Compare software

Wayfire vs dwl: catalog facts
Wayfire	dwl
Best for: Linux users who want a customisable Wayland compositor with effects	Best for: dwm users moving to Wayland who want a minimal tiling compositor
Free Free, with source code on GitHub.	Free Free and open source.
Linux	Linux
Plugin-based design for window management and effects Improved fractional scaling in the 0.11 release All 3 strengths for Wayfire Plugin-based design for window management and effects Improved fractional scaling in the 0.11 release Lightweight compositor with desktop effects	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 Releases can be far apart All 3 limitations for Wayfire Linux and Wayland only Releases can be far apart Needs configuration to build a full desktop	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 Wayfire wayfire.org Catalog checked September 23, 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.