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Wayfire vs KWin: catalog facts
Wayfire	KWin
Best for: Linux users who want a customisable Wayland compositor with effects	Best for: KDE Plasma users who want detailed control over window behaviour
Free Free, with source code on GitHub.	Free Free and open source as part of KDE Plasma.
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	Per-application window rules Built-in tiling and scripting support All 3 strengths for KWin Per-application window rules Built-in tiling and scripting support Full Wayland compositor with desktop effects
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	Closely tied to KDE Plasma and its libraries Many options can be overwhelming to configure
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License not stated	License: GPL-2.0-or-later
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 KWin invent.kde.org/plasma/kwin Catalog checked October 1, 2026

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