Rectangle vs Swish

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

Swish

• MacBook and Magic Trackpad users who prefer gestures to keyboard shortcuts
• Multi-monitor setups where windows move between screens often
• Buyers who want a low one-time price, or who already pay for Setapp

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.

Swish

• macOS only, version 12 and above. It is not on the Mac App Store because it cannot run sandboxed.
• It is designed mainly for the Magic Trackpad; a third-party mouse needs a separate app such as Mac Mouse Fix to emulate touch gestures.
• A license can be active on two Macs at a time and has to be unlinked in Settings before moving to another Mac.
• The Buy button shows a price that Paddle localizes by country; $16 is the US figure.

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.

Swish

Title bar snapping

A quick swipe on a window's title bar snaps it into position, in place of dragging the window to a screen edge.

Grids and shared dividers

Snapping supports 2×2, 3×2 and 3×3 grids, and dragging the divider between snapped windows resizes several of them at once.

Close, minimize and full screen

Pinching in closes a window, swiping down minimizes it and pinching out sends it full screen, replacing the three title bar buttons.

Screens and spaces

Swipes move windows between displays according to how the monitors are physically arranged, and further gestures work with macOS spaces.

Keyboard hotkeys

Arrow, WASD, IJKL and Dvorak hotkeys trigger the snapping, screen and spaces actions, configured in the Advanced tab of the settings.

30 gestures, each switchable

The site counts 30 window, Dock and menu bar gestures. Each can be turned on or off by clicking its icon in the settings window, which also includes a tutorial.

Rectangle

• Rectangle$0

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

Swish

• Swish license$16

  one-time purchase (US price; Paddle localizes it elsewhere)

  A full license with no recurring cost, for personal use on two computers. One license can be active on two machines at a time.

• Setapp subscription$9.99

  per month, after 7 days free, for the whole Setapp catalog

  Swish is also available through Setapp, a subscription that the Swish site says includes more than 200 Mac and iOS apps.

Rectangle

No public discounts listed.

Swish

• Education

  33% off for students

  The Swish FAQ says students get 33% off by sending an email from a .edu address.