A 34-inch ultrawide is 5120x2160 of empty real estate the day you plug it in. By default Windows treats it like a very wide single desktop, macOS opens every new window centred at 1200 pixels, and both leave that beautiful 21:9 or 32:9 canvas looking like one giant blank browser. The apps below fix that: they carve the screen into zones, snap windows to fractions of the width, and remember which layout belongs to which app.
We looked at seven picks across Windows, macOS, and Linux. Two are free, two are one-time purchases, one is a subscription, two are open source. All of them work at 3440x1440 and above, and all of them survive a monitor unplug and reconnect without losing the layout.
What to look for
- Custom zones, not just halves and quarters. An ultrawide wants thirds, fifths, and off-centre panels — a 60/20/20 split is common for code + terminal + chat.
- Layout profiles per app. The browser wants the middle third, the IDE wants the left two-thirds, Slack wants a narrow column on the right.
- Focus-follows-mouse or keyboard-driven snap. Dragging every window is fine once, tedious a hundred times.
- Taskbar per monitor. Only matters if you drive multiple ultrawides, but a single 49-inch super-ultrawide is close enough that a split taskbar helps.
- DPI stability after sleep or unplug. A monitor coming back at a wrong scale factor is the fastest way to break a layout.
Quick comparison
| App | Best for | Platforms | Free plan | Price | License |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PowerToys FancyZones | Custom zones on Windows | Windows | Yes | Free | MIT |
| DisplayFusion | Deep multi-monitor control | Windows | Trial | ~$40 one-time | Proprietary |
| AquaSnap | Lightweight snap and tile | Windows | Yes | Free / $18 Pro | Proprietary |
| Rectangle | Keyboard-driven snap on Mac | macOS | Yes | Free | MIT |
| Magnet | App Store-installable snap | macOS | Trial | $9.99 one-time | Proprietary |
| yabai | Tiling window manager on Mac | macOS | Yes | Free | MIT |
| gTile | GNOME tiling extension | Linux | Yes | Free | GPL |
1. PowerToys FancyZones – Best for custom zones on Windows
PowerToys FancyZones is the free zone editor built into Microsoft’s PowerToys suite. Draw the layout you want (thirds, fifths, an off-centre 40/20/40), assign a shortcut to it, and every window you drag with the Shift key snaps to a slot. Layouts save per monitor, so a 34-inch ultrawide can have a three-panel layout while a laptop stays on halves.
Where it falls short: Windows only. Focus-follows-mouse is not built in. The editor UI takes a minute to learn.
Pricing:
- Free: Yes, all features.
- Paid: None.
Platforms: Windows.
Download: Microsoft Store or GitHub releases.
Bottom line: The default answer for anyone on a Windows ultrawide who doesn’t want to pay for tiling.
2. DisplayFusion – Best for deep multi-monitor control
DisplayFusion is what people upgrade to when FancyZones stops being enough. It ships per-monitor taskbars, a scriptable function key system, monitor profiles that load on connect, and a window snapping engine with actual physics. The wallpaper and title-bar tools are extras most reviews skip past, but the real reason to pay is the trigger system: rules like “when Discord opens, send it to the right third of the ultrawide” run in the background.
Where it falls short: Windows only, and the interface hasn’t had a modern refresh in years. The pricing has always been fair, but it is not free.
Pricing:
- Free: 30-day trial with most Pro features.
- Paid: One-time Pro licence around $40, with lifetime updates as a paid add-on.
Platforms: Windows.
Download: displayfusion.com.
Bottom line: Buy this if you run two ultrawides, or one super-ultrawide that behaves like two monitors.
3. AquaSnap – Best lightweight snap and tile
AquaSnap is the middle option between FancyZones and DisplayFusion. Drag a window to the edge, it snaps. Drag it near another window, it magnets. Shake a window, everything else minimises. It costs nothing for personal use, and the paid tier adds keyboard shortcuts, multi-monitor keyboard moves, and a settings backup.
Where it falls short: No custom zone editor. Ultrawide layouts are limited to halves, thirds, and quarters unless you upgrade.
Pricing:
- Free: Personal edition, ad-free.
- Paid: One-time Professional licence around $18 for keyboard shortcuts and advanced features.
Platforms: Windows.
Download: nurgo-software.com.
Bottom line: Pick this if you want DisplayFusion’s snap behaviour without the price, and don’t need per-monitor taskbars.
4. Rectangle – Best keyboard-driven snap on Mac
Rectangle is the free open-source snap tool most Mac users install on day one. It gives you the Windows-style edge snap that macOS still refuses to ship, plus keyboard shortcuts for every fraction of the screen (halves, thirds, sixths, centred). For an ultrawide connected to a Mac, the thirds and sixths shortcuts matter most: three roughly equal columns from a single key press.
Where it falls short: No custom zone editor of the FancyZones kind. Rectangle Pro adds cursor-based snapping and app groups behind a paid tier.
Pricing:
- Free: All core snapping.
- Paid: Rectangle Pro around $10 one-time for extras.
Platforms: macOS.
Download: rectangleapp.com.
Bottom line: The right default for a Mac ultrawide. Install it, learn the shortcuts, forget about it.
5. Magnet – Best App Store-installable snap
Magnet is Rectangle’s paid cousin, distributed through the Mac App Store. Same idea (snap by dragging or by keyboard shortcut), slightly nicer polish, and it installs and updates through the store like any other Mac app. For anyone who runs a managed Mac where non-App-Store installs get flagged by IT, Magnet is the version to buy.
Where it falls short: Costs money for something Rectangle does for free. No thirds by default (you assign them yourself).
Pricing:
- Free: 7-day trial via the App Store.
- Paid: $9.99 one-time.
Platforms: macOS.
Download: Mac App Store.
Bottom line: Buy Magnet if App Store distribution matters. Otherwise Rectangle is the same tool for free.
6. yabai – Best tiling window manager on Mac
yabai is what you install when Rectangle isn’t enough and you want a real tiling manager. Windows auto-arrange in a binary tree, keyboard shortcuts (via skhd) move focus and resize, and the whole thing lives at the level of a scriptable daemon. On an ultrawide it turns the display into a Linux-style bspwm setup on macOS.
Where it falls short: Requires disabling System Integrity Protection partially to get all features. Not for anyone who wants a plug-and-play tool.
Pricing:
- Free: All features.
- Paid: None.
Platforms: macOS.
Download: github.com/koekeishiya/yabai.
Bottom line: For the developer who already runs a Linux tiling manager at home and wants the same on their work Mac.
7. gTile – Best GNOME tiling extension
gTile is the tiling extension most Linux users on GNOME land on after outgrowing the default “half-left, half-right” keyboard shortcuts. Set a grid (say 6 columns by 3 rows for an ultrawide), then snap windows to any rectangular chunk of it by hotkey. Presets save layouts, and it plays nicely with multi-monitor setups.
Where it falls short: GNOME only. KDE users want Bismuth or Kwin scripts instead.
Pricing:
- Free: All features.
- Paid: None.
Platforms: Linux (GNOME).
Download: GNOME Extensions.
Bottom line: The right pick for an ultrawide on Fedora, Ubuntu, or any GNOME-based distro.
How to pick the right one
- If you’re on Windows and want it free: PowerToys FancyZones, alone or with AquaSnap for the snap physics.
- If you run two ultrawides or a 49-inch super-ultrawide on Windows: DisplayFusion, for the per-monitor taskbars.
- If you’re on a Mac and don’t want to think about it: Rectangle, with the thirds shortcut mapped to something easy.
- If you’re on a Mac and IT will only allow App Store installs: Magnet.
- If you’re on a Mac and already know what a tiling window manager is: yabai.
- If you’re on Linux GNOME: gTile, with a 6x3 grid.
FAQ
Is FancyZones better than DisplayFusion? FancyZones is free and covers custom zones, keyboard snap, and layout profiles. DisplayFusion covers all of that plus per-monitor taskbars, monitor profiles that load on connect, and a scripting system. If you need only zones, FancyZones is enough. If you run more than one monitor and want the taskbar on each, DisplayFusion earns its price.
What is the best free ultrawide app for Windows? PowerToys FancyZones. It ships from Microsoft, updates through the Store, and covers the custom-zone use case that ultrawides need most.
Does macOS have a built-in ultrawide split screen? Only halves, and only for two apps at once. Rectangle or Magnet is the standard fix for thirds and sixths.
Can I run one big ultrawide and split it into two virtual monitors? DisplayFusion does this on Windows through its monitor splitting feature. On macOS the closest equivalent is Better Display’s virtual screens.
Do these apps work on 32:9 super-ultrawides? Yes. FancyZones, DisplayFusion, and Rectangle all detect the resolution and give you the same options at 5120x1440 as at 3440x1440. The custom zone editor becomes more useful at 32:9, because halves are already too wide.
