Loop Alternative for Mac
Loop is a lovely piece of work: hold a trigger key, flick the cursor, and a radial menu throws the window where you pointed. It's free under GPLv3 and runs on macOS 13 and later, so price and hardware aren't the argument. The question is whether window snapping deserves its own app or belongs beside the other things you reach for at the top of the screen.
- Loop price
- Free
- Loop requires
- macOS 13 Ventura
- Notchy price
- Free — donations optional
Why use Notchy instead of Loop?
- Snapping without a second app
Notchy snaps windows to halves, quarters, thirds and full screen when you drag them to the notch. If mouse-driven snapping was the only reason you were about to install a utility, it's already covered by the one you're running.
- The notch does the rest of the job too
Clipboard history, a file shelf, media controls with synced lyrics, timers, system stats, OCR, AI usage tracking and a terminal live in the same island. Loop is deliberately one tool, done well.
- Same macOS floor, no trade
Both apps support macOS 13 Ventura and later on Apple Silicon and Intel, and both are free. Choosing Notchy doesn't mean giving up hardware support or paying anything.
- Where Loop wins
The radial menu itself. Cycles that chain layouts on repeated presses, live previews, custom padding and corner radius, stashing windows at screen edges, AppleScript and URL-scheme control. For heavy window choreography Loop is more expressive than Notchy's snapping.
How Notchy stacks up
Honest, feature-by-feature comparison of every major macOS notch app — no affiliates.
Swipe the table sideways to see every app.
| Feature | Notchy | Alcove | NotchNook | Boring Notch | DynamicLake | MediaMate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 100% Free | $17 one-time | $25 (or $3/mo) | Free (Open Source) | Paid | Paid |
| Minimum macOS | macOS 13 Ventura+ | macOS 14 Sonoma+ | macOS 14 Sonoma+ | macOS 14 Sonoma+ | macOS 14 Sonoma+ | macOS 14 Sonoma+ |
| Architecture | Pure SwiftUI (Native) | Swift (Native) | Swift (Native) | Swift (Open Source) | Swift (Native) | Swift (Native) |
| Now Playing Controls | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| AI Usage Tracker (Claude / Codex / Cursor) | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Command Palette (⌃⌥K) | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Localized (134 languages) | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Clipboard History | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Pomodoro Focus Timer | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| File Stash / Drop Shelf | Yes | — | Yes | Yes | — | — |
| System HUDs (Volume/Brightness) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| AirPods Connected Reveal | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | — | — |
| Lock Screen Widgets | Yes | Yes | — | — | — | — |
| Quick Notes | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Calendar Widget | Yes | — | Yes | Yes | Yes | — |
| Caffeine Toggle | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Synced Lyrics | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Image Converter (HEIC/JPG/PDF) | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Apple Reminders Capture | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Audio Output Switcher | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Device Battery (Mouse/Keyboard) | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Download Finished Alerts | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Run Apple Shortcuts | Yes | — | Yes | — | — | — |
| Camera Mirror / Webcam Preview | Yes | — | Yes | — | — | — |
| Zip & Unzip Files | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Hide the Notch | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Window Snapping (drag to notch) | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| App Launcher Tab | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| OCR + Searchable Clipboard | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Text Snippets / Expander | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Menu-Bar Icon Hiding | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| System-Wide Mic Mute | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Live System Stats (CPU/RAM) | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| iPhone-Style Call Island | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Built-In Terminal | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
| Camera Guard (camera-access alerts) | Yes | — | — | — | — | — |
Everything Notchy does, for free
- Fluid Dynamic Island animations on the Mac notch
- Command palette (⌃⌥K) — every action one keystroke away
- Knock — double-tap a modifier key to open the notch
- AI usage tracker (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Copilot)
- Detach any tab into a menu-bar popover
- Now Playing music controls (Apple Music & Spotify)
- Time-synced karaoke lyrics under the notch
- Mac clipboard history shelf (password-manager safe)
- Searchable clipboard — filter by text, file name, or OCR'd words
- On-device OCR — copy a screenshot, get its text (Apple Vision)
- Window snapping — drag a window to the notch to tile it
- App Launcher — pin apps to the notch, open with one tap
- Text snippets — TextExpander-style pastes from the ⌘K palette
- One-tap screen capture to clipboard + shelf
- Color eyedropper — sample any pixel, hex auto-copied
- System-wide mic mute for every meeting app at once
- Keystroke HUD for demos & screencasts (secure-input safe)
- Keyboard cleaning lock with countdown island (⌘⎋ unlocks)
- Menu-bar icon hiding — Bartender-style separator & chevron
- Live CPU / memory / network stats flyout
- Open GitHub PR count in the notch (Keychain-stored token)
- iPhone-style call island — Answer/Decline FaceTime on the notch
- Notch Terminal — real VT100/xterm shell in a PTY, its own tab
- Camera Guard — alert (or block) when any app opens your camera
- Caps Lock HUD — brief island on every toggle
- Full Charge island with adjustable threshold + low-battery sound
- Alt HUD styles — edge-pinned bar or circular gauge off the notch
- Audio-reactive Now Playing visualizer (real FFT of system audio)
- Custom closed-notch idle animation — drop in your own Lottie JSON
- Drag-and-drop file drop shelf — persists across relaunches
- Zip & unzip files right from the shelf
- Image converter (HEIC, PNG, JPEG, TIFF, PDF) + video → GIF
- Run Apple Shortcuts with one tap
- Screenshots auto-staged on the shelf, ready to drag
- Download finished alerts with Reveal in Finder
- USB drive mount island with one-tap Eject
- Apple Reminders quick capture & due list
- macOS Pomodoro notch timer & stopwatch — streaks + 7-day chart
- Resizable expanded panel (width & height, live preview)
- System HUDs (volume, brightness, battery)
- Audio output switcher (speakers, AirPods, monitor)
- AirPods connection manager & battery
- Magic Mouse, Keyboard & Trackpad battery + low-battery alerts
- Quick notes & Calendar widgets
- Camera Mirror (check your appearance)
- Keep Awake (caffeine toggle)
- Teleprompter (Cuely) for Zoom calls
- Focus-aware alerts & native haptic feedback
- Lock screen widgets & hide-the-notch mode
- 134 languages, fully localized
- Native SwiftUI, tuned for Apple Silicon
The honest verdict on Loop
If the radial menu appeals to you, install Loop — it's free, elegant and better at window choreography than Notchy. If you just wanted windows to land in halves and quarters, that's already in the notch, next to clipboard, media, timers and stats, for nothing.
Loop alternative — FAQ
Is Loop free?
Yes. Loop is free and open source under GPLv3, available from GitHub and Homebrew. Notchy is free as well, with optional donations.
What macOS does Loop need?
Loop supports macOS 13 and later, with a few newer features documented as needing macOS 15+. Notchy also runs on macOS 13 Ventura and later.
Does Notchy have a radial window menu?
No. Notchy snaps a window you drag to the notch onto standard zones, with no keyboard trigger. The trigger-and-flick radial menu is Loop's signature and it does it better.
Can I run Loop and Notchy together?
Yes, without conflict — Loop works from its trigger key and Notchy only snaps when you drag a window to the notch. Keep both.
Does window snapping need Accessibility permission?
Yes, for both apps — moving another app's windows requires the macOS Accessibility permission, which you grant once and can revoke at any time.
What window layouts does Notchy support?
Halves (left, right, top, bottom), quarters, thirds including a centre third, two-thirds, three-quarters, quarter-width columns and full screen, on the built-in display and external monitors. You pick them by dragging a window to the notch — there are no snapping shortcuts.