Magnetvs
Rectangle
Rectangle: If you would rather start free and only pay for Rectangle Pro if you need its extra features
Magnet
Mac App Store window manager sold as a one-time paid app, with no free tier
As of 1 September 2026, Magnet starts at $4.99/one-time. A window snapping utility for macOS bought once through the Mac App Store, from developer CrowdCafe. Softwr lists it under Utilities. Magnet is made by CrowdCafe, available on Mac.
Overview
What Magnet does
Magnet snaps windows into halves, thirds, quarters and corners of the screen using keyboard shortcuts or by dragging a window to a screen edge, and supports multiple displays. It is distributed exclusively through the Mac App Store. The defining fact is that Magnet has never had a free tier. It is a single paid purchase, priced at a few US dollars, that unlocks the full app immediately, with Apple handling licensing, family sharing and updates. Rectangle, its closest rival, is free and open source with an optional separate paid Pro app for extra features. That makes the two products a clean case of opposite models solving an identical problem: pay once up front for App Store convenience, or start free and decide later whether the Pro extras are worth a separate purchase. Magnet suits users who want the simplicity of App Store purchase, family sharing and automatic updates, and who would rather pay a small amount once than deal with GitHub releases or Homebrew. The trade-off is that Magnet has fewer configuration options and a slower update cadence than Rectangle, and because it lives only in the Mac App Store, sideloading or scripting around it is not possible the way it is with an open source alternative.
What people use it 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
Related searches
The honest half
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 Magnet.
- There is no free tier at all, so a user cannot try before buying beyond the Mac App Store return window.
- It offers fewer customisation options than Rectangle, such as fewer configurable snap zones and less granular per-app behaviour.
- Update cadence has historically been slower than the actively developed open source Rectangle project.
- It is Mac only and App Store only, so it cannot be scripted, redistributed internally by a company, or installed outside Apple normal channels.
- Being a small independent app, support depends on the developer responding to App Store reviews or email rather than a dedicated support team.
Cross-shopped
What people choose instead of Magnet
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.
- MagnetvsBetterTouchTool
BetterTouchTool: If you want window management as part of a much larger gesture and shortcut customisation tool
- MagnetvsAlfred
Alfred: If window snapping is a small part of what you want, alongside a launcher and automation
Pricing
What Magnet costs
Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.
Magnet
$4.99 /one-time
- Full app unlocked immediately, no trial gating
- Mac App Store purchase and family sharing
- Free updates through the App Store
Capabilities
Features
Keyboard shortcuts
Hotkeys for halves, thirds, quarters and corner placements
Drag to snap
Drag a window to a screen edge to trigger a snap layout
Multi-display support
Move and resize windows with shortcuts across several monitors
Mac App Store distribution
Purchase, family sharing and updates handled entirely through the App Store
Menu bar access
Quick access to snap actions from a menu bar icon
Third display layouts
Six and eighth screen splits for wide or multi-monitor setups
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.
Does Magnet have a free version?
No. It has always been a paid Mac App Store purchase with no free tier.
Can I share one purchase across my family Macs?
Yes, through Apple Family Sharing on the Mac App Store, the same as any other App Store app.
How is it different from Rectangle?
Magnet is a paid App Store app from the start; Rectangle is free and open source, with paid Pro features sold as a separate app.
Keep looking
Where to go from Magnet
- Magnet alternativesEvery product people weigh against it
- Magnet pricingPlans, floors and what the tiers exclude
- Magnet badgesWhich rules it meets, and the figure behind each
- All Utilities softwareThe full category
- Best Utilities softwareThe shortlist, and how it was cut
Best Utilities software for
Compare Magnet with
- Rectangle
- BetterTouchTool
- Hazel
- CleanShot X
- Kap
- Paste
- Shottr
- Karabiner-Elements
- Maccy
- EcoStruxure Geo SCADA Expert
- Ventoy
- 7-Zip
- McDonalds
- Rufus
- Starbucks
- Transmission
- Paste
- Shottr
Other Utilities software
Free open source window snapping for macOS, with a separate paid Rectangle Pro for extra features
Free, then $9.99/one-time11 researched notesMac gesture, shortcut and automation customisation tool sold as a one-time licence with a lifetime tier
From $12/one-time11 researched notesRule-based file organisation for macOS that watches folders and automatically files, renames or deletes
From $42/one-time11 researched notesPaid Mac screenshot and screen recording tool with annotation, scrolling capture and cloud sharing
From $29/one-time11 researched notesFree open source screen recorder for macOS, focused on video and GIF capture rather than annotation
Open source11 researched notesSubscription clipboard manager for Mac, iPhone and iPad with iCloud sync between devices
From $29.99/yr11 researched notesFree Mac screenshot tool with annotation and OCR, with an optional paid tier for extra features
Free, then $8/one-time11 researched notesFree open source keyboard remapper for macOS, working at driver level before the OS sees a keystroke
Open source11 researched notesFree open source clipboard history manager for macOS with no account, sync fee or subscription
Open source11 researched notesTelemetry SCADA for geographically distributed water, oil and gas assets, formerly ClearSCADA
Pricing on request12 researched notesMultiboot USB creator that boots ISO files copied onto an ordinary partition
Open source10 researched notesFree and open-source file archiver with high compression and strong encryption
Free plan12 researched notesMcDonald's mobile ordering and MyMcDonald's Rewards app used to drive app-exclusive deals and first party data
Free plan10 researched notesStarbucks mobile ordering, payment and Starbucks Rewards loyalty app
Free plan10 researched notesFree open source BitTorrent client known for a minimal interface and low resource use
Open source11 researched notesSubscription clipboard manager for Mac, iPhone and iPad with iCloud sync between devices
From $29.99/yr11 researched notesFree Mac screenshot tool with annotation and OCR, with an optional paid tier for extra features
Free, then $8/one-time11 researched notes
Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for Magnet, 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.
More on Magnet
Magnet alternatives
What people switch to, and what they give up
Magnet pricing
Every tier, and where the cost actually lands
Compare Magnet
Put it head to head with anything we hold
Magnet badge
Its rating, and an embed for your own site
Best Utilities software alternatives
Domino's Pizza ordering app with Piece of the Pie Rewards, built to route orders away from delivery marketplace commissions
Free app, revenue from purchases
Free open source BitTorrent client with true thin-client architecture for remote daemon control
Open source, no licence fee
Apple's built-in app for locating devices, AirTags and shared people locations
Free, built into Apple hardware and iCloud
Visual search that identifies objects, text, plants, products and translates text from the camera
Free, bundled into other Google apps
Central irrigation control and water management for municipalities, schools and universities
quoteTelemetry SCADA for geographically distributed water, oil and gas assets, formerly ClearSCADA
quotePaid Mac screenshot and screen recording tool with annotation, scrolling capture and cloud sharing
One-time purchaseMac gesture, shortcut and automation customisation tool sold as a one-time licence with a lifetime tier
One-time purchase