Alternatives to PowerToys
Microsoft’s own bundle of more than thirty Windows utilities, from window layouts to a key remapper. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
PowerToys
Microsoft’s own bundle of more than thirty Windows utilities, from window layouts to a key remapper.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as PowerToys.
Actual Window Manager
A paid Windows utility bundling over 50 window management tools, including multi-monitor and virtual desktop features.
Actual Window Manager is a paid, closed-source bundle of over 50 window tools with multi-monitor and virtual desktop features, but no key remapping.
Winaero Tweaker
A free Windows utility that exposes hundreds of hidden settings and adds extra context menu options.
Winaero Tweaker is a free closed-source utility exposing hundreds of hidden Windows settings and context menu options, rather than a set of add-on utilities.
Windhawk
Apply small modifications to Windows and applications through a mod manager.
Windhawk is an open-source mod manager that applies downloadable modifications to Windows and applications, with tools for writing your own mods.
Also worth comparing
These listings name PowerToys as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.
AquaSnap
Adds magnetic window snapping, docking, tiling and stretching to Windows, going well past what Aero Snap does.
PowerToys replaces AquaSnap's snapping with FancyZones window layouts, is free and MIT-licensed from Microsoft, and bundles more than thirty other utilities that add background processes.
komorebi
Automatic tiling window management for Windows, with virtual workspaces and multi-monitor support.
PowerToys offers FancyZones window layouts rather than automatic tiling, bundled with over thirty other free, MIT-licensed Windows utilities maintained by Microsoft.
MaxTo
A Windows utility that divides monitors into custom zones and snaps windows into them.
PowerToys includes FancyZones window layouts alongside over thirty other utilities, and is free and open source under MIT, maintained by Microsoft.
Sizer
Resizes and repositions any window to exact pixel dimensions from a right-click menu or a hotkey.
PowerToys handles window placement through FancyZones layouts rather than exact pixel sizes, and is free, open source and maintained by Microsoft.
Text Grab
Grabs text out of any image, video frame or uncopyable part of a Windows app using on-device OCR, and puts it on the clipboard.
PowerToys includes Text Extractor, built on Text Grab's Full-Screen Grab mode, inside a Microsoft bundle of over thirty utilities, but it lacks Text Grab's other capture modes and editing.
WindowTop
A Windows utility that pins windows on top, adjusts their opacity and turns them into picture-in-picture views.
PowerToys is Microsoft's free MIT-licensed bundle of over thirty Windows utilities, among them window layout tools, replacing WindowTop's freemium Pro model with a free suite.
Wintoys
Microsoft Store app that centralises Windows tweaks, cleanup and repair.
PowerToys is an open-source Microsoft bundle of more than thirty utilities, focused on added features like window layouts rather than cleanup and repair.
workspacer
Arrange Windows applications with a tiling window manager.
PowerToys replaces automatic tiling with FancyZones window layouts you snap into, bundled with over thirty other Microsoft-maintained utilities under the MIT license.
ZoomIt
A tray utility that zooms into any part of the screen and lets you draw, type, time and record on top of it, for demos and presentations.
PowerToys includes ZoomIt among more than thirty Windows utilities under the open source MIT license, but it is Windows only and adds background processes when many tools run.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
AltSnap
Move and resize any Windows window by holding Alt and dragging anywhere inside it.
Everything
A free Windows search tool from voidtools that finds files and folders by name instantly.
HWiNFO
The deepest hardware report and sensor monitor on Windows, free for personal use.
CPU-Z
A tiny freeware window that tells you exactly which processor, board and memory are in a Windows PC.
Windows Terminal
Microsoft’s tabbed terminal for Windows, hosting Command Prompt, PowerShell and WSL in one GPU-rendered window.
