Kitsmith / Compare / Amethyst vs Hammerspoon
MacAmethyst vs Hammerspoon
Amethyst vs Hammerspoon: verdict, pricing, and specs compared, so you can pick the right one for your Mac.
At a glance
Amethyst
FreeA free, open-source tiling window manager for macOS built along the lines of Linux’s xmonad — 16k GitHub stars, and free forever with no paid tier at all.
Hammerspoon
FreeA free, open-source Lua bridge to macOS system APIs — not a dedicated window manager itself, but the deepest way to script your own custom window-tiling behavior.
Spec comparison
Amethyst
- Price
- Free
- Pricing model
- Free
- License
- Open source
- Placement
- Menu bar
- Channels
- Homebrew · Direct
- Category
- Utilities
Hammerspoon
- Price
- Free
- Pricing model
- Free
- License
- Open source
- Placement
- Menu bar
- Channels
- Homebrew · Direct
- Category
- Utilities
The verdict
Amethyst is a turnkey tiling window manager — install it, and eleven xmonad-style layouts cycle with keyboard shortcuts immediately, free forever with no paid tier at all. Hammerspoon isn’t a window manager at all: it’s a Lua scripting bridge to macOS’s own APIs, and it does nothing until you write (or install a community “Spoon”) script — the tradeoff for that setup cost is more flexibility than any packaged tool offers. Pick Amethyst if you want tiling working in minutes with nothing to configure; pick Hammerspoon if you want to script your own window behavior, and anything else on your Mac, exactly the way you want it.
Which one should you pick?
Pick Amethyst if…
- Pick Amethyst if you want tiling that works immediately, with no scripting required
- Pick Amethyst if you want one of the most-starred tiling window managers for Mac (16k GitHub stars)
- Pick Amethyst if eleven built-in layouts (Tall, Wide, Column, BSP, and more) cover what you need out of the box
- Pick Amethyst if you want a genuinely free project with no upsell — the developer redirects donation interest to charity
Pick Hammerspoon if…
- Pick Hammerspoon if you want to script custom window-tiling behavior to your own exact spec, not someone else’s layouts
- Pick Hammerspoon if you want one framework that also reaches beyond windows — audio, battery, wifi, clipboard, and more
- Pick Hammerspoon if you’re comfortable writing Lua or installing community-built “Spoons” to get started
- Pick Hammerspoon if an active Discord and DIY ecosystem appeal to you more than a packaged app
Amethyst vs Hammerspoon — questions people ask
Is Hammerspoon a window manager?
Not by itself — it’s a general Lua automation framework for macOS. Window tiling is its most common use, built by writing or installing scripts, not a built-in feature.
Is Amethyst free?
Yes, completely free with no paid tier — the developer redirects donation interest to charities instead of accepting money itself.
Which is easier to set up?
Amethyst — it works immediately once you grant Accessibility permission. Hammerspoon does nothing until you write or install a script.