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Wayfire vs SwayFX: catalog facts
Wayfire	SwayFX
Best for: Linux users who want a customisable Wayland compositor with effects	Best for: Sway users who want visual effects on a tiling Wayland desktop
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	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
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	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
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 SwayFX github.com/wlrfx/swayfx Catalog checked October 1, 2026

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