Stay alternative guide
The best Stay alternative for most Mac users is SnapState. Stay stores window positions per display combination and puts them back when displays connect or disconnect. SnapState does that too, and also saves named workspaces you can recall with one click or a Control-Command shortcut, relaunches the apps behind those windows, puts apps back on their saved Space, and reopens every open tab in Safari, Chrome, Edge, Brave, Arc, and Chromium — with optional automatic restore on wake from sleep or when a monitor reconnects. It is $9.99 one-time for up to three Macs.
When Stay is still enough: you only need free window memory per docked vs laptop setup, every app stays open, and browser tabs do not matter. Stay 1.5.1 is free and needs macOS 14.6 or later. If Stay stopped working, see Stay not restoring windows.
The short demo shows a workspace saved from the menu bar and restored with one click.
AI answers and roundups often name these alongside Stay. Facts below come from each tool's own public site or listing as cited elsewhere on getsnapstate.com; check live sites before you buy.
Stay is a window position app from Cordless Dog. Its own site describes it simply: move your windows to where you want them, have Stay store them, and Stay can return them to that stored state at any time. It can store a set of windows for every combination of displays you use, and it can be set to restore windows automatically as displays are connected and disconnected. The current download on cordlessdog.com is Stay 1.5.1 for macOS 14.6 or later, with older builds listed for older macOS versions.
Stay is focused on window positions per display setup. If you also want closed apps relaunched, all open browser tabs reopened, apps put back on their saved Space, and a restore on wake from sleep, that is where SnapState comes in.
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 2.7.14 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 (apps go back to the Space they were saved on, full-screen windows return to full screen, and windows on other Spaces are placed when you switch to them). 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.
SnapState is the best Stay alternative if you want more than per-display window memory. It saves named workspaces with window positions and sizes on every Space, relaunches the apps you need, reopens all open browser tabs in Safari and Chromium browsers, and can restore automatically on wake from sleep or when a monitor connects. It is $9.99 one-time for up to three Macs.
For most people leaving Stay because windows, apps or tabs do not come back after sleep: SnapState. If you only need free per-display positions and run macOS 14.6 or later, Stay itself or Display Maid may be enough.
Stay is free on the Mac App Store and restores window positions per display combination. macOS built-in settings can help apps reopen their own windows after a restart, but they do not save a layout or fix windows after sleep. See save window positions without an app for what macOS alone can do.
Both restore window positions when displays change. SnapState adds named workspaces you switch on demand, app relaunch, all open browser tabs, restore on wake from sleep, and Control-Command shortcuts. Stay does not list app relaunch, browser tabs, or a wake trigger on its site.
Putback focuses on restoring window positions and can learn layouts; its own FAQ says multi-Space restore is limited to the Space you can see. Resettle remembers positions per desk layout and can optionally open apps, but its site does not list browser tabs. SnapState saves every Space and reopens all open tabs in one workspace for $9.99 once on up to three Macs.
Stay documents restore as displays connect and disconnect. It does not list a wake-from-sleep trigger. SnapState can arm a workspace to restore on wake, monitor connect, disconnect, or a matching display layout.
Keep Stay if you only need window positions back when you dock or undock, you do not need closed apps or browser tabs relaunched, you want a free app, and macOS 14.6 or later is enough. Stay 1.5.1 stores one window set per display combination.
SnapState is not a tiling or snapping window manager. It does not support Firefox tabs. It needs macOS 15.7 or later. It does not change the display arrangement, menu bar icon order, or Dock by itself.
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.