Compare software

dmenu vs wmenu: catalog facts
dmenu	wmenu
Best for: Minimal X setups and tiling window manager users who script their own menus	Best for: Wayland users who want a dmenu-style menu for scripts and keybindings
Free Free to download from suckless.org.	Free Free; source code is published on Codeberg.
Linux	Linux, Command line
Very small and fast Scriptable for any list-selection task All 3 strengths for dmenu Very small and fast Scriptable for any list-selection task Pairs naturally with dwm and other tiling window managers	Familiar dmenu behavior on Wayland Small C program with few moving parts All 4 strengths for wmenu Familiar dmenu behavior on Wayland Small C program with few moving parts Password mode for masked input Scriptable through standard input and output
X only, no native Wayland support Customizing it means editing source and recompiling	Wayland only No built-in app discovery; needs a script or wrapper to launch apps All 3 limitations for wmenu Wayland only No built-in app discovery; needs a script or wrapper to launch apps Built from source with Meson unless packaged by your distribution
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Not open source	Open source
License not stated	License not stated
No account needed	No account needed
Offline features available	Offline features available
Official website Full listing and sources Sources for dmenu tools.suckless.org/dmenu Catalog checked September 23, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Sources for wmenu codeberg.org/adnano/wmenu Catalog checked September 24, 2026

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