Is Hazel or Rectangle better?

Neither clearly leads. Hazel starts at $42/one-time and Rectangle at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Hazel or Rectangle?

Rectangle has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $42/one-time for Hazel and Free for Rectangle.

Does Hazel or Rectangle run on more platforms?

Both run on Mac, so platform support will not decide this one for you.

Can I use Rectangle for free?

Yes. Rectangle has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Hazel starts at $42/one-time.

What is Hazel best used for?

Hazel is most often used for a freelancer who wants invoices and receipts auto-filed into client folders based on the text inside them, anyone whose downloads folder becomes unmanageable and wants files auto-sorted by type or age, a photographer who wants imported files renamed by date pattern and moved to a project folder automatically, a user who wants old files in a scratch folder auto-deleted after a set number of days without remembering to clear it manually. Of those, a freelancer who wants invoices and receipts auto-filed into client folders based on the text inside them and anyone whose downloads folder becomes unmanageable and wants files auto-sorted by type or age are not what Rectangle is typically brought in for.

What can Hazel do that Rectangle cannot?

Hazel covers Folder watching, Conditional actions, Content-based matching, Duplicate detection. Rectangle covers Keyboard shortcuts, Drag to snap, Multi-display support, Almost full screen.

Utilities · head to head

Hazel vs Rectangle

Hazel

Utilities

Rule-based file organisation for macOS that watches folders and automatically files, renames or deletes

From: $42/one-time
Rated: -

Full review Website

Rectangle

Utilities

Free open source window snapping for macOS, with a separate paid Rectangle Pro for extra features

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Only Rectangle has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
Each has a real cost: Hazel there is no free tier, only a 14-day trial, so the full 42 dollar cost is a real barrier for a casual user just wanting one simple rule.; Rectangle rectangle Pro is a separate app rather than an in-app purchase, so upgrading means installing and managing a second piece of software.
They diverge on capability: Hazel covers Folder watching, Rectangle covers Keyboard shortcuts.
Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Hazel and Rectangle actually diverge.

Attributes where Hazel and Rectangle differ
Attribute	Hazel	Rectangle
Starting price	$42/one-time	Free
Pricing model	One-time purchase	Open source, no licence fee
Free tier	No	Yes

Identical on both: platforms (Mac), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Utilities).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Hazel

Folder watching
Conditional actions
Content-based matching
Duplicate detection
Trash auto-empty
App Sweep

Only in Rectangle

Keyboard shortcuts
Drag to snap
Multi-display support
Almost full screen
Rectangle Pro extras
Open source core

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Hazel

A freelancer who wants invoices and receipts auto-filed into client folders based on the text inside themnot Rectangle
Anyone whose Downloads folder becomes unmanageable and wants files auto-sorted by type or agenot Rectangle
A photographer who wants imported files renamed by date pattern and moved to a project folder automaticallynot Rectangle
A user who wants old files in a scratch folder auto-deleted after a set number of days without remembering to clear it manuallynot Rectangle

Rectangle

A developer who wants source-available window management with no cost and no accountnot Hazel
Anyone replacing Magnet who does not want to pay even a small one-time feenot Hazel
A user who installs software via Homebrew rather than the Mac App Storenot Hazel
A power user who later wants Rectangle Pro extras but does not need them from day onenot Hazel

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Hazel

There is no free tier, only a 14-day trial, so the full 42 dollar cost is a real barrier for a casual user just wanting one simple rule.
Rules are entirely hand-built, so the tool provides no value until a user invests time writing and testing conditions.
A misconfigured rule can silently move, rename or delete the wrong files, and mistakes are only obvious after the fact unless tested carefully first.
It is Mac only, so it does nothing for a Windows machine sharing the same file workflow.
It focuses purely on file automation, so a user also wanting window management, clipboard history or gesture control needs entirely separate tools.

Rectangle

Rectangle Pro is a separate app rather than an in-app purchase, so upgrading means installing and managing a second piece of software.
It is Mac only, so it offers nothing for a user who also runs Windows and wants one window manager everywhere.
It has no official paid support channel, being a community open source project, so issues are handled through GitHub rather than a vendor support desk.
Some very old or unusually built third party apps still resist Rectangle window snapping, a limitation shared with most third party window managers on macOS.
Because it is not distributed through the Mac App Store, some users have to manually approve accessibility permissions and updates rather than getting silent App Store updates.

Pricing, plan by plan

Hazel

$42/one-time

Single User Licence$42/one-time
- One user, Hazel 6
- Free updates within the major version
- 14-day free trial before purchase
Family Pack$65/one-time
- Multiple users covered under one purchase
- Same feature set as the single licence

Rectangle

Free

RectangleFree
- Free and open source, no account needed
- Keyboard and drag window snapping
- Multi-display support
Rectangle Pro$9.99/one-time
- Separate paid app, not an in-app unlock
- Cursor-following snap areas
- Per-app window size memory

Which should you pick?

Choose Hazel if

You need folder watching.
You work on Mac.
You also want conditional actions.

Hazel review

Choose Rectangle if

You need keyboard shortcuts.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Mac.
You also want drag to snap.

Rectangle review

Questions people ask

Is Hazel or Rectangle better?: Neither clearly leads. Hazel starts at $42/one-time and Rectangle at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Hazel or Rectangle?: Rectangle has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $42/one-time for Hazel and Free for Rectangle.
Does Hazel or Rectangle run on more platforms?: Both run on Mac, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Rectangle for free?: Yes. Rectangle has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Hazel starts at $42/one-time.
What is Hazel best used for?: Hazel is most often used for a freelancer who wants invoices and receipts auto-filed into client folders based on the text inside them, anyone whose downloads folder becomes unmanageable and wants files auto-sorted by type or age, a photographer who wants imported files renamed by date pattern and moved to a project folder automatically, a user who wants old files in a scratch folder auto-deleted after a set number of days without remembering to clear it manually. Of those, a freelancer who wants invoices and receipts auto-filed into client folders based on the text inside them and anyone whose downloads folder becomes unmanageable and wants files auto-sorted by type or age are not what Rectangle is typically brought in for.
What can Hazel do that Rectangle cannot?: Hazel covers Folder watching, Conditional actions, Content-based matching, Duplicate detection. Rectangle covers Keyboard shortcuts, Drag to snap, Multi-display support, Almost full screen.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Hazel: Is Hazel a subscription?

No. It is a one-time purchase per major version, currently 42 US dollars for a single user licence.

Rectangle: Is Rectangle really free?

Yes. The core app is free and open source with no feature gating or trial period.

Hazel: Can Hazel read the content of files, not just names?

Yes, rules can match on text found inside supported file types such as PDFs and text documents.

Rectangle: What does Rectangle Pro add?

Cursor-following snap areas, per-app window size memory and some additional layouts, sold as a separate one-time purchase app.

Hazel: Does Hazel run in the background automatically?

Yes, it watches configured folders continuously and applies rules as files change, with no manual trigger needed.

Rectangle: How is it different from Magnet?

Rectangle is free and open source; Magnet is a paid Mac App Store app from the start with no free tier.

Hazel vs Rectangle

Hazel

Rectangle

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Hazel

Only in Rectangle

What people use each for

Hazel

Rectangle

Where each one falls short

Hazel

Rectangle

Pricing, plan by plan

Hazel

Rectangle

Which should you pick?

Choose Hazel if

Choose Rectangle if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Hazel

More on Rectangle

Keep looking

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