The best BetterSnapTool alternative for Mac (and when you don't need one)
BetterSnapTool has been the cheapest good answer to Mac window snapping for over a decade: drag a window to an edge or corner, it fills that half or quarter, and the whole thing costs about as much as a coffee. So if you're looking for a BetterSnapTool alternative, the app probably hasn't failed you. More likely, macOS learned to do the basic trick itself, or you've noticed you spend your day dragging windows with a trackpad. Here's what's changed, what BetterSnapTool still does better, and which alternative fits which reason for leaving.
Why people look for a BetterSnapTool alternative
macOS now snaps windows on its own. Since macOS 15 Sequoia, dragging a window to a screen edge or corner tiles it into a half or a quarter, which is exactly BetterSnapTool's headline feature, and it's free. Running both means two sets of snap zones arguing over the same drag. (If that's happening to you now, our guide to turning off macOS window tiling shows which switch to flip.)
Updates have slowed. The Mac App Store lists version 1.9.12, released in September 2024, with "compatibility improvements and bugfixes". The update before that was June 2023. It still runs, and folivora, its developer, is very much active, but most of that energy goes into BetterTouchTool, its much larger sibling.
It's built around the mouse. BetterSnapTool does have keyboard shortcuts, but you assign one per snap area yourself. Its natural gesture is the drag. If you've started to notice how often your hand leaves the keyboard to arrange windows, that's the thing you actually want to replace.
What BetterSnapTool still does better
Be fair to it before you switch:
- Price. At the time of writing the US Mac App Store lists it at $1.99. Nothing paid is cheaper.
- Custom snap areas. You can draw your own drop zones anywhere on the screen, not just halves and quarters. macOS's built-in tiling can't.
- Small extras. Moving or resizing the window under the cursor while holding modifier keys, a pop-up menu of snap positions, and custom actions for the red, yellow and green window buttons.
If you live with the trackpad, use two or three custom zones, and haven't seen it clash with macOS's own tiling, there's no strong reason to move.
BetterSnapTool alternatives compared
| BetterSnapTool | Let's Tile | Rectangle | Moom | Built-in macOS tiling | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 (US App Store) | Free tier + $9.99 Pro, one-time | Free (Pro paid) | $15 one-time | Free |
| Main way you use it | Drag to edges | One shortcut + arrow keys | Shortcut per region, or drag | Mouse palette or keyboard mode | Drag to edges |
| Layouts reachable | Halves, quarters, your custom areas | Any block on a visible grid (3 × 2 free) | Fixed list of regions | Grid, presets, saved layouts | Halves, quarters, full screen |
| Shortcuts to memorize | One per area you set up | One | One per region | A few | A few, with fn + ⌃ |
| Saved multi-window layouts | No | No | Pro only | Yes | No |
| Open source | No | No | Yes | No | No |
Let's Tile: the keyboard version of what you were dragging
Let's Tile is the alternative to pick if the reason you're leaving is the dragging itself.
Instead of a list of snap zones, you get one shortcut (⌘↵ by default, rebindable). Press it and a grid drops over the window you were just using. Move the highlighted cell with the arrow keys, hold ⇧ and press an arrow to stretch it across more cells, then press ↵ and the window snaps there. Every layout on the grid is reachable from that same shortcut, so there's nothing to set up per region and nothing to memorize. You can see the options rather than remember them.
The free tier is a 3 × 2 grid, permanently: halves, thirds, two-thirds, quarters and full screen. That already covers more than BetterSnapTool's default zones (thirds are the one built-in macOS tiling still lacks). Pro is $9.99, paid once. It adds any grid shape you want (4 × 3, 6 × 2, whatever an ultrawide calls for), a different grid per display that it remembers by itself, throwing a window to another display mid-tile, and margins between cells in pixels. There's no account and no subscription, one key covers up to 20 devices, and the app sends no telemetry.
What you give up, honestly: Let's Tile is much newer than BetterSnapTool, it needs macOS 14 Sonoma or later, it has no drag-to-edge snapping of its own (keep macOS's built-in tiling switched on if you still like that occasionally; the two don't compete for the same gesture), it doesn't save whole layouts, and it costs more than $1.99 if you go Pro.
The other options
Built-in macOS tiling is the right answer if all you used BetterSnapTool for was halves and quarters by dragging. It's free, needs no permissions, and fn ⌃ plus an arrow key tiles from the keyboard too. It has no thirds and no custom zones. Our guide to tiling windows on macOS covers every gesture.
Rectangle is the free, open-source choice if you want both drag snapping and shortcuts in one app, and it's what most "BetterSnapTool vs Rectangle" threads end up recommending. The trade is one shortcut per region; most people settle on halves and quarters. Rectangle Pro adds custom snap zones and saved layouts. More in our Rectangle alternative guide.
Moom is the pick if what you really want is saved arrangements: set up four windows once, restore them with a shortcut, or automatically when a display connects. It's a bigger app with more settings. See the Moom alternative post.
BetterTouchTool, from the same developer, also includes window snapping alongside gestures, key remapping and a lot more. It's worth it if you'd use the rest of it. If you only want windows arranged, it's a lot of app to configure for one job.
For the full field, see the best macOS window manager for 2026.
Switching without a messy week
- Note the snap areas you actually use. Most people find two or three. Check that your replacement can reach them: on Let's Tile, that means checking they sit on a 3 × 2 grid, or a custom grid in Pro.
- Quit BetterSnapTool before testing the replacement, so two apps aren't fighting over the same window, and remove it from Login Items once you're happy.
- Grant Accessibility to the new app. Every window manager needs it. If something appears but nothing moves, see window manager not working on Mac.
Frequently asked questions
Is BetterSnapTool still maintained? It still runs and is still sold, but updates are infrequent: the most recent on the Mac App Store is 1.9.12, from September 2024.
Do I still need BetterSnapTool on macOS Sequoia or later? Only for the extras. Drag-to-edge halves and quarters are built into macOS now. BetterSnapTool's custom snap areas and modifier-key moves are what you'd keep it for.
What's the best free BetterSnapTool alternative? For dragging, macOS's built-in tiling. For shortcuts plus drag, Rectangle. For a keyboard grid with thirds, Let's Tile's free tier.
Is BetterSnapTool part of BetterTouchTool? They're separate apps from the same developer, folivora. BetterTouchTool has its own window snapping among many other features.
BetterSnapTool earned its place by making snapping cheap. Now that macOS snaps for free, the step up isn't a better drag. It's not dragging at all. Try Let's Tile; the free grid is enough to find out whether you miss the mouse.