Utilities · alternatives
Alternatives to Magnet
20 utilities tools sit alongside Magnet in this directory. Below is what separates each from Magnet on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 20
- With a free tier
- 13
- Cheaper to start
- 0
- Magnet starts at
- $4.99/one-time
Why people look past Magnet
Only what the record supports. Each point below is a figure on the Magnet entry measured against the tools listed beside it.
There is no free tier
The record for Magnet carries no free tier, so evaluating it means paying first. 13 of the 20 alternatives below can be used without paying.
There is only one tier
Magnet publishes a single plan, Magnet at $4.99/one-time. There is no smaller tier to drop to if the fit is wrong or the budget moves.
What each alternative does differently
Ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry. Differences are drawn from price, pricing model, tier count and rating, the fields the category listing carries. For a feature-level difference, follow the head-to-head link on each card: those pages read both full records.
Free open source window snapping for macOS, with a separate paid Rectangle Pro for extra features
- Can be used without paying; Magnet cannot.
- Starts $5 a one-time dearer, at $9.99/one-time.
- Sold on a Open source, no licence fee model rather than One-time purchase.
- 2 tiers to Magnet's 1.
Mac gesture, shortcut and automation customisation tool sold as a one-time licence with a lifetime tier
- Starts $7.01 a one-time dearer, at $12/one-time.
- 2 tiers to Magnet's 1.
Mac launcher and automation tool sold as a one-time Powerpack licence rather than a subscription
- Can be used without paying; Magnet cannot.
- Starts $29.009999999999998 a one-time dearer, at £34/one-time.
- 3 tiers to Magnet's 1.
Free open source BitTorrent client with true thin-client architecture for remote daemon control
- Can be used without paying; Magnet cannot.
- Sold on a Open source, no licence fee model rather than One-time purchase.
McDonald's mobile ordering and MyMcDonald's Rewards app used to drive app-exclusive deals and first party data
- Can be used without paying; Magnet cannot.
- Sold on a Free app, revenue from purchases model rather than One-time purchase.
Domino's Pizza ordering app with Piece of the Pie Rewards, built to route orders away from delivery marketplace commissions
- Can be used without paying; Magnet cannot.
- Sold on a Free app, revenue from purchases model rather than One-time purchase.
Every Magnet alternative at a glance
A dash means the catalogue entry carries no figure, not that the answer is nothing.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Tiers | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Magnet (this page) | $4.99/one-time | One-time purchase | 1 | |
| RectangleIf you would rather start free and only pay for Rectangle Pro if you need its extra features | Free, then $9.99/one-time | Open source, no licence fee | 2 | vs Magnet |
| BetterTouchToolIf you want window management as part of a much larger gesture and shortcut customisation tool | $12/one-time | One-time purchase | 2 | vs Magnet |
| AlfredIf window snapping is a small part of what you want, alongside a launcher and automation | Free, then £34/one-time | One-time purchase | 3 | vs Magnet |
| Deluge | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs Magnet |
| McDonalds | Free | Free app, revenue from purchases | 1 | vs Magnet |
| Dominos | Free | Free app, revenue from purchases | 1 | vs Magnet |
| Find My | Free | Free, built into Apple hardware and iCloud | 1 | vs Magnet |
| Karabiner-Elements | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs Magnet |
| Maccy | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs Magnet |
| Google Lens | Free | Free, bundled into other Google apps | 1 | vs Magnet |
| qBittorrent | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs Magnet |
| Starbucks | Free | Free app, revenue from prepaid stored value and purchases | 1 | vs Magnet |
| Shottr | Free, then $8/one-time | One-time purchase | 3 | vs Magnet |
| Kap | Free | Open source, no licence fee | 1 | vs Magnet |
| Calsense | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Magnet |
| EcoStruxure Geo SCADA Expert | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Magnet |
| Hazel | $42/one-time | One-time purchase | 2 | vs Magnet |
| Sedaru | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Magnet |
| Paste | $29.99/year | Per user per month | 1 | vs Magnet |
| CleanShot X | $29/one-time | One-time purchase | 2 | vs Magnet |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry; Softwr hosts no reviews of these products. How each figure is used is set out on the Magnet badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
What you would be giving up
Magnet is most often brought in for a user who wants the app store handling licensing, family sharing and updates automatically, someone who prefers paying a small one-time fee up front over evaluating a free tool first, a less technical user who does not want to install from github or homebrew, a family sharing one apple id that wants one purchase to cover multiple macs in the household. Anything replacing it has to cover the ones you actually depend on, and a cheaper tool that misses one of them is not cheaper.
Two things this page cannot settle. It compares on price, model, tier count and rating, because those are the fields the category listing carries, feature-level differences need both full records, which is what the head-to-head pages load. And the ratings are third-party aggregates imported with each entry rather than reviews written here, so a 0.2 difference between two tools is noise rather than a finding.
If Magnet is broadly right and the question is cost, the Magnet pricing breakdown covers every tier and what each one adds. If you want the whole field rather than a shortlist, the Utilities category lists everything the directory holds, and best utilities tools ranks them.
Magnet runs on mac. Platform coverage is not carried on the category listing for the alternatives, so it is one more thing to check on each head-to-head page rather than here.
Questions about Magnet alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to Magnet?
- 20 other utilities tools are listed in this directory, led by Rectangle, BetterTouchTool, Alfred, Deluge. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to Magnet?
- 13 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: Rectangle, Alfred, Deluge, McDonalds, Dominos.
- Why do people look for an alternative to Magnet?
- On the figures on record, 2 things stand out: there is no free tier; there is only one tier. Each is set out with the numbers behind it above.
- What would I give up by switching from Magnet?
- Magnet is most often brought in for a user who wants the app store handling licensing, family sharing and updates automatically, someone who prefers paying a small one-time fee up front over evaluating a free tool first, a less technical user who does not want to install from github or homebrew, a family sharing one apple id that wants one purchase to cover multiple macs in the household. Anything you replace it with has to cover the ones you actually rely on, the side-by-side comparisons linked from each alternative below put the two feature records against each other.
- Is there an open-source alternative to Magnet?
- None of the utilities tools listed here are recorded as open source. That is what the licence field on each entry says, and the field is not always filled in, so it is worth checking directly for any tool you are serious about.
- How were these Magnet alternatives chosen?
- They are the tools filed in the same category, Utilities, ordered by the aggregated rating on each entry. There is no editorial shortlist, and nothing on this page is paid: no sponsored placement runs on alternatives pages and the order cannot be bought. Softwr has not used these products.
- Where can I compare Magnet against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against Magnet covering price, platforms, features and what each one is used for. Those pages read the full record for both products rather than the summary shown here.
- Does this list cover every utilities tool?
- No. It covers what this directory holds in the Utilities category, 20 tools beside Magnet. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.