AeroSpace vs Amethyst
We give AeroSpace a 3.0 GPA and Amethyst a 3.2, out of 4.0. Amethyst grades higher on ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
How we grade them
| 3.0GPAAeroSpaceVery good | 3.2GPAAmethystVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AIt costs nothing. The whole app is free and open source under the MIT license. The author maintains it in free time and invites sponsorship, if you'd like to chip in. | AIt costs nothing. The whole app is free and open source under the MIT license, and the developer says it will always be free. Want to say thanks? The suggestion is to give to one of the listed charities. |
| Free plan and trial | AEverything is free: the tiling, the workspaces, the command-line client and multi-monitor support. There's no paid tier and nothing locked. | AEvery layout, keyboard shortcut and configuration option is free, as a direct download or through Homebrew. There's no paid version, so there's nothing to run out of. |
| Features | AWindows sit in a tree, like i3, across four layouts: tiles and accordions, each horizontal or vertical. It runs its own workspaces, assigns them to monitors, and fires commands when a new window opens. That's tiling done fully. It's still a public beta, so expect breaking changes before 1.0. | ALayouts run from Tall and Wide to three-column variants and binary space partitioning, with shortcuts to cycle them, resize the main pane, swap windows and throw one to another Space or screen. Apps can be set to always float. That's tiling done fully, though custom JavaScript layouts are still in beta. |
| Ease of use | CThere's no settings window, and the project says it'll never add one. Your settings and key bindings go in a TOML text file. It isn't notarized by Apple either, so a manual install can show a security warning. Homebrew avoids that. | BNo rating is on record to go by, so a B. There's a proper settings window, so the YAML file is optional. It needs Accessibility permission, and the site advises turning off the macOS setting that rearranges Spaces by recent use. |
| Platforms and integrations | DMac only, on macOS 13 or later. It does get along with other Mac tools, mind: SketchyBar, JankyBorders, Raycast, simple-bar and BetterTouchTool are all on its list. | DMac only, supported on macOS 10.15 or later. No integrations are listed. It's one operating system, and that's the lot. |
| Best for | i3-style window tiling on a Mac | automatic window tiling on a Mac, for free |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: AeroSpace and Amethyst. How we grade
Where they differ
- AeroSpace is free. Amethyst is free.
In commonFree planmacOSOpen sourceKeyboard-firstWindow management
At a glance
| AeroSpace | Amethyst | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| Starts at | Free | Free |
| Free plan | The whole app is free and open source under the MIT license. The README says it is maintained in the author's free time and invites sponsorship. | The whole app is free and open source under the MIT license. The developer says it will always be free and suggests donating to listed charities instead. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| macOS | ||
| Made by | Nikita Bobko | Ian Ynda-Hummel |
| Price read from | github.com | ianyh.com |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Who each one suits
AeroSpace
- Developers and advanced users who want i3-style tiling on a Mac
- Keyboard-driven work with configuration kept in dotfiles
- Multi-monitor setups that assign workspaces to particular displays
Amethyst
- Mac users who want windows arranged automatically as they open
- People coming from xmonad who want similar key bindings
- Those who want tiling with a settings window rather than only a config file
Worth knowing
AeroSpace
- macOS only: the released binary runs on macOS 13 or later.
- Still a public beta; the README says to expect breaking changes until version 1.0.
- There is no settings window. Configuration is a TOML text file, and the project says it will never add a GUI for it.
- The app is not notarized by Apple, so a manual install can show a macOS security warning; the Homebrew install avoids it.
Amethyst
- macOS only; the site says it is supported on macOS 10.15 or later.
- It needs Accessibility permission, granted under Privacy & Security in System Settings.
- The site advises turning off the macOS setting that rearranges Spaces by recent use, or keyboard navigation between Spaces becomes unpredictable.
- Custom JavaScript layouts are labeled beta, and not every layout responds to the resize commands.
Key features
AeroSpace
- Tree-based tiling
- Each workspace holds its windows in a tree of containers, a model taken from i3. Focus moves in four directions, and the move and join-with commands reshape the tree.
- Tiles and accordion layouts
- Four layouts: horizontal and vertical tiles, plus horizontal and vertical accordions that stack windows and leave a padded edge to show the others.
- Emulated workspaces
- AeroSpace uses its own workspaces instead of macOS Spaces, moving inactive windows off screen so switching has no animation. It does not need System Integrity Protection disabled.
- Plain-text configuration
- Settings and key bindings live in a TOML file such as ~/.aerospace.toml. Binding modes swap in a different set of shortcuts, as in i3.
- Command-line client
- The aerospace CLI runs the same commands as key bindings and can query state. Man pages and bash, fish and zsh completion are included.
- Callbacks and monitor assignment
- An on-window-detected callback runs commands for each new window, for example to send an app to a set workspace. Workspaces can be assigned to particular monitors.
Amethyst
- Automatic tiling layouts
- Windows are placed by the active layout: Tall, Wide, Two Pane, three-column variants, Column, Row, Fullscreen, Widescreen-Tall and binary space partitioning. Layouts can be removed from the cycle.
- xmonad-style shortcuts
- Two modifier combinations, Option-Shift and Control-Option-Shift by default, cycle layouts, resize the main pane, move focus and swap windows.
- Spaces and screens
- Shortcuts throw the focused window to a numbered Space or to another screen, and move focus between screens.
- Floating windows
- Toggle floating for the focused window, list apps that should always float or always tile, and let windows under a size threshold float by default.
- Mouse options
- Optional settings make focus follow the mouse, move the pointer to the focused window, swap windows by dragging one onto another, and update the layout after a mouse resize.
- YAML config and custom layouts
- A file at ~/.amethyst.yml sets layouts, margins, padding and shortcuts, and overrides the app's settings window. Custom layouts written in JavaScript are in beta.
Plans
AeroSpace
AeroSpace$0
Tree-based tiling, emulated workspaces, TOML configuration, the aerospace command-line client and multi-monitor support. MIT licensed.
Amethyst
Amethyst$0
Every layout, keyboard shortcut and configuration option, as a direct download or through Homebrew. MIT licensed.
