Moom vs Rectangle

Moom

• Mac users who rearrange the same windows each time they dock a laptop
• People who want both mouse-driven and keyboard-driven window control
• Buyers who prefer a one-time license that covers all of their Macs

Rectangle

• Mac users who want window snapping by shortcut or drag at no cost
• Former Spectacle users who want to keep the same shortcuts
• People who prefer open-source utilities

Moom

• macOS only; Moom 4.6 requires macOS 10.13 High Sierra or newer.
• Moom 4 is sold only on the Many Tricks site. The Mac App Store carries Moom Classic, the older Moom 3, at $6.99.
• A license includes at least one year of updates. Later updates may be paid, though the purchased version keeps working.
• There is no direct Shortcuts support; the FAQ says some features can be reached through AppleScript.

Rectangle

• macOS only. The website lists macOS 10.15 or later, while the GitHub README says the newest release needs macOS 14.
• Window throwing, custom sizes and positions, saved workspaces, window stashing and iCloud sync are only in Rectangle Pro, a separate paid app.
• Rectangle Pro's price is not shown as readable text on the site. It has a 10-day free trial, and one license can be active on 3 devices.

Moom

Pop-up palette

Hovering over a window's green button shows a palette of move and zoom actions. It can be customized with up to 61 actions, including folders, layouts and grids.

Saved layouts

Save the positions of a set of app windows and restore them later, for example when a laptop connects to an external display. Any-window layouts apply to the most recently used windows instead.

Snap and drop zones

Drag a window to a snap zone to move and zoom it. A saved layout placed in a snap zone turns its window positions into drop targets.

Custom actions and chains

Custom actions can be chained to run as one combined step or as a loop that advances each time it is used, and organized into nested folders.

Hover

Hold a set of modifier keys and move the mouse to move or resize the window under the pointer, even one in the background, without clicking.

Keyboard control

With the keyboard features enabled, windows can be moved, resized, centered and placed on an on-screen grid without the mouse, and custom actions run from a hot key.

Rectangle

Keyboard shortcuts

Move and resize the active window with a shortcut. Repeating a shortcut cycles through window sizes.

Snap areas

Drag a window to a screen edge or corner to snap it, and choose which window action each snap area triggers.

Preset sizes and positions

Commands for halves, quarters, thirds, fourths and sixths, plus maximize, almost maximize, maximize height, smaller, larger, center and restore.

Multiple displays

Next and previous display commands send a window to another screen, and layouts for displays in portrait orientation are supported.

Todo Mode

Keeps one app that you specify visible while you snap and resize other windows. The equivalent in Rectangle Pro is called Pin Mode.

Spectacle-compatible shortcuts

Rectangle is described as nearly a complete drop-in replacement for the Spectacle app, and Spectacle's default shortcuts can be chosen on first run.

Moom

• Moom$15

  one-time purchase, license valid forever

  Moom 4 with at least 1 year of updates. One license covers every Mac you use and the family members in your household.

Rectangle

• Rectangle$0

  Keyboard shortcuts, drag-to-snap areas, menu bar commands, halves to sixths, display switching and Todo Mode. Free and open source.

Moom

• Other savings

  $8 upgrade for existing Moom owners

  People who bought an earlier Moom, from the Mac App Store or directly, can upgrade to Moom 4 for $8 instead of paying the $15 new-license price.

• Lifetime license

  Perpetual license with a year of updates

  A license is perpetual and not a subscription: you own the version you bought, plus any updates released during at least the first year.

• Other savings

  Discounts for buying several licenses

  The license FAQ says Many Tricks has multi-item discount pricing and can work out a custom discount for larger quantities.

Rectangle

No public discounts listed.