free, MIT tiling window manager for macOS 10.15 and later. Every time a window opens or closes, it rearranges all of them using a layout like Tall, Wide or Column.
Verdict: a real change in how you work. Good on a big display, tight on a small one, because every window must fit. See Amethyst alternatives.
Which Magnet alternative should you pick?
- You keep a dozen apps open on a laptop: Ribbon.
- You just want halves and quarters: macOS built-in tiling.
- You want it free with shortcuts and thirds: Rectangle.
- You want to stay on the App Store and pay less: BetterSnapTool.
- You use the trackpad more than the keyboard: Loop.
- You want saved layouts or custom positions: Moom or Rectangle Pro.
- You want windows placed for you: Amethyst.
The whole field is in best window manager for Mac.