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JWM vs FVWM3: catalog facts
JWM	FVWM3
Best for: Lightweight desktops on older or low-powered Linux machines	Best for: X11 users who want a lightweight window manager they can shape completely
Free Free and open source under the MIT licence.	Free Free, with source code published on GitHub.
Linux	Linux
Very small footprint, needing only Xlib Runs well on old hardware and the Raspberry Pi All 4 strengths for JWM Very small footprint, needing only Xlib Runs well on old hardware and the Raspberry Pi Optional multi-monitor, SVG and antialiased font support Available as a package in many distributions	Extremely configurable behaviour and appearance Multi-monitor support through RandR All 4 strengths for FVWM3 Extremely configurable behaviour and appearance Multi-monitor support through RandR Lightweight, with a long history and active development Includes a default configuration to start from
X11 only, no Wayland support Stacking only, with no tiling layouts All 3 limitations for JWM X11 only, no Wayland support Stacking only, with no tiling layouts Plain appearance compared with full desktop environments	X11 only, no Wayland support Configuration has a steep learning curve
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: MIT	License not stated
No account needed	No account needed
Offline features available	Offline features available
Official website Full listing and sources Sources for JWM joewing.net/projects/jwm Catalog checked September 24, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Sources for FVWM3 github.com/fvwmorg/fvwm3 Catalog checked September 24, 2026

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