Compare

Pick the right tool.
Even if it isn't Tatami.

macOS window managers solve different problems. Snap tools arrange the window you're holding; zone tools give you a grid to aim at; auto-tilers arrange everything for you. Tatami files windows into places you decided once — and remembers. Here's the honest map.

BentoBox — FancyZones for the Mac: draw zones, snap with ⇧ or right-click. The closest cousin.

Rectangle Pro — the paid tier of the classic snapper: custom snap targets, layout shortcuts.

Moom — a palette of saved window actions and manual layout snapshots.

Magnet / Rectangle (free) — you drag, it snaps to halves and thirds. Nothing persists.

yabai — a scriptable auto-tiler for people who live in the terminal.

AeroSpace / Amethyst — automatic tiling: i3-style workspaces or cycling layout algorithms.

Tatami — zones you draw, workspaces per monitor, and memory that puts every app instance back where it belongs.

Capability	Tatami	BentoBox	Rectangle Pro	Moom	yabai	AeroSpace
Zones you draw yourself freeform regions, visual editor	✓	✓	✓	±	—	—
Drop between two zones to span both	✓	✓	—	—	—	—
Workspaces without macOS Spaces off-screen hiding, per monitor	✓	—	±	—	±	✓
Placement memory, learned per instance automatic — no manual snapshots	✓	—	—	±	—	—
Declarative placement rules	✓	—	±	—	✓	✓
Drag-to-zone snap (⇧ / right-click)	✓	✓	✓	✓	—	—
Automatic tiling (BSP / i3-style) Tatami: planned	±	—	—	—	✓	✓
Vim-grammar focus & movement	✓	±	±	±	✓	✓
Profiles (work / personal)	✓	±	±	±	—	—
Crash-safe window restore	✓	—	—	—	—	—
Scriptable CLI	✓	—	—	—	✓	✓
Share one zone in video calls Tatami: planned for Pro	±	✓	—	—	—	—
Full features without touching SIP	✓	✓	✓	✓	±	✓
Price	Paid once	$9	$9.99	$15	Free (OSS)	Free (OSS)

✓ yes · ± partial or planned · — no

How Tatami differs

vs BentoBox

The closest rival, and a good one: same FancyZones lineage, visual zone editor, ⇧/right-click drag-snap, gaps, spanning — and it can share a single zone in video calls today, which Tatami only plans for Pro. Where they part: BentoBox arranges windows inside macOS Spaces; Tatami replaces Spaces with its own instant workspaces, learns where each app instance belongs instead of waiting for you to snap it, adds a rules cascade, a CLI, and crash-safe restore. If you just want zones on top of Spaces, BentoBox is $9 and shipping now.

vs Rectangle Pro & Moom

The paid power-snappers. Rectangle Pro adds custom snap targets, app arrangements on a shortcut, and display-change automation; Moom's palette and manual layout snapshots are famously polished. Both act when you ask. Neither hides workspaces off screen, and neither learns — a snapshot is you doing the remembering. Tatami's memory is automatic and per instance: three terminals, three spots, zero snapshots.

vs yabai

yabai is the scripting king: BSP auto-tiling, signals, querying — if you want your window manager to be a Unix program, it's superb. The cost: config lives in shell scripts, and controlling Spaces needs partially disabling SIP. Tatami trades auto-tiling for zones you place deliberately, adds memory and a GUI, and never asks you to weaken your machine's security.

vs AeroSpace

The closest philosophy on workspaces: AeroSpace also skips macOS Spaces and runs its own — instant switching, no SIP. It auto-tiles i3-style and is configured entirely in a TOML file. If you want i3 on a Mac and enjoy hand-editing config, AeroSpace is free and great. Tatami is for deciding a layout visually once, and letting rules and memory do the filing afterwards.

Still here?

Then your windows probably deserve memory.

Read the docs