Compare software

awesome vs xmonad: catalog facts
awesome	xmonad
Best for: Build a keyboard-driven X11 desktop with a window manager configured in Lua	Best for: Keyboard-focused X11 users who are happy to configure in Haskell
Free Free and open source. Hosting, hardware and any external services are separate.	Free Free and open source, supported by donations.
Linux	Linux
Supports tiling and floating layouts Exposes programmable widgets and window rules	Automatic tiling layouts Configuration is a full Haskell program All 3 strengths for xmonad Automatic tiling layouts Configuration is a full Haskell program Large set of extensions in xmonad-contrib
Extensive customization requires editing Lua configuration.	Configuring it requires some Haskell X11 only, no Wayland support
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: GPL-2.0	License not stated
Not stated if an account is needed	No account needed
Not stated if it works offline	Offline features available
Official website Full listing and sources Sources for awesome awesomewm.org github.com/awesomeWM/awesome Catalog checked September 22, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Sources for xmonad xmonad.org Catalog checked September 23, 2026

“Not stated” means we have not confirmed it. Features can vary by device and plan.