Compare software

SwayFX vs dwl: catalog facts
SwayFX	dwl
Best for: Sway users who want visual effects on a tiling Wayland desktop	Best for: dwm users moving to Wayland who want a minimal tiling compositor
Free Free and open source.	Free Free and open source.
Linux	Linux
Keeps Sway's tiling behaviour and configuration Adds blur, rounded corners and shadows All 3 strengths for SwayFX Keeps Sway's tiling behaviour and configuration Adds blur, rounded corners and shadows Packaging help for Debian and Nix	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
Linux and Wayland only Effects add overhead compared with plain Sway All 3 limitations for SwayFX Linux and Wayland only Effects add overhead compared with plain Sway Tracks upstream Sway, so features may lag behind it	Customisation usually means editing source and recompiling Minimal by design, so bars and extras come from other tools
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 SwayFX github.com/wlrfx/swayfx Catalog checked October 1, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Sources for dwl codeberg.org/dwl/dwl Catalog checked September 24, 2026

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