Best Desktop Widget Software in 2026
Updated
In short: Mango Mirror is ranked #1 of 30 as of 5 October 2026, ahead of Nexus and Duckboard. The best-ranked option with a free plan is Nexus. The lowest first paid tier on this page is Widgetify at $1.08/mo.
Desktop widgets keep selected information and tools within view while you use your computer. Compare calendar, feed, weather, and system-monitoring widgets to see which categories are covered, then consider custom layouts and supported platforms for how they fit your desktop. Mango Mirror, Nexus, and Duckboard are among the entries, with GadgetPack (formerly 8GadgetPack) and Monitor Flows also included. The comparison also covers widget categories, so you can look at the range of available uses as well as specific widget types. Check free-plan availability and paid-from pricing alongside those features to gauge fit and cost for the information you want close at hand.
30 desktop widget software ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
10 of the 25 here have a free tier you can use, 0 have open-source code on record, and 0 have full bars: free, open, on most of your devices and documented.
| # | App | Signal | Free tier | Open code | Devices | From | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mango MirrorWeb · Windows · Linux · Android · iPhone | Three bars | — | 5 of 6 | $5.99/mo | 6.7 | |
| 2 | NexusWeb · Windows · Mac · Linux · Android · iPhone | Three bars | — | 6 of 6 | Free | 6.7 | |
| 3 | DuckboardWindows · Mac | Two bars | — | 2 of 6 | Free | 6.5 | |
| 4 | GadgetPack (formerly 8GadgetPack)Windows | Two bars | — | 1 of 6 | Free | 6.4 | |
| 5 | Monitor FlowsWindows · API | Two bars | — | 1 of 6 | $3/mo | 6.4 | |
| 6 | RainmeterWindows | Two bars | — | 1 of 6 | Free | 6.4 | |
| 7 | ThemiaWindows | Two bars | — | 1 of 6 | Free | 6.4 | |
| 8 | ÜbersichtMac | Two bars | — | 1 of 6 | Free | 6.4 | |
| 9 | WidgetSparkWindows | Two bars | — | 1 of 6 | $1.67/mo | 6.4 | |
| 10 | BeWidgetsWindows | Two bars | — | 1 of 6 | Free | 6.3 | |
| 11 | ConkyMac · Linux · Self-hosted | One bar | — | — | 2 of 6 | — | 5.5 |
| 12 | WidgetifyMac | One bar | — | — | 1 of 6 | $1.08/mo | 5.4 |
| 13 | GKrellMWindows · Mac · Linux | One bar | — | — | 3 of 6 | — | 5.3 |
| 14 | ClocXWindows | No signal | — | — | 1 of 6 | — | 5.2 |
| 15 | DashboardLinux | No signal | — | — | 1 of 6 | — | 5.2 |
| 16 | Delta WidgetsWindows | No signal | — | — | 1 of 6 | — | 5.2 |
| 17 | DeskWidgetsMac | No signal | — | — | 1 of 6 | — | 5.2 |
| 18 | EwwLinux | No signal | — | — | 1 of 6 | — | 5.2 |
| 19 | SAWAS DashboardWindows | No signal | — | — | 1 of 6 | — | 5.2 |
| 20 | Sidebar DiagnosticsWindows | No signal | — | — | 1 of 6 | — | 5.2 |
| 21 | StickiesWindows | No signal | — | — | 1 of 6 | — | 5.2 |
| 22 | Wdgts 2Mac · iPhone | No signal | — | — | 2 of 6 | — | 5.2 |
| 23 | WidgetterMac | No signal | — | — | 1 of 6 | — | 5.2 |
| 24 | WidgetWallMac | No signal | — | — | 1 of 6 | — | 5.2 |
| 25 | CryptoBarMac | No signal | — | — | 1 of 6 | — | 5.1 |
Compare all 25 in a table
| # | App | Score | Free plan | From | Free plan | Paid from | Supported platforms | Widget categories |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mango Mirror | 6.7 | Free plan | $5.99/mo | Yes | — | cross_platform | health, fitness, nutrition, sleep, weather, photos, calendar, reminders, notes, news, quotes, background photos |
| 2 | Nexus | 6.7 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 3 | Duckboard | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | Yes | 29 one-time | cross_platform | YouTube, X, weather, productivity tools, feeds, custom HTML and embeds |
| 4 | GadgetPack (formerly 8GadgetPack) | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | windows | sidebar, agenda, CPU and GPU monitoring, battery, calendar, clipboard, clocks, currency, drives, network monitoring, weather, reminders, slideshow, sticky notes, calculator, volume control, unit converter, radio |
| 5 | Monitor Flows | 6.4 | Free plan | $3/mo | Yes | — | windows | system monitoring; media controls; calendar; weather; smart home |
| 6 | Rainmeter | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | windows | memory, battery, RSS feeds, weather forecasts, notes, to-do lists, application launchers, media-player controls |
| 7 | Themia | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | Yes | 19 one-time | windows | Office, Online, System, Themia, Layout, Others |
| 8 | Übersicht | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | macos | system monitoring; clocks; calendars; weather; RSS feeds; networking; media; launchers; finance; reminders |
| 9 | WidgetSpark | 6.4 | Free plan | $1.67/mo | Yes | — | windows | System, Productivity, Games, Time, Media, Entertainment, Weather, Finance |
| 10 | BeWidgets | 6.3 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | windows | — |
| 11 | Conky | 5.5 | No | — | Yes | — | cross_platform | text, progress bars, graph widgets, RSS feeds, calendar events |
| 12 | Widgetify | 5.4 | No | $1.08/mo | Yes | — | macos | Photo; music playback and lyrics; translator; world clock; date and time clocks; app shortcuts; folders and files; day master; to-do; sticky notes; reminders; weather; time-zone tracker; statistics; flip clock; browser; focus timer; water reminder; calendar |
| 13 | GKrellM | 5.3 | No | — | Yes | — | cross_platform | CPU, process, disk, network, internet, memory, swap, filesystem, mailbox, clock, calendar, hostname, battery, temperature, fan, voltage, uptime, plugins |
| 14 | ClocX | 5.2 | No | — | Yes | — | windows | clock, calendar |
| 15 | Dashboard | 5.2 | No | — | — | — | linux | Clock, Calendar, Todo, Notes, Pomodoro, Countdown, Links, Weather, System Status, Htop, AI Chat, Log Tail |
| 16 | Delta Widgets | 5.2 | No | — | Yes | — | windows | date and time, media, audio visualizer, weather, disks, RAM, CPU, battery, system stats, custom HTML, URL/web content |
| 17 | DeskWidgets | 5.2 | No | — | Yes | — | macos | Interactive Widgets; Information Widgets |
| 18 | Eww | 5.2 | No | — | Yes | — | linux | combo-box-text, expander, revealer, checkbox, color-button, color-chooser, scale, progress, input, button, image, box, overlay, tooltip, centerbox, scroll, eventbox, label, literal, calendar, stack, transform, circular-progress, graph |
| 19 | SAWAS Dashboard | 5.2 | No | — | Yes | — | windows | Clock and date; system CPU/RAM; network rate; notes; Chrome favorites; Edge favorites; network scanner; support links |
| 20 | Sidebar Diagnostics | 5.2 | No | — | Yes | — | — | — |
| 21 | Stickies | 5.2 | No | — | Yes | — | windows | text notes, image notes, reminders, alarms, recurring notes, attached notes |
| 22 | Wdgts 2 | 5.2 | No | — | Yes | — | cross_platform | Calculator; Converter; Clips; On This Day; ScratchPad; Zones; Music |
| 23 | Widgetter | 5.2 | No | — | Yes | — | macos | Date & Time, Calendar, Weather, Battery, Music player, Photo, Internet speed, Currency and cryptocurrency quotes, Tasks and Reminders, CPU, RPM, RAM, HDD/SSD |
| 24 | WidgetWall | 5.2 | No | — | Yes | — | macos | clock, calculator, photos, stopwatch, timer, app shortcuts, video, games, lava lamp, affirmations, iPod, stocks and crypto, white noise, Pomodoro, alarm, countdown, countup, emoji browser, TikTok, weather, stats, music, calendar, reminders, notes, browser, battery, mirror, Pinterest, bookmarks, canvas, Finder, stickers |
| 25 | CryptoBar | 5.1 | No | — | Yes | — | macos | cryptocurrency prices; 24-hour price charts |
Is your app on this list?
Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored, and a sponsored row is labelled as paid.
Questions about this list
Which desktop widget software is ranked first on Freedom251?
Mango Mirror is ranked #1 of 30 with a score of 6.7. Nexus is second and Duckboard third.
How many of these have a free plan?
10 of the 25 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, Widgetify has the lowest first paid tier we found: $1.08/mo.
How is this list ranked?
Ranked free-and-open first: a usable free tier and open-source code, then the platforms it runs on and its documentation.