# Magnet Published January 1, 2026 · Updated August 10, 2026 Window manager for Mac that snaps windows into organized tiles with keyboard shortcuts. Category: Productivity · Paid · [Official website](https://magnet.crowdcafe.com) ## Install with Homebrew `brew install --cask magnet` ## Quick take Magnet is still a polished, dependable snapper if you buy through the App Store. $4.99 once gets you Family Sharing and predictable grids for halves, thirds and sixths with no subscription. Version 3.0.7 is maintenance rather than a new feature wave, and between free Rectangle and Apple's built-in tiling the uniqueness is thinner than it used to be. Keep it if you already own it. If you are buying fresh and Family Sharing does not matter, try Rectangle first. If your household shares Macs through Apple Family and you like App Store simplicity, Magnet remains a fair buy. Best for: Households that benefit from App Store Family Sharing on a $4.99 purchase, Windows-to-Mac switchers who want familiar edge/corner snapping, Users who need thirds, sixths and custom commands beyond Apple's basic tiler, People who prefer a maintained App Store utility over configuring open-source tools ## What is Magnet? Magnet is CrowdCafe's paid window snapper for macOS, sold on the Mac App Store by BOOTCODE A.S. It drops windows into set zones with keyboard shortcuts, edge and corner drags, the green traffic-light button, or the menu bar. If you have used Windows Snap Assist you already know the moves. Drag left for a half, to a corner for a quarter, to the top to maximize. Magnet still sells because it wraps that familiar behavior in a polished App Store package with Family Sharing and a one-time license. The current build is 3.0.7 from April 12, 2025, mostly performance and bug fixes rather than a big 2026 feature drop. It is Universal Binary, tuned for macOS Sequoia and needs macOS 13 Ventura or later. It still costs $4.99 on the Mac App Store. No subscription, no in-app purchases, Family Sharing works, and the listing states no data collection. Layouts cover halves, thirds, quarters and sixths, plus custom commands for power users. Multi-monitor setups are first-class (up to six displays), including vertical monitors with side-edge thirds. Settings can sync via iCloud so shortcuts travel between Macs. Competition is sharper in 2026. Rectangle (free and open source) is the main rival, with Rectangle Pro, BetterSnapTool, Amethyst and Aerospace covering paid and auto-tiling niches. Apple's own tiling in Sequoia and Tahoe now handles basic halves and quarters, and Stage Manager still competes for the same screen. Magnet still makes sense for households that want Family Sharing and zero setup, but many power users have already moved to Rectangle. Where Apple still falls short is thirds, sixths and custom commands. ## Features - **Edge and Corner Drag Snapping.** Drag a window to any screen edge or corner and Magnet shows a translucent overlay of the landing zone before you release. Left and right edges create halves; corners create quarters; the top edge maximizes; the bottom edge creates thirds you can expand into two-thirds. The preview overlay removes guesswork and matches the Windows-style snap muscle memory many switchers expect. - **Keyboard Shortcuts for Every Layout.** Default Control+Option combinations cover left/right/top/bottom halves, maximize, restore, thirds, quarters and sixths. Every shortcut is editable in Preferences. Most people memorize four or five chords and use them hundreds of times a day. Custom commands extend beyond the built-in grid when a workflow needs a nonstandard size. - **Green Button Menu and Menu Bar.** Hover or click the green traffic-light button for Magnet's layout menu without memorizing chords and use the menu bar icon as a live cheat sheet of positions plus shortcuts. After a short learning period most users live on the keyboard, but the menus remain useful for infrequent sixths or third combinations. - **Thirds, Quarters and Sixths.** Beyond basic halves, Magnet tiles into three equal columns, ideal on ultrawide monitors for editor, browser and terminal side by side, plus quarters and a 3×2 sixths grid for large 4K/5K displays. You can also combine two thirds into a two-thirds/one-third split. These denser layouts are still an area where Magnet beats Apple's built-in tiling. - **Multi-Monitor and Vertical Displays.** Snap zones work independently on each connected display, with support for up to six monitors. Keyboard shortcuts can move windows between screens. Vertical displays adapt: thirds run along the sides while quarters and halves sit in corners and along the bottom edge, so portrait monitors stay usable instead of feeling like broken landscape layouts. - **iCloud Settings Sync.** Magnet can sync preferences, including customized shortcuts and enabled commands, via iCloud across Macs signed into the same Apple ID. That matters for people who bounce between a laptop and a desktop and do not want to re-teach their chord map on every machine. - **Restore and Center.** Magnet remembers a window's pre-snap geometry so a restore shortcut returns it to the original size and position after a temporary layout. A center command places the current window in the middle of the screen without resizing, handy for dialogs and preference panes that should not fill a half. - **Custom Commands.** Beyond the stock grid, Magnet lets you define custom sizing and positioning commands for workflows Apple's native tiling still does not cover. Power users who need a recurring nonstandard fraction of the screen can bind it once and reuse it from the keyboard or menus. ## How to Install Magnet on Mac Magnet is sold exclusively through the Mac App Store as a one-time purchase. 1. **Purchase from the Mac App Store.** Open the Mac App Store, search for Magnet (or open the listing for id 441258766) and buy it for $4.99 USD. There is no subscription and no in-app purchase upsell. 2. **Grant Accessibility Permission.** On first launch, allow Accessibility access in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility so Magnet can move and resize windows. Enable the toggle and relaunch if macOS prompts again after an update. 3. **Learn the Core Shortcuts.** Start with left half, right half, maximize and restore. Those four cover the majority of daily window management before you add thirds or quarters. 4. **Tune Preferences.** From the menu bar icon, open Preferences to remap shortcuts, toggle drag-to-snap, enable iCloud sync of settings and configure which layouts appear in the green-button menu. ## Pros - Simple, reliable snapping from day one with minimal configuration - Drag-to-snap, keyboard shortcuts, green-button menu and menu bar coverage - Halves, thirds, quarters, sixths, custom commands and multi-monitor support (up to six displays) - One-time $4.99 purchase with Family Sharing and no subscription - iCloud sync of settings and Universal Binary for Apple Silicon and Intel - No data collection per App Store privacy labeling ## Cons - Costs $4.99 when Rectangle covers the same core job for free - No major 2026 feature release, current store build is still 3.0.7 maintenance work - Apple's Sequoia/Tahoe built-in tiling overlaps basic halves/quarters and can conflict - Limited compared with scripting-heavy managers (yabai) or automatic tilers (Amethyst, Aerospace) - Default three-key shortcuts can collide with IDE chords unless remapped ## Closer Look: Magnet vs Rectangle and Apple's Built-in Tiling Every Magnet purchase decision in 2026 is really three products colliding: Magnet's App Store perpetual license, Rectangle's free open-source snapper and Apple's improving but still basic native tiling. ## FAQ ### Is Magnet worth $4.99 when Rectangle is free? If you want Mac App Store distribution, Family Sharing, purchase history and Apple's update/refund path, yes. If those do not matter, Rectangle does the same core job for free. Functionally they are close; the purchase model is the real fork. ### What is the current Magnet version? The Mac App Store build researched on 2026-08-09 is still 3.0.7 (2025-04-12), with performance optimizations and bug fixes. No major 2026 feature release was found. ### Does Magnet work with multiple monitors? Yes. Snap zones work per display, vertical monitors are supported and Magnet advertises up to six external displays. Shortcuts can move windows between screens. ### Can I create custom snap zones? Magnet's stock grid is halves, thirds, quarters, sixths, maximize and center, plus custom commands for additional sizes. For freeform drawable snap areas, look at BetterSnapTool or Rectangle Pro. ### Does Magnet conflict with macOS window tiling? It can. Sequoia/Tahoe built-in tiling overlaps Magnet's basic halves and quarters. If both fight for the same drag or shortcut, disable one. Most Magnet loyalists keep Magnet and ignore Apple's basic tiler. ### Does Magnet work with Stage Manager? Technically yes, but Stage Manager's grouping changes make snapping feel less predictable. Many Magnet users turn Stage Manager off. ### Is there a subscription or in-app purchase? No. Magnet is a one-time $4.99 Mac App Store purchase with Family Sharing and no IAP. The license is perpetual for the current product. ### Does Magnet support Apple Silicon? Yes. Magnet ships as a Universal Binary and runs natively on Apple Silicon and Intel Macs. System requirement is macOS 13 or later. ### Does Magnet sync settings between Macs? Yes. iCloud sync can carry preferences and shortcut customizations across devices signed into the same Apple ID. ### How do I uninstall Magnet? Quit Magnet, then drag it from /Applications to the Trash. Because it is an App Store app, you can reinstall anytime from purchase history. ## Sources - [Magnet to Window manager for Mac](https://magnet.crowdcafe.com/) - [Magnet on the Mac App Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/magnet/id441258766?mt=12) - [Rectangle to macOS window management](https://rectangleapp.com/) - [Rectangle GitHub repository](https://github.com/rxhanson/Rectangle) - [BetterSnapTool](https://www.folivora.ai/bettersnaptool) - [Tile windows on Mac to Apple Support](https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/tile-windows-mchla58dbdaa/mac) - [Magnet on Softwar](https://softwar.io/app/magnet) ## Related - [Raycast](https://bundl.run/apps/raycast) - [Notion](https://bundl.run/apps/notion) - [Obsidian](https://bundl.run/apps/obsidian) - [Loom](https://bundl.run/apps/loom) - [Linear](https://bundl.run/apps/linear-linear) - [Grammarly](https://bundl.run/apps/grammarly-desktop) - [Magnet vs Rectangle](https://bundl.run/compare/rectangle-vs-magnet) - [Magnet vs Amethyst](https://bundl.run/compare/magnet-vs-amethyst) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://bundl.run/#organization", "name": "Bundl.run", "url": "https://bundl.run", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://bundl.run/og-image.png", "width": 1200, "height": 630 }, "description": "The Ninite for Mac. 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