Compare software

dwl vs Jay: catalog facts
dwl	Jay
Best for: dwm users moving to Wayland who want a minimal tiling compositor	Best for: Linux users who want an i3-style tiling compositor on Wayland
Free Free and open source.	Free Free to build and use from its public repository.
Linux	Linux
dwm-style dynamic tiling on Wayland Small C codebase built on wlroots All 4 strengths for dwl dwm-style dynamic tiling on Wayland Small C codebase built on wlroots Community patch collection for extra features Actively maintained	i3-like tiling on Wayland Vulkan rendering All 4 strengths for Jay i3-like tiling on Wayland Vulkan rendering Configurable through TOML or Rust Active development with regular commits
Customisation usually means editing source and recompiling Minimal by design, so bars and extras come from other tools	Linux only Smaller user base than Sway or Hyprland
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
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 dwl codeberg.org/dwl/dwl Catalog checked September 24, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Sources for Jay github.com/mahkoh/jay Catalog checked October 2, 2026

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