Stay alternative guide
SnapState restores your whole Mac workspace, not just window positions: windows, the apps behind them, the display layout and all open browser tabs, automatically on wake or monitor reconnect, or on demand with a shortcut. Stay stores window positions and sizes for each display combination and restores them when displays connect or disconnect.
Verdict: Stay puts window positions back when displays change. SnapState restores the whole workspace automatically, on wake from sleep as well as on display connect, and relaunches closed apps and reopens all open browser tabs. SnapState is $9.99 one-time for up to three Macs.
Stay covers the classic laptop routine: laptop alone on the train, laptop plus an external monitor at the desk. You store window positions once per display combination, and Stay puts windows back when that combination returns. Its documentation also mentions hot keys, window title pattern matching, linking windows, and editing stored windows. It is available from cordlessdog.com and the Mac App Store, where the listing requires macOS 14.6 or later.
SnapState is a native macOS menu bar app for named workspace snapshots. Each snapshot keeps windows on every Space with their position and size, the apps needed to relaunch them, the monitor and display layout, and all open tabs of each window in Safari, Chrome, Edge, Brave, Arc, and Chromium after Automation permission is granted.
The difference is switching contexts on demand rather than only reacting to display changes. You might keep separate coding, writing, meeting, and research workspaces and call them back with a click or with global Control-Command-1 to 6 shortcuts. Workspaces can also restore automatically when a monitor connects or disconnects, when a matching display layout appears, or on wake from sleep. When the display setup differs, SnapState remaps saved window frames onto the current displays.
Use this table to decide which job you are hiring for: holding window positions in place, or recalling whole working contexts.
| Capability | SnapState | Stay |
|---|---|---|
| Restores window positions and sizes | Yes | Yes |
| Separate stored sets per display combination | Yes | Yes |
| Automatic restore on display connect or disconnect | Yes | Yes |
| Named workspaces you switch on demand | Yes | Not listed |
| Relaunches apps needed for a workspace | Yes | Not listed |
| Restores all browser tabs | Yes | Not listed |
| Global keyboard shortcuts | Yes | Yes |
| Wake-from-sleep and matching-layout triggers | Yes | Not listed |
| Price | $9.99 one-time | Free |
Arrange your windows, capture the setup from the menu bar, and give it a name. Later, choose the workspace or press its shortcut. SnapState launches missing apps, remaps window frames to the displays you have now, and reopens the saved tabs in each supported browser window. Workspace data stays local on your Mac as JSON in ~/Library/Application Support/SnapState/. The app needs Accessibility permission to read and move windows, plus Automation permission for browser tab URLs.
Version 2.7.1 requires macOS 15.7 or later on Apple Silicon and Intel Macs. It is sold for a $9.99 one-time payment through Lemon Squeezy with a lifetime license for up to three Macs and a 14-day refund. It ships as a signed, notarized DMG rather than through the Mac App Store.
SnapState restores layouts across multiple Spaces (each Space is restored when you switch to it). It restores tabs only from supported browsers, and Firefox is not supported. It is not a tiling or snapping window manager: if you want windows arranged into grids or snap zones as you work, pair it with a tiling tool.
Stay stores window positions and sizes per display combination. SnapState restores the whole workspace: windows, the apps behind them, the display layout and all open browser tabs, on wake from sleep as well as on monitor connect, with named workspaces you can switch on demand.
SnapState adds named workspaces you switch between on demand, relaunching the apps a workspace needs, restoring all open tabs in supported browser windows, Control-Command-1 to 6 shortcuts, and optional wake and matching-layout triggers. That bundle costs $9.99 as a one-time purchase.
Yes. SnapState saves the monitor and display layout with each workspace and remaps saved window frames onto the current displays when the setup differs. A workspace can also restore automatically on display connect, disconnect, matching layout, or wake from sleep.
Stay 1.5.1 is the current release, and its Mac App Store listing requires macOS 14.6 or later. SnapState 2.7.1 requires macOS 15.7 or later, and runs on macOS 26 and macOS 27 on Apple Silicon and Intel.
Stay documents restoring windows when displays connect and disconnect. SnapState has a separate wake from sleep trigger, plus monitor connect, disconnect and matching-layout triggers, so a workspace can come back after wake even when the display setup itself did not change.
SnapState restores layouts across multiple Spaces (each Space is restored when you switch to it).
Moom is a tiling manager with saved layouts as one feature. Rectangle, Magnet, and Raycast snap the front window and do not replace named workspace restore. Simple WindowSets saved Finder window sets, and its last listed release is from 2014. Monitor problems that Stay and SnapState both touch are covered in unplugging a monitor and windows after sleep.