Rectangle Pro vs Rectangle: is Pro worth it, and what else does $10 buy?
Rectangle is free and open source, so the real question with Rectangle Pro vs Rectangle is narrow: what do you actually get for the money, and is that the right way to spend about $10 on window management? This post goes through what Pro adds, line by line from the developer's own comparison page. It also looks at the obvious alternative at the same price, Let's Tile Pro, which spends the money on a different idea. Short answer: Pro is worth it if you want saved workspaces or mouse "throws". If what bugs you is remembering a shortcut for every layout, more Rectangle won't fix that.
What free Rectangle already does
The free app is complete, not a teaser. Per rectangleapp.com, free Rectangle gives you:
- Keyboard shortcuts, drag-to-edge snap areas, and a menu-bar menu for snapping
- Halves, quarters, thirds, fourths and sixths, plus maximize, almost maximize, maximize height, center, smaller/larger, restore, and next/previous display
- Todo mode, which keeps one chosen app visible beside everything else
- Control over which actions sit in the drag-to-snap areas, and room left for Stage Manager's strip
- It's MIT-licensed, on GitHub, and needs macOS 14 or later
If you use five or six layouts and they're all on that list, you probably don't need anything else.
What Rectangle Pro adds
Rectangle Pro is a separate, closed-source app from the same developer (Ryan Hanson). It's currently at version 3, needs macOS 13.5 or later, and runs on Intel and Apple silicon. According to the comparison table, these are Pro-only:
- Window throw, long throw and quick throw. Drag or click a window to "throw" it into one of 16 sizes and positions, even when it isn't focused. This is the headline feature, and it's mostly a mouse feature.
- Custom sizes and positions. Define your own frame per shortcut, and choose what repeated presses do.
- Workspaces. Save a whole arrangement of several apps and restore it with one shortcut, with a throw, or automatically when a display connects or disconnects.
- Stash. Slide windows mostly off the screen edge and bring them back by moving the cursor to the edge.
- Fill left/right, Windows-style arrow shortcuts, and multi-window commands (tile, cascade, reveal desktop edge, move all of an app's windows to the next display).
- Pin mode (a more configurable Todo mode), a customisable menu-bar menu, and iCloud sync of your settings.
Licensing: the site says one licence "can be active on 3 devices at a time". There's a 10-day free trial and a 14-day refund window. It's sold through Paddle, so the checkout shows your local price, which works out to about US$10. Older articles describe it as a one-time purchase.
Is Rectangle Pro worth it?
Yes, if you rebuild the same multi-app setup every morning, or you dock a laptop to a monitor and want windows to go back to the same places by themselves. Workspaces that restore when a display connects are the most useful thing in Pro, and free Rectangle can't do anything like it. It's also a good buy if you like using the mouse and throwing windows sounds better than shortcuts.
Probably not, if your problem is the shortcuts themselves. Pro adds more commands: more stock shortcuts, fill commands, Windows-style arrows, custom frames. That's great if you like configuring things. But if you already forget which chord means "left two-thirds", 16 throw targets and another page of bindings won't help. Plenty of reviewers try Pro and decide the free app is enough.
Rectangle Pro vs Rectangle vs Let's Tile Pro
Let's Tile Pro costs $9.99, about the same as Rectangle Pro. It spends that on a different idea. Instead of a shortcut per layout, Let's Tile has one shortcut (⌘↵): a grid appears over your window, you move with the arrow keys, extend with ⇧ + arrows, and press return. You see every layout on screen, so there's nothing to memorise.
| Rectangle (free) | Rectangle Pro | Let's Tile Pro | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | About $10, Paddle (10-day trial) | $9.99 one-time (14-day trial) |
| Open source | Yes (MIT) | No | No |
| How you pick a layout | One shortcut per region, or drag to an edge | Shortcuts, edge snaps, or throw with the mouse | One shortcut, then arrows on a visible grid |
| Custom layouts | Fixed set (up to sixths) | Custom frames per shortcut | Any grid you define, e.g. 4 × 3 or 6 × 2, reshaped live with ⌥ + arrows |
| Multiple displays | Next/previous display | Plus workspaces that restore on connect | Send the grid to another display with ⌘⇧ + arrows; a remembered grid per display |
| Saved multi-app workspaces | No | Yes | No |
| Stash / iCloud sync | No | Yes | No |
| Licence | n/a | 3 devices at a time | Up to 20 devices per key, no account |
| Free tier | The whole app | n/a | 3 × 2 grid (halves, thirds, quarters, full screen) forever |
Rectangle Pro does more, and the saved workspaces are a real advantage that Let's Tile doesn't have. Let's Tile is the better choice when your problem is speed and remembering shortcuts: one shortcut you'll never forget, a grid you can shape for an ultrawide or a vertical monitor, and margins between windows. It's also newer than Rectangle, which has years of polish and a big open-source community. If either of those matters most to you, stick with Rectangle.
One more difference: Let's Tile's free tier is a real tiler you can keep, not a countdown. If the 3 × 2 grid covers your day, you never pay. If you want to test Pro first, the trial issues a real Pro key that lasts 14 days.
Which should you pick?
- Free Rectangle: you want open source, your layouts fit its list, and you don't mind learning shortcuts.
- Rectangle Pro: you want saved multi-app workspaces, auto-arrangement when a monitor connects, mouse throws or stash.
- Let's Tile: you want every layout behind one shortcut you'll remember, custom grids per display, and a licence that covers up to 20 devices with no account or subscription.
If you'd also like to stop reaching for the mouse to find a window, Let's Switch pairs with either tiler. For a wider view, see Rectangle vs Magnet vs Let's Tile and the best Rectangle alternatives.
Frequently asked questions
Is Rectangle Pro free?
No. Free Rectangle is open source and costs nothing. Rectangle Pro is a separate paid app with a 10-day free trial. It's about US$10, and Paddle shows your local price at checkout.
Can I use Rectangle and Rectangle Pro together?
They're separate apps, so run one or the other. Pro can import your shortcuts from Rectangle when you switch.
What's the main difference between Rectangle and Rectangle Pro?
Free Rectangle snaps windows to a fixed set of positions by shortcut or drag. Pro adds window throwing, custom sizes and positions, saved workspaces, stash, more commands and iCloud sync.
Is there a Rectangle Pro alternative that doesn't need memorised shortcuts?
Let's Tile uses one shortcut that opens a visible grid you steer with the arrow keys. Its 3 × 2 grid is free forever, and Pro ($9.99, one-time) adds custom grids, a grid per display and margins. It doesn't do saved workspaces, so if that's what you need, Rectangle Pro is the better fit.