BetterTouchTool

Mac gesture, shortcut and automation customisation tool sold as a one-time licence with a lifetime tier

As of 1 September 2026, BetterTouchTool starts at $12/one-time. A macOS utility that lets a user remap trackpad gestures, keyboard shortcuts, mouse buttons and touch bar actions to almost any system or app action, plus window snapping and menu bar customisation. Softwr lists it under Utilities. BetterTouchTool is made by Folivora AI, available on Mac.

Visit siteVisit BetterTouchTool

Overview

What BetterTouchTool does

BetterTouchTool intercepts trackpad gestures, keyboard combinations, mouse clicks and, on older Macs, Touch Bar input, and maps them to actions ranging from simple keystrokes to multi-step scripted sequences involving AppleScript, shell commands or its own visual scripting. It also includes window snapping, a customisable menu bar and floating on-screen widgets. The distinguishing feature against a dedicated window manager like Rectangle or Magnet is scope: BetterTouchTool treats window snapping as one small module inside a much larger customisation surface covering every input device and many system behaviours. That breadth is also the trade-off, since the settings interface has hundreds of options and a steep learning curve compared with a single-purpose app. Pricing is a Standard Licence at 12 US dollars covering two years of free updates, after which the app keeps working on the last version received, or a Lifetime Licence at 24 US dollars covering updates for as long as the app exists. It is also bundled into the Setapp subscription alongside other Mac utilities. Buyers are power users and people with accessibility needs who want fine control over input devices; the trade-off is that with so many configurable layers, a new user can spend hours in preferences before getting a single custom gesture working the way they want.

What people use it for

A power user who wants every trackpad gesture and shortcut on the machine remapped to a specific action
Someone with accessibility needs who benefits from remapping input devices away from default behaviour
A user who wants window snapping bundled with much broader system customisation rather than a single-purpose app
Someone already on a Setapp subscription who wants BetterTouchTool included rather than purchased separately

Where it falls short

Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about BetterTouchTool.

The preferences interface has hundreds of settings across many tabs, so getting one custom gesture working can take longer than with a dedicated single-purpose app.
The Standard Licence stops receiving updates after two years unless renewed or upgraded to Lifetime, which is easy to miss and can leave a user on an outdated build.
It is Mac only, offering nothing for a Windows machine in a mixed household.
Because it can intercept almost any input, misconfiguration can make gestures or shortcuts behave unpredictably across different apps, which takes time to debug.
It overlaps in function with several single-purpose tools such as Rectangle for windows or Karabiner-Elements for key remapping, so a new user has to decide whether they want one broad tool or several focused ones.

Cross-shopped

What people choose instead of BetterTouchTool

Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.

BetterTouchToolvs
Rectangle
Rectangle: If you only want window snapping and prefer a free, focused, open source tool
BetterTouchToolvs
Karabiner-Elements
Karabiner-Elements: If you only want keyboard remapping and prefer a free open source tool
BetterTouchToolvs
Alfred
Alfred: If your priority is search and launching rather than gesture and input remapping

Pricing

What BetterTouchTool costs

Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.

Standard Licence

$12 /one-time

Free updates for two years
App keeps working on the last version after that
Single user licence

Lifetime Licence

$24 /one-time

Free updates for as long as the app exists
Single user licence
Also available bundled through Setapp

Capabilities

Features

Gesture customisation
Remap trackpad and Magic Mouse gestures to system or app specific actions
Keyboard shortcut remapping
Global and per-app shortcut overrides, including multi-key sequences
Window snapping
Drag and keyboard based window layouts similar to a dedicated window manager
Touch Bar customisation
Custom widgets and actions for Macs with a physical Touch Bar
Scripted actions
AppleScript, shell script and BetterTouchTool own scripting for multi-step automations
Floating menus and widgets
On-screen controls and stats widgets positioned anywhere on the display

Answered, with sources

Questions people ask

Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.

Is BetterTouchTool a subscription?

No. It is a one-time purchase, either a Standard Licence with two years of updates or a Lifetime Licence with updates indefinitely.

Can I get it without buying it directly?

Yes, it is included in the Setapp subscription bundle alongside other Mac utilities.

Does it replace Rectangle or Karabiner-Elements?

It can cover much of what both do, since it includes window snapping and key remapping, but each of those apps is more focused on its single job.

Keep looking

Where to go from BetterTouchTool

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Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for BetterTouchTool, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.

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