Compare software

xmonad vs spectrwm: catalog facts
xmonad	spectrwm
Best for: Keyboard-focused X11 users who are happy to configure in Haskell	Best for: Linux and BSD users who want a minimal tiling window manager
Free Free and open source, supported by donations.	Free Free and open source.
Linux	Linux
Automatic tiling layouts Configuration is a full Haskell program All 3 strengths for xmonad Automatic tiling layouts Configuration is a full Haskell program Large set of extensions in xmonad-contrib	Small and lightweight with few dependencies Single plain-text configuration file All 3 strengths for spectrwm Small and lightweight with few dependencies Single plain-text configuration file Runs on Linux and the BSDs
Configuring it requires some Haskell X11 only, no Wayland support	X11 only, no Wayland support Keyboard-centric workflow has a learning curve
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License not stated	License: ISC
No account needed	No account needed
Offline features available	Offline features available
Official website Full listing and sources Sources for xmonad xmonad.org Catalog checked September 23, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Sources for spectrwm github.com/conformal/spectrwm Catalog checked September 23, 2026

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