A free Magnet alternative for Mac

What Magnet does well

Magnet has been a Mac App Store staple for years, and for good reason. It snaps windows to halves, thirds, quarters, and sixths, either by dragging to a screen edge or with keyboard shortcuts, and it adds entries to the green window button menu. It's lightweight, stable, and the kind of utility you set up once and forget. If basic, reliable snapping is the entire job, Magnet does it cleanly.

It's a one-time purchase on the Mac App Store (around $5, no subscription). That's a fair price — but in 2026 it's a hard sell when free, open-source tools snap windows just as well and do more.

Where Magnet stops

Magnet is a snapping tool, full stop. Once your windows are arranged, it has nothing more to offer:

• No app switcher. You're still on macOS's Cmd+Tab, which cycles through every open app and switches apps, not windows.
• No profiles or workspaces. There's no concept of a “Coding” vs “Research” setup with its own apps and layout.
• No session save/restore. Close everything and you rebuild your arrangement by hand next time.
• No per-app rules. You can't say “Chrome always opens on the left half.”

Magnet vs Rectangle vs HopTab

Snapping is table stakes — all three do it well. HopTab's difference is everything that happens after the window is placed.

HopTab covers everything you used Magnet for

The migration is painless because the snapping is at least as capable:

• 17 snap positions — halves, thirds, two-thirds, quarters, maximize, and center, all on global shortcuts.
• Drag-to-snap to any edge or corner, with a translucent preview overlay so you can see the target zone before you drop.
• Size cycling — press the same direction again to step a window through ½ → ⅓ → ⅔.
• Undo — every snap saves the previous frame, so Ctrl+Opt+Z puts it back. Magnet has no undo.
• Configurable gaps between windows and screen edges, and full shortcut customization with a built-in recorder.

And then the parts Magnet never had

This is the real reason to switch rather than just go free:

• A focused app switcher. Pin only the apps you actually use and press Option+Tab to cycle that list — not the 20 random apps Cmd+Tab shows.
• Workspace profiles. “Coding” has its own pinned apps, layout, and hotkey; “Research” has another. Switch the whole context with one key.
• Session save/restore. Save where every window sits and bring it all back tomorrow.
• Window rules. “Chrome always snaps to the left half on launch” — set it once.

How to switch from Magnet to HopTab

1. Quit Magnet (and, if you like, disable it in System Settings → General → Login Items so the shortcuts don't conflict).
2. Download HopTab and drag it to Applications.
3. Grant Accessibility permission (System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility) — the same permission Magnet needs to move windows.
4. Open Settings → Windows and rebind the snap shortcuts to whatever you used in Magnet, if you want them identical.

FAQ

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