Mosaic vs Sol (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Sol grades higher than Mosaic: 2.8 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Mosaic grades higher on features and platforms. Sol grades higher on value for money, the free plan and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Mosaic
Drag-and-drop window layouts for the Mac
Free trial · from £14.99 one-time
Which one is for you
Pick Mosaic if
- Fits if you want to lay windows out by dragging on a Mac
- Works for people with more than one display
Look elsewhere if
- Watch out: prices are in pounds and the dollar amount is only shown at checkout
- Watch out: the vendor says major upgrades may carry an optional fee
- Tight if you want the Pro tools and use on 5 Macs, as that's the £29.99 edition
- Not for you if you're on Windows, as Mac with macOS 10.13 or higher is required
Pick Sol if
- Fits if you want one free keyboard window for launching apps on a Mac
- Works for developers who like open source and extra commands
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you use Windows or Linux, as the site lists neither
- Too light for tiling and window snapping, where a dedicated manager does more
- Skip it if you want support, since the listing names no company behind it
- Watch out: the site gives few details on what each built-in tool does
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAMosaicFair | 2.8GPASolGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CStandard is £14.99 and Pro £29.99 one-time, roughly the middle of what one-time window tools cost. The dollar price isn't shown. | AThe whole app is free and open source under the MIT license. |
| Free plan and trial | CA 7-day free trial of the complete feature set. The page doesn't say if a card is needed. | AFree outright, with no plan to buy and no cap. |
| Features | BDrag-and-drop and custom layouts, view modes and groups, multiple displays, Pro tools and an iOS remote. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in the core job. | CApp and file search, window resizing, clipboard, calculator, emoji, calendar and notes. It is a launcher first, so its window management is a smaller part than in a dedicated manager. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record, and building custom layouts takes some learning. | BNo store rating is on record, but you install it and press a shortcut to start. |
| Platforms and integrations | CA Mac app with an iOS remote. Setapp is also offered. No Windows or web version. | DmacOS only. The site lists no Windows or Linux version. |
| Best for | drag-and-drop window layouts on Mac | a free keyboard launcher for Mac |
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: Mosaic and Sol. How we grade
Where they differ
- Mosaic can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- Sol is open source, according to its own site.
- Sol also covers launcher, clipboard manager and calculator.
In commonmacOSKeyboard-firstWindow management
At a glance
| Mosaic | Sol | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free |
| Starts at | £14.99 one-time (Standard Edition) | Free |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial of the complete feature set. | None listed |
| macOS | ||
| Made by | Light Pillar Software Ltd | ospfranco |
| Price read from | lightpillar.com | sol.ospfranco.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Mosaic
- Priced in pounds; checkout shows the equivalent in other currencies, so the dollar amount is not on the page.
- Mac only, requiring macOS 10.13 or higher.
- The vendor says major upgrades may carry an optional fee.
Sol
- Runs on macOS only; the site lists no Windows or Linux version.
- Window management is one feature of a launcher, not a dedicated tiling tool.
Key features
Mosaic
- Drag and drop layouts
- Drop a window on a layout in the panel to resize and move it.
- Custom layouts
- Create basic or advanced layouts, plus single-use layouts with Quick Layout.
- View modes and groups
- Choose where layouts appear and assign a different group of layouts to each view mode.
- Multiple displays
- The layout panel follows a window to another monitor.
- Pro tools
- The page lists keyboard shortcuts, Quick Positions, Auto Layout, Window Capture and Touch Bar support under Pro features.
- iOS remote
- A companion app on the App Store can apply a layout from an iPhone or iPad.
Sol
- App and file search
- Finds apps, files and folders from a single launcher window opened with a keyboard shortcut.
- Window manager
- Resizes and moves windows with keyboard shortcuts, such as the Control-Option-Return example shown on the site.
- Clipboard manager
- Keeps a history of copied items that can be searched and pasted back through a shortcut.
- Calculator and emoji picker
- Does quick math in the launcher and offers an emoji picker the site presents as an alternative to the system one.
- Calendar, bookmarks and notes
- Shows calendar events, searches browser bookmarks and takes quick notes from the same window.
- Developer commands
- Includes commands such as cleaning Xcode derived data and launching scripts.
Plans
Mosaic
Standard Edition£14.99
one-time purchase
Core feature set on a single Mac, with free bug fixes and optional paid upgrades.
Pro Edition£29.99
one-time purchase
Complete Pro feature set on up to 5 Macs; the iOS remote control app needs this edition.
Sol
Free$0
The whole app is free; the site calls it free and open source.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Mosaic or Sol?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Mosaic starts at £14.99 one-time (Standard Edition), and Sol is free.
Which has a free plan, Mosaic or Sol?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Sol has a free plan. Mosaic does not, though it has a free trial.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.