Compare software

SwayFX vs Sway: catalog facts
SwayFX	Sway
Best for: Sway users who want visual effects on a tiling Wayland desktop	Best for: Use an i3-style tiling workflow on Wayland
Free Free and open source.	Free Free and open source. Hosting, hardware and any external services are separate.
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	Supports much of the i3 configuration format Arranges windows with keyboard-driven layouts
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	Some X11 applications and workflows need compatibility layers or alternatives.
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License not stated	License: MIT
No account needed	Not stated if an account is needed
Offline features available	Not stated if it works offline
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 Sway swaywm.org github.com/swaywm/sway Catalog checked September 22, 2026

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