Sway vs Hyprland

Sway9.3Visit Hyprland9.2Visit

Higher score Sway #2 in Window Management Software 9.3/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 2 of 4 features Visit Sway

vs

Hyprland #3 in Window Management Software 9.2/10 Open source ✓ 3 of 4 features Visit Hyprland

• Sway fits best

  Linux users wanting an i3-compatible Wayland option

• Hyprland fits best

  Linux users seeking dynamic tiling and plugins

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Side by side

Feature	Sway 9.3/10 Visit ↗	Hyprland 9.2/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.3	9.2
Ranking	#2 in Window Management Software	#3 in Window Management Software
Best for	Linux users wanting an i3-compatible Wayland option	Linux users seeking dynamic tiling and plugins
Pricing model	Free	Free
Starting price	Free plan	Open source
Free plan	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Desktop	Desktop
Platforms	Linux	Linux
Features Sway 2/4 · Hyprland 3/4
Layout presets	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Application rules	✓	✓
Window grouping	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Virtual desktop controls	✓	✓
Specs
Platforms	linux	linux
Maximum displays	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Offers tiling, stacked, tabbed, and floating layouts Places matched apps on chosen workspaces or outputs Supports i3 configurations and X11 apps through Xwayland	Offers Dwindle, scrolling, master, and monocle layouts. Supports per-workspace settings, special workspaces, and tabbed groups. Includes window and monitor rules, plugins, and socket-based IPC.
Cons	Linux only, so it does not fit cross-platform setups Requires familiarity with window-manager configuration Not suited to users seeking a graphical window-management interface	Requires users to build and configure their own desktop environment. Limited to Linux. It is a compositor, not a complete desktop environment.
Our verdict	Sway is a tiling Wayland compositor for Linux, designed as a drop-in replacement for the i3 window manager. It is aimed at people who want to arrange application windows with keyboard-driven rules and workspaces rather than rely on a… Read the review →	Hyprland is an open-source Wayland compositor for Linux that manages windows with dynamic tiling as well as floating, pseudotiling, and fullscreen modes. It is aimed at people who want to configure their own desktop environment rather than… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Sway — where it wins

  • Offers tiling, stacked, tabbed, and floating layouts
  • Places matched apps on chosen workspaces or outputs
  • Supports i3 configurations and X11 apps through Xwayland

  Where it doesn't

  • Linux only, so it does not fit cross-platform setups
  • Requires familiarity with window-manager configuration
  • Not suited to users seeking a graphical window-management interface

• Hyprland — where it wins

  • Offers Dwindle, scrolling, master, and monocle layouts.
  • Supports per-workspace settings, special workspaces, and tabbed groups.
  • Includes window and monitor rules, plugins, and socket-based IPC.

  Where it doesn't

  • Requires users to build and configure their own desktop environment.
  • Limited to Linux.
  • It is a compositor, not a complete desktop environment.

• Sway9.3/10 · Free plan

  A free, open-source Wayland compositor for configurable window layouts and i3 users.

  Visit SwayFull verdict →
• Hyprland9.2/10 · Open source

  A flexible Linux building block for users who want to configure their own desktop.

  Visit HyprlandFull verdict →