Alternatives to Rainmeter
Puts customisable widgets on the Windows desktop, from hardware meters and clocks to full audio visualisers. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
Rainmeter
Puts customisable widgets on the Windows desktop, from hardware meters and clocks to full audio visualisers.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as Rainmeter.
Übersicht
Put script-driven widgets on the macOS desktop.
Übersicht puts script-driven widgets on the macOS desktop using web technologies, so moving to it means changing from Windows to macOS.
Eww
Create custom desktop widgets using declarative configuration and styling.
Eww creates custom desktop widgets and panels on Linux with declarative configuration and styling, so it requires moving away from Windows.
Also worth comparing
These listings name Rainmeter as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.
YASB
A configurable status bar for Windows, written in Python, with widgets and theming.
Rainmeter puts customisable skins and meters on the Windows desktop under GPL-2.0, using its own skin syntax instead of a Python-written status bar.
Zebar
A tool for building custom taskbars, desktop widgets and popups on Windows, macOS and Linux.
Rainmeter is Windows-only and places skins like hardware meters and visualisers on the desktop, with a large community catalogue under GPL-2.0.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
Lively Wallpaper
Turns videos, web pages, shaders, emulators and games into an animated Windows desktop wallpaper that pauses when you play something full screen.
Seelen UI
Customize the Windows desktop with replacement interface components.
TranslucentTB
Makes the Windows taskbar transparent, blurred or tinted, and changes it depending on what is on screen.
Auto Dark Mode
Switch Windows between light and dark themes automatically.
SecureUxTheme
Load custom Windows visual styles with an in-memory theme patcher.
