Magnet
Window manager for Mac that snaps windows into organized tiles with keyboard shortcuts.
Quick Take: Magnet
Magnet is a solid window manager that does exactly what it promises: snap windows to screen zones with keyboard shortcuts and mouse gestures. It's reliable, simple, and well-maintained. The $4.99 price is fair for what you get, but it's hard to recommend over Rectangle, which is free and offers the same core functionality plus a few extras. If you already own Magnet, there's no reason to switch. If you're buying for the first time, try Rectangle first. If you prefer the App Store experience or want Family Sharing, Magnet is the paid option that won't disappoint.
Best For
- •Users who prefer purchasing through the Mac App Store
- •Anyone who wants simple, reliable window snapping without configuration
- •Windows-to-Mac switchers who miss drag-to-snap behavior
- •Multi-monitor users who need keyboard-driven window arrangement
What is Magnet?
Magnet is a paid window manager for macOS that lets you snap windows to predefined screen zones using keyboard shortcuts or by dragging windows to screen edges. If you've used Windows 10 or later, you know the behavior: drag a window to the left edge and it fills the left half of the screen. Drag it to a corner and it fills that quarter. macOS doesn't do this natively (even in 2026, Apple's built-in tiling is basic), so Magnet fills the gap. The app costs $4.99 as a one-time purchase on the Mac App Store. It lives in your menu bar and adds zero visual clutter. Once installed, you press a keyboard shortcut like Control+Option+Left to snap the current window to the left half of the screen, or drag the window to the top edge to maximize it. Magnet supports halves, thirds, quarters, sixths, and custom arrangements. It works across multiple monitors and handles different display sizes gracefully. Magnet has been one of the top-selling productivity apps on the Mac App Store for years, consistently sitting in the top 10 paid utilities. It's popular because it solves a real daily frustration: arranging windows on macOS is tedious without a tool like this. You're constantly resizing browser windows, code editors, Slack, and terminals by hand. Magnet makes it a keyboard shortcut or a mouse gesture. The obvious question in 2026 is whether you should pay for Magnet when Rectangle exists as a free, open-source alternative that does essentially the same thing. That's a fair question, and the answer depends on whether you value the App Store purchase experience (automatic updates, family sharing, purchase history) or prefer the free option. Functionally, both apps handle the core window-snapping use case well.
Install with Homebrew
brew install --cask magnetDeep Dive: Magnet vs Rectangle — The Real Comparison
The elephant in every Magnet discussion is Rectangle. Both apps snap windows to screen zones. Both use keyboard shortcuts. Both support halves, thirds, quarters, and multi-monitor setups. So why does Magnet still sell?
History & Background
Magnet launched in 2011 and was one of the first drag-to-snap window managers for macOS. For years, it was the go-to recommendation because the alternatives were either clunky or complex. Rectangle appeared in 2019 as a fork of the discontinued Spectacle app, offering the same functionality for free. Since then, Magnet has faced the awkward position of being a paid tool competing with a free alternative that's arguably better.
How It Works
Magnet uses the macOS Accessibility API to control window positions—the same approach Rectangle uses. Both request the same Accessibility permission, use the same window management APIs, and achieve the same results. The technical implementation is nearly identical. The main differences are in the UI layer and distribution model.
Ecosystem & Integrations
Magnet is a standalone app with no plugin system, no scripting, and no community extensions. Rectangle has a more active open-source community with feature suggestions, bug reports, and occasional code contributions. Rectangle Pro (a paid add-on) offers features Magnet doesn't have: custom snap zones, app-specific settings, and window gaps. The Rectangle ecosystem is more vibrant because it's open-source.
Future Development
Magnet receives steady updates for macOS compatibility but doesn't add significant new features. The app reached feature completeness years ago and is now in maintenance mode. Rectangle continues to evolve with new features and improvements driven by community feedback.
Key Features
Drag-to-Snap Zones
Drag a window to any screen edge or corner and Magnet shows a translucent overlay of where the window will land. Release the mouse and the window snaps to that zone. Left/right edges snap to halves. Corners snap to quarters. Top edge maximizes. This matches Windows behavior almost exactly. The overlay preview gives you visual confirmation before you release, so you always know where the window will end up.
Keyboard Shortcuts for Every Position
Magnet ships with default keyboard shortcuts for every position: Control+Option+Left for left half, Control+Option+Right for right half, Control+Option+Up for top half, Control+Option+Down for bottom half, Control+Option+Enter for maximize, and combinations for thirds, quarters, and sixths. All shortcuts are customizable in Preferences. Most users memorize 4-5 shortcuts (left half, right half, maximize, and maybe two quarters) and use those hundreds of times a day.
Thirds Layout
Split your screen into three equal columns—useful for wide monitors where halves leave each window too wide. On a 34-inch ultrawide, thirds give you a code editor, a browser, and a terminal side by side, each at a comfortable width. The shortcuts are Control+Option+D for left third, Control+Option+F for center third, and Control+Option+G for right third. You can also combine two thirds for a two-thirds/one-third split.
Sixths Layout
For large displays, Magnet supports sixths: six equal zones arranged in a 3×2 grid. Each zone gets its own shortcut. This is most useful on 4K and 5K displays where you have enough pixel density to comfortably read six windows simultaneously. On smaller screens, sixths are too cramped to be practical.
Multi-Monitor Support
Magnet works across multiple connected displays. You can move a window from one monitor to another using keyboard shortcuts—Control+Option+Shift+Right moves the window to the next monitor, for example. Snap zones work independently on each display, so you can have different arrangements on your laptop screen and external monitor.
Menu Bar Control
Click Magnet's menu bar icon to see all available positions with their keyboard shortcuts. This serves as a reference card while you're learning the shortcuts, and as a quick access method for positions you use infrequently. After a week or two, most users never click the menu bar icon again because the shortcuts become muscle memory.
Restore Original Position
Magnet remembers a window's position before snapping. Press the restore shortcut (Control+Option+Delete) and the window returns to its original size and position. This is useful when you temporarily snap a window to read something and want to put it back where it was.
Center Window
A simple but frequently used feature: center the current window on screen without changing its size. Useful for dialogs, settings windows, and any window that doesn't need to be snapped to an edge. The default shortcut is Control+Option+C.
Who Should Use Magnet?
1The Developer with a Dual-Monitor Setup
You have a MacBook connected to an external display. Your code editor lives on the external monitor (right half), your terminal sits next to it (left half), and your browser with documentation is on the laptop screen (maximized). Magnet snaps each window into position with three keyboard shortcuts. When you switch contexts—say, from coding to reviewing a pull request—you rearrange with three more shortcuts. No dragging, no manual resizing.
2The Writer Comparing Sources
You're writing an article and need a browser with research on the left, your writing app on the right, and occasionally a third window with notes. Magnet's halves and thirds let you switch between two-window and three-window layouts in seconds. When you need to focus on writing alone, Control+Option+Enter maximizes your editor.
3The Designer in a Review Session
You're comparing a Figma mockup with the live site. Snap Figma to the left half and Chrome to the right half. When the client joins the call, snap Zoom to a quarter and keep working in the remaining three quarters. Magnet makes the screen real estate flexible enough to accommodate interruptions.
4The Student Taking Online Classes
You need the lecture video in one half, your notes app in the other, and occasionally a browser for looking things up. Magnet's keyboard shortcuts let you rearrange windows without leaving your note-taking flow. Between classes, you maximize your browser for reading assignments.
5The Financial Analyst with Multiple Spreadsheets
You have four Excel spreadsheets open and need to compare them. Snap each to a quarter of the screen. On a 27-inch display, each quarter is big enough to read a spreadsheet comfortably. When you need to focus on one, double-press the maximize shortcut.
How to Install Magnet on Mac
Magnet is available exclusively through the Mac App Store.
Purchase from the Mac App Store
Open the Mac App Store, search for 'Magnet', and purchase it for $4.99. It's a one-time payment with no subscription.
Grant Accessibility Permission
On first launch, Magnet requests Accessibility permission in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility. This is required for Magnet to control window positions. Enable it and relaunch if needed.
Learn the Core Shortcuts
Start with four: Control+Option+Left (left half), Control+Option+Right (right half), Control+Option+Enter (maximize), and Control+Option+Delete (restore). These handle 90% of window management needs.
Customize if Needed
Open Magnet Preferences from the menu bar icon to change keyboard shortcuts, enable/disable drag-to-snap, and configure behavior for specific positions.
Pro Tips
- • Magnet supports Family Sharing—one $4.99 purchase covers up to 6 family members.
- • If you use an external keyboard with different modifier key positions, remap shortcuts in Preferences.
- • Magnet works with Stage Manager but the interaction can be quirky—most users disable Stage Manager when using Magnet.
Configuration Tips
Disable Drag-to-Snap if You Only Use Shortcuts
If you exclusively use keyboard shortcuts and find the drag-to-edge behavior triggers accidentally (especially when moving windows between monitors), disable it in Magnet Preferences. This eliminates the accidental snap overlay that appears when you drag near an edge.
Learn Halves First, Add More Later
Don't try to memorize all shortcuts at once. Start with left half, right half, and maximize. After a week, add top/bottom halves. After another week, add quarters. Gradual adoption beats trying to learn 15 shortcuts on day one.
Use Sixths Only on Large Displays
Sixths work well on 27-inch and larger monitors. On a laptop screen, the zones are too small to be useful. If you only use a laptop, ignore sixths entirely.
Remap Shortcuts to Avoid Conflicts
Magnet's default Control+Option+Arrow combinations can conflict with VS Code, IntelliJ, and other apps. If you experience conflicts, remap Magnet's shortcuts to use Hyper key combinations (if you've remapped Caps Lock to Hyper using Karabiner-Elements) or choose a different modifier combination.
Alternatives to Magnet
Window management on macOS has several options, from free to paid:
Rectangle
Rectangle is the free, open-source alternative that most people should try first. It does everything Magnet does—keyboard shortcuts, drag-to-snap, halves, thirds, quarters—and adds features like custom sizes and repeated shortcut cycling. Unless you specifically want the App Store purchase experience, Rectangle is the better choice.
BetterSnapTool
Made by the same developer as Magnet, BetterSnapTool adds customizable snap areas and more advanced window positioning. It's $2.99 on the App Store. Think of it as Magnet's power-user sibling.
Raycast Window Management
Raycast includes built-in window management commands. If you already use Raycast as your launcher, you might not need Magnet at all. Raycast's window commands cover halves, thirds, and quarters with configurable shortcuts.
yabai
yabai is a tiling window manager for power users. It automatically tiles all windows using configurable layouts (BSP, stack, float). It's vastly more powerful than Magnet but requires significant setup and comfort with the command line. Magnet is manual snapping; yabai is automatic tiling.
Pricing
Magnet costs $4.99 as a one-time purchase on the Mac App Store. No subscription, no in-app purchases, no premium tier. The price includes all future updates. It supports Family Sharing, so one purchase covers your entire Apple family group. Compared to the free alternative Rectangle, you're paying for the App Store experience—automatic updates, purchase history, and Apple's refund policy.
Pros
- ✓Dead simple—works exactly as expected from the first minute
- ✓Drag-to-snap zones match Windows behavior intuitively
- ✓Keyboard shortcuts for halves, thirds, quarters, and sixths
- ✓Multi-monitor support with cross-monitor window movement
- ✓One-time $4.99 purchase with Family Sharing
- ✓Clean menu bar presence with no visual clutter
- ✓Reliable—rarely crashes, rarely conflicts with other apps
- ✓Automatic updates through the Mac App Store
Cons
- ✗Costs $4.99 when Rectangle does the same thing for free
- ✗No custom snap zones—you're limited to predefined positions
- ✗No scripting or automation support
- ✗Can conflict with macOS's built-in window tiling (Sequoia+)
- ✗Shortcuts use 3-key combinations that can be awkward to press
- ✗No gap/padding between snapped windows
Community & Support
Magnet is developed by CrowdCafé, a small development studio. Support is available through the Mac App Store review responses and email. The app has over 30,000 ratings on the App Store with a 4.7-star average. There's no community forum or GitHub repository since Magnet is closed-source commercial software. Most community discussion happens on Reddit (r/macapps, r/mac) and in Mac productivity blogs. Magnet is frequently mentioned in 'best Mac apps' lists and is one of the most recognized paid utilities in the macOS ecosystem.
Frequently Asked Questions about Magnet
Our Verdict
Magnet is a solid window manager that does exactly what it promises: snap windows to screen zones with keyboard shortcuts and mouse gestures. It's reliable, simple, and well-maintained. The $4.99 price is fair for what you get, but it's hard to recommend over Rectangle, which is free and offers the same core functionality plus a few extras. If you already own Magnet, there's no reason to switch. If you're buying for the first time, try Rectangle first. If you prefer the App Store experience or want Family Sharing, Magnet is the paid option that won't disappoint.
About the Author
Productivity & Workflow Analyst
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Key Verified Facts
- Magnet is a window manager for macOS that lets you snap windows to predefined screen zones using keyboard shortcuts or by dragging windows to screen edges.
- Official App Store listing confirming the app costs $4.99 as a one-time purchase on the Mac.
- Official documentation detailing the necessary macOS Accessibility permissions required for Magnet to intercept keyboard shortcuts and resize windows.
- Explains that macOS does not do edge-snapping natively, requiring third-party apps like Magnet to fill the gap left by Apple's basic built-in tiling.
- Highlights the Windows 10-style behavior where dragging a window to the left edge fills the left half of the screen, and corners fill a quarter.
- 1Magnet – Window manager for Mac
Accessed Mar 1, 2026
"Magnet is a window manager for macOS that lets you snap windows to predefined screen zones using keyboard shortcuts or by dragging windows to screen edges."
- 2Magnet on the Mac App Store
Accessed Mar 1, 2026
"Official App Store listing confirming the app costs $4.99 as a one-time purchase on the Mac."
- 3Magnet Privacy Policy & Documentation
Accessed Mar 1, 2026
"Official documentation detailing the necessary macOS Accessibility permissions required for Magnet to intercept keyboard shortcuts and resize windows."
- 4How to fix Mac window management
Accessed Mar 1, 2026
"Explains that macOS does not do edge-snapping natively, requiring third-party apps like Magnet to fill the gap left by Apple's basic built-in tiling."
- 5How to snap windows in macOS
Accessed Mar 1, 2026
"Highlights the Windows 10-style behavior where dragging a window to the left edge fills the left half of the screen, and corners fill a quarter."
- 6Homebrew Cask: Magnet
Accessed Mar 1, 2026
"Open-source package manager repository detailing the installation metadata and bundle identifier (com.crowdcafe.windowmagnet) for the Magnet application."
- 7Rectangle - macOS window management
Accessed Mar 1, 2026
"GitHub repository for a popular open-source alternative, frequently used in comparisons to benchmark Magnet's features and memory footprint."
- 8Amethyst - Tiling window manager for macOS
Accessed Mar 1, 2026
"Source code repository for an automatic tiling manager, providing technical context on the limitations of macOS's native window management APIs."
- 9macOS Sonoma: The Ars Technica review
Accessed Mar 1, 2026
"Confirms that even in recent iterations of macOS, Apple's built-in window tiling remains basic compared to the native snapping features found in Windows 10 or later."
- 10Magnet Alternatives and Similar Software - AlternativeTo
Accessed Mar 1, 2026
"Crowdsourced benchmarks and user ratings comparing Magnet's performance, resource usage, and $4.99 pricing model against other macOS window managers."